Frugal Living Tip: Groceries

The Grocery Store – this is definitely one place where lots of money can be saved. In order to save money on groceries, you need to plan your shopping trip, use coupons, and meal plan. Below is a step-by-step guide to follow to make the most of your grocery shopping and save money!

Create a budget for your grocery shopping.

Whether it’s one hundred dollars of three hundred dollars, it’s important to not go over that amount. Be sure to bring a calculator to the store to keep track of your expenses. A good rule of thumb is just put the price on the tag in the calculator and watch that total then you’ll end up saving more at the end once you use your coupons and special discounts. Be sure to add everything into the calculator so there are no surprises at the checkout counter!

Before you get going into saving money tips at the grocery store, think about how often you like to shop. Do you like to shop each week, daily, twice a month, once a month? Determine this before going forward. If you like to shop once a week, take the total amount for groceries that you have budgeted for the month and divide that by the number of weeks in that month. That is how much you can spend at the store each week.

If you have two hundred dollars a month for groceries, and four weeks in the month, you have fifty dollars a week for groceries. Another tip: if you have fifty dollars to spend and only use forty-five dollars, take the extra five dollars and put that into savings. Don’t save it to buy more groceries or think that you can go get a burger and fries. Be frugal and save it!

The next step is to make an inventory of all the groceries you currently have.

Go through your pantry, freezer and refrigerator and list what you have in stock. If you can do this on the computer, it’ll be helpful to update regularly. Create three columns: Item, Amount, and Purchase.

Put a list of all the products you have in the “Item” column and how many of each item you have in the “Amount” column. The “Purchase” column is where you can place a check mark when you run out of the entire item or you get very close to being out and you need to pick it up the next time you go shopping. Keep this list near the pantry or cabinet where you have all your groceries. Make the same type of list for your refrigerator and freezer as well.

Another step is to clip coupons.

I recommend having the Sunday paper delivered to your house each week. In the long run, you will be saving a lot more than the subscription price is worth. Take the time to clip coupons and create a good system for you for sorting them. Be sure to also check to see if a store doubles coupons. You save even more when stores do that for you.

You can also print coupons on your computer. Sites like Coupons.com and CouponSurfer.com are always updated with the latest coupons that are available. Just be sure to check your store’s policy and see if they accept printed coupons.

Join your grocery store’s frequent shoppers club.

Most are free and you get bonus coupons and deals by having the card when you checkout. With the way stores can keep track of what you purchase each time you visit them, they will begin to send you coupons based on your past purchases and when you checkout, they will print you off extra coupons for you to use on your next trip.

Create a grocery list before leaving the house.

Now that you have a list of deals, clipped coupons, a frequent shopper’s club card and a list of what you need from the store, it’s time to sit down and put it all together. Look over everything on your list, go ahead and get coupons ready and make sure you know exactly what you are going for while at the store. Going to the store without a list is detrimental to the entire process of living frugally.

Now that you are at the store, take your time. Never shop on an empty stomach – this will prevent some impulse purchases.

Read the sale ad and the tags on the shelf carefully- then compare prices to save the most money.

A good rule of thumb is to have a calculator or extra paper to determine what your best deal is. Have the ad from the paper as well to check out any special deals that are going on. Some stores have listed in their ads if you buy ten of these certain products, you will get three dollars off at checkout. The important thing with this is to look at the list carefully. If you need the products listed and they are cheaper than their counterparts, then it is worth it to get all those items.

Another thing to consider deals with the frequent shoppers club card. All over the store there will be signs stating that with your card, this item is “Buy 10 for $10.” So each item is one dollar each. For that particular item, this may be a good buy. But if you take a look at the generic item right beside it that is regularly priced at eighty-nine cents each, that is the better deal to go with. Don’t always be fooled by the signs.

Furthermore, “Buy 10 for $10″ could be misleading. You might not have to purchase 10 to get the sale price. With your card, you might be able to save a certain amount on each, regardless of how many you purchase. This is why you must read carefully to fully understand the sale.

Ever been told it’s better to by the family size of an item?

Don’t be fooled here either. When you see that you can purchase a family size box of granola box where you get thirty-six granola bars for five dollars, you might think that’s a good deal.

But then you see that you can get one box of granola bars with ten bars in each box for one dollar each. If you do the math, you can either get thirty-six granola bars for five dollars or get fifty granola bars for five dollars.

While this might be the case here, in other places, it’s more beneficial to purchase the family size. For example, frozen French fries. For one, these can be frozen so even if you are single, these will last awhile. If you look at the smaller bag of fries, you might get fifteen ounces for $1.99, but you can purchase the family size of forty-five ounces for $2.99 so for one dollar more, you get thirty more ounces.

When buying groceries, in most cases, buying generic is the exact same as buying the name brand product.

Try it and see if you don’t notice a difference or lack thereof. Generic is usually approximately thirty percent cheaper than name brand if not cheaper.

Again, you do have to look at in-store specials and coupons before determining exactly which product to buy. You will probably begin spending longer in the grocery store than before, but if it’s worth it to save twenty percent, thirty percent or more, then it’s worth the extra time.

One other thing to consider is getting a membership to a wholesale club.

At these stores you can buy in larger quantities and save money on the things you purchase the most. You’ll save more than what you pay for the membership. It’s helpful to have a place to be able to store the extra you have on hand and possibly another freezer or refrigerator. You tend to save twenty to thirty percent when you buy in bulk and it is beneficial when you have a large family or only wish to go shopping for certain items a few times a year.

Another part of the grocery scenario is meal planning.

One reason people spend extra money eating out is they fail to plan ahead. Meal planning is key to saving money on your groceries. It eliminates the last-minute trips to the store. It eliminates the dash to the fast food drive-through. When you plan your grocery shopping list, plan your meals too,

A good tip is to pick one day a week and spend it cooking meals for the week. It’s very easy to make several casseroles and freeze them and on any given day, all you need to do is pull the casserole out in the morning and it’ll be thawed out by the time you come home for dinner, ready to pop into the oven and cook while you wind down. Think about using recipes for the crock-pot that cook all day while you’re gone (or even while you’re at home) and it’s ready for dinnertime.

Saving money on groceries can be easy, if you prepare. So let’s recap what you need to do:

1. Create a grocery budget
2. Create an inventory of what you have on hand
3. Clip coupons
4. Join your store’s customer shopping program
5. Carefully read the circular and the tags
6. When you can, buy the family size or in bulk
7. Buy generic
8. Plan your meals

If you’d like more information on how to meal plan, I have a low-cost,  easy-to-read ebook that gives you a step-by-step formula for meal planning. Check out The Household Helper’s Guide to Meal Planning for Busy Moms.

Smarter Spending

At one point in everyone’s life, someone has mentioned to him or her that they didn’t really need to purchase that new computer or video game system. That car wasn’t necessary either. Having dinner out each evening is wasteful as well.

Sound familiar? Money has a tendency to come into the bank account and be gone the same day and the owner doesn’t understand where it is all going.

A frugal person has to become smarter at their spending habits in order to put money into the bank and let it stew there for a while before spending it. A person has to think about what their purchase is going to be and whether or not it’s realistic to make the purchase now or wait until later.

Smarter spending requires thinking and planning ahead. You can’t just go to the grocery store and buy whatever. You need to make a list, find coupons, look at the sales ads and determine exactly what you are going to purchase.

Then, when you go to the store, take the time to look over and find out what your best purchase of a particular item would be. You might want to stock up on something and spend a little bit more today, but over the long run you’ll be saving money.

Smarter spending means creating a budget and allocating money to your bills, groceries, activities, (the movies, clothes, DVDs, etc.) and other things that might come up. Whether you’re paying a mortgage or renting, it’s easier to take a part of the rent or mortgage out of each check and put into savings until you need it. Planning ahead helps to make sure you aren’t spending uncontrollably.

Time Saving Cooking Tips

Cooking may not be your favorite chore, but it is something that needs to be done every day.  Thankfully, there are many time management techniques that you can use to make cooking a faster and easier part of your day.

One of the easiest ways to save time throughout the week is to plan your meals ahead of time.  This will free up the time you spend each night trying to decide what to make for dinner, racing to the grocery store, standing in line to pay for your purchases, and then driving back home to cook your meal.

Instead, you’ll sit down, write out the meals you’ll have during the week, and make one trip to the grocery store.  You can plan your meals according to what is on sale that week, which will also help you save money.

The following are some more tips to help you save time, but still provide tasty and healthy meals for your family:
* Start using your crockpot! This is a great time saving tool when it comes to cooking.  When you get up in the morning, you can throw your meal in and let it simmer all day.  When you are ready to eat, your dinner will be hot and ready to eat.

* You may want to consider freezer cooking.  With this method of cooking, you’ll spend one weekend preparing a month’s worth of dinners and then you’ll store them in the freezer.  At night, you’ll take out the next day’s dinner and let it thaw in the fridge.  When your family is ready to eat, just pop that night’s dinner into the oven.

* The casserole was very popular in the 1970’s, but it fell out of fashion during the 80’s and 90’s.  They’re making a come back among busy families and for good reason.  This is a one pot dinner that is quick and easy to make (and easy to clean, since there is only the one pot plus plates and silverware). You can find some cookbooks on Amazon.com or eBay to give you some inspiration.

* If you don’t have time to cook a whole meal, you can opt to have a soup and sandwiches night. You can find some great soup starter mixes in the soup aisle. You simply open the mix, add water, and any fresh ingredients you choose and let it simmer.  While that’s cooking, you can make up some turkey and cheese sandwiches and cut up some raw veggies and serve those with a side dip.  You’ll have a very filling and nutritious dinner.

* Short cut cooking is the process of mixing prepared food with fresh ingredients to create a quick meal with homemade taste.  For instance, you can purchase a rotisserie chicken from the deli and serve it with some pasta and a side salad that you made at home.

* You can also plan your leftovers in order to create quick and easy meals throughout the week.  For instance, using the chicken from the above example, you can take the leftover chicken meat and use it to make a stir fry or chicken salad sandwiches for the next day’s meal.

Learning How To Save More

Once you’ve done this and taken some time to absorb it all, it is time to learn about valuable money saving tips to help you learn to spend less. Don’t be afraid, nothing discussed here will harm you in any way. These are basically a set of guidelines created to you through the process of spending less money.

Take the list of all the places you have spent money at for the time period you kept a record. Are there any transactions that you can cut? Maybe decide that instead of stopping at the coffee shop each morning, get yourself a coffee maker and make yourself a pot of coffee each morning. Put the coffee into a thermos and take it to work with you.

If you don’t want to do that, have it to where your coffee maker makes you two cups of coffee, enough to put into a cool looking cup with a lid to carry to work. You’ll still get your coffee, but won’t be spending five dollars a day to have it. You can also purchase flavored coffee from the grocery store and flavored creamer as well.

Are you able to take your lunch to work? Instead of spending seven to ten dollars a day on lunch out, grab lunch options at the grocery store. The same can be done for dinnertime. Look at the price of buying a frozen pizza at the store and buying one from the local pizza delivery store.

The difference is at least five to ten dollars each. If you do have to eat out, whether it’s for work or pleasure, don’t be afraid to use coupons for a percentage off or a certain dollar amount off the final price. It is best to save a few dollars than to worry what people will think of you and the coupon you just used. They might even be jealous!

Look back at your list and look at how you paid your bills. Did you mail them or drive to where they needed to be paid? Many companies give you the option of paying your bills through the Internet. Not only will you be saving the money on stamps, but gas as well. Some companies offer discounts on your monthly bill for paying them online as well as some banking institutions if you utilize their bill paying service.

Take a glance at the amount spent on fuel for your vehicle. Gas prices fluctuate often without warning which can cause your expenses to rise and lower at a moments notice. Think amount your travels for a moment. Is it possible to take public transportation to work or the mall? Is carpooling an option? The goal is to cut down on how much gasoline you use and easy ways include public transportation, carpooling and walking, which is good for other reasons.

One final example is looking at how much you are spending on things like renting movies, CD’s and DVD’s. Consider a movie swap night with friends. If five or six of your friends get together and borrow each other’s movies, you get to see several movies for free.

Instead of purchasing movies each month, check out one of the services where you can rent movies online for a flat fee each month, but make sure what your paying each month is less than your usual DVD purchases each month. This is helpful if you like to watch a lot of movies all the time.

The same could be used for CD’s. Feel free to swap with friends or look into the different online services where you can download a CD at a cheaper price than purchasing one brand new. Another resource for CD’s and DVD’s is your local library. Most now offer the ability to checkout the latest movies and CD’s for you to enjoy. Membership to the library is always free.

Hopefully these few pages have given you an opportunity to evaluate where you need to cut back in order to save money and to become more “frugal” without hurting yourself financially in the long run. This is a starting point, a jumpstart to a new life.

Earth Day Ideas for Family

Kids love being a part of efforts that they know will help to protect the earth. Not only do they like knowing that they have a respected role to play but they like the fact that their parents and other adults acknowledge their abilities and maturity enough to discuss important issues with them like the environment.

Earth Day is an opportunity to really think about the messages and actions that cities and regional governments across the country are promoting to help our environment. “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle” are messages that can take on greater meaning through purposeful activities that you choose to do with your family on Earth Day. To begin with, why not gather everyone around and talk about the following questions:

What can we recycle in our household and how can we recycle these items?

How many disposable items, from diapers to plastic bags do we use as a family, and how many items can we choose to do without?

Where can we reuse items we no longer want?

Here are some uses for existing items that might be in your household:
• Reuse a plastic or paper bag as a gift bag – place some decorative stickers or other decorations on it and you’ve got a replacement for wrapping paper!
• Reuse empty food containers as storage for leftovers.
• Decorate a can and reuse it as a pencil holder.
• Habitat for Humanity accepts building material donations – contact your local office for this non-profit group before disposing of old building material around your home.
• Your local Goodwill can make good use of your gently worn clothing and gently used furniture or other household items. Contact them to find out delivery options.

Suggest that your children organize an Earth Day Groceries project with their classmates and teacher. The project involves each child in the class decorating a cloth, canvas or other durable and reusable bags that can serve as great grocery bags. Once the bags are done present them to your local Grocery store as a way to promote Earth Day and the strong relationship between your local store, school and patrons in the community.

Hiking is a great family activity that can turn into a enjoyable Earth Day Activity if the purpose of the hike is to pick up garbage in your local park or trail. It’s a satisfying project that will make kids feel they are doing their part to take care of an area that gives them and their friends in the community much enjoyment – especially animals!

One of the best ways to teach our children about the impact of trash on our environment is to show them the “trash trail.” Where does the trash go after we put it out for the garbage truck? On Earth Day why not take your kids on a little journey along the “trash trail.”

The garbage workers or sanitation engineers take residential garbage usually to a transfer station that collects the community’s waste/rubbish before shipping it off to a regional solid waste facility. In many cases the garbage gets trucked to a landfill or incinerator plant. Sometimes that garbage is then burned to produce electricity – depending on the town.

Investigate if you are within traveling distance to a waste facility and ask if they do tours for schools or community members. If so, you’ll be in for an eye opening experience that will make this Earth Day one that will be an educational and fun experience for you and your family.

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