Groceries, Meals, and how you SAVE!

runway41

My DH and I are looking for ways before the new year to try to curb our grocery spending...with 3 boys, it seems really difficult for me to  please everyone, work one job, have dinner ready, and not spend a ton on 'fast' meals to relieve my  headaches.

I tried coupons before, and I felt overwhelmed with trying to keep up with where to go, when to spend, beat the expiration dates, etc.  I'm open, but a little hesitant on going back down that road.

Can you please recommend your favorite tips, websites, saving plans that you've used and actually work in dropping your grocery bill dramatically?

AnnapolisLari

www.hotcouponworld.com

Start here:

https://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/couponing-basics/89883-couponing-101-couponing-basics-newbie.html

I wrote it, so those are my tips.

Rebekah1021

I buy all of our groceries at one store. I use cash and then get points for their gas station. I buy toiletries at Target or walmart and again pay cash for them. I have learned to buy the correct amount of food when I am paying cash.

crazynervous

Price matching at Wal-mart, comparing grocery ads  and shopping at more then one place,  double coupon and only buy what is on sale and make your meal plan after you grocey shop instead of making the meal plan then shopping.  I say go shopping once a week after work.

good luck.

runway41

this was my other dilemma...it seemed as though even when I had coupons in the newspaper, though, it was always cheaper at walmart...am I just missing something?

Yodajo

runway41:

this was my other dilemma...it seemed as though even when I had coupons in the newspaper, though, it was always cheaper at walmart...am I just missing something?

If you match your coupons up to a sale and use them at a store that doubles coupons, it is always cheaper than buying the store brand. I just bought 6 boxes of cereal yesterday for less than .50 a box ( and a lot of time can get them for even less) and three bags of Kraft shredded cheese for free. When you find good sales like that, you buy as much as you can so you don't need it when it's full price.

shouldbworkin

I've never had much luck with coupons b/c they're only offered on name brands and I feel that I can get better prices on store brands most days and even better when on sale.  If you can, write down the prices of things you use regularly in a binder/notebook at each store you shop at.  This will help you identify the best prices so you know when something really is on sale. 

Meal planning helps a lot.  I factor in 2 easy/cheap meals a week, like soup and sandwiches and breakfast for dinner.  They're kid pleasers and you can always move to a different night if you're too busy to make dinner one night.  Make soups in your crock pot and stock up on canned soups (low fat and reduced sodium) for nights when you're in a bind.  Soups can be frozen to be reheated, as well as stews, chili, spaghetti.  Make these on the weekend when you have time and stock your freezer for busy weeknights. 

When you meal plan, shop your pantry and freezer first to see what you have on hand to make meals that week and don't need at the store.  then shop the circulars and see what's on sale in stores.  I try to visit 1-2 stores that have the best sales each week.  I don't necessarily make what I buy that week unless I've planned for something and ran out of stock (and what I need can be obtained at a good price at any time, like ground turkey), but will factor it in another week when I plan my menu (like roast on sale).  Eventually, you'll begin to see patterns with sales, like roasts and turkeys going on sale around holidays and just after and will learn to stock up then. 

Plan ahead, even lunches.  Take 5 mins to make sandwiches or pack snacks before you leave the house with your kids so that you can avoid the quick drive thru trips that add up fast.  Keep extra snacks, bottles of water and juice boxes in an extra diaper bag in the back of your car for emergencies. 

AggieCouple

Meal planning is key for us too.  I know my grocery stores get their main deliveries on Wednesdays, so I go through their ads on Wednesdays and shop on Thursdays, to get the freshest items.  If I go on Wednesday morning, the new shipment isn't quite out yet, and I may end up with the older stuff.  

So, I plan my meals Wednesday nights for Thursday through the following Wednesday.  I usually base my meals on what is on sale in the produce section, as those are purchased on a weekly basis. Things like meat, frozen and shelf items, I stock up when on sale, so I usually have those already handy as needed for my dishes, and don't have to pay regular price.  I take advantage of events like 10 for $10 or sometimes they run a special where you get cashback if you buy 5 items from a specific list.  

We do do coupons, and our grocery store doubles and triples, and they take expired coupons, so I don't have to do a ton of maintenance.  I have an index card holder that is organized by my main grocery store's aisles.  I usually pull out coupons when I plan the meals, but I take it with me, just in case.

When I quit my job last year, we were spending $800-$1000 per month on groceries and that was with a lot of last minute running around.  With the meal planning, our average grocery bill is now $400-$500, and on average, we do one run per week.  Even if I'm missing an ingredient, I'll now have enough on hand to change menus at the last minute.  And our standards have not changed at all.  We still buy plenty of organics, and the brands we like.  I will experiment with store brand, but if it sucks, I go back to brand name.  I don't do Wal-mart groceries at all, unless I happen to be there for something else, and see a really good deal.  I find that the time and gas saved on not gong to Wal-mart is more than worth what little I might save.

august282005

Couponmom.com is a great resource - they do most of the coupon matchups for you. If you follow their system, you just tuck away each week's coupon circular (dated) and when you get ready to shop you pull up your grocery store and it tells you what is on sale, if there is a coupon (if so, what date it was published and in what circular), and then you just go shopping.  Easy peasy. 

I used to be of the mind set that I was able to get things cheaper just by buying generic, but now I'm routinely beating generic prices on name brand items.  I also devoted a little space in our basement to help store the overflow from the kitchen, since I stock up when I can get things very cheaply.