Grocery Store Success/Money Saving

[ML]

I checked the adds, found some coupons, went to different stores to take advantage of the best deals and came in $40 UNDER budget (which makes up for going over the last two or three weeks .

I did find my WW bars on sale but I was wondering if there might be a way to make these. I figure I spend about $15 a month on them and it would be a good place to save. Maybe fudge pops with pudding?

Lastly someone gave me a tip about Sunflower oil. You can use it as a moisturizer! It's not greasy like other oils. I figure I can stretch my more costly moisturizers a bit this way.

Off to my cleaning now.

ML

 

[klmno]

Wow! Thanks for the tips! I find that healthy snacks for difficult child and drinks are running up my bill, so this is helpful!

 

[C.J.]

I shop at several different stores after looking at the weekly ads. I typically buy all the staples at a no-frills store - stocking up on milk, bread, eggs, cheese, sour cream, frozen ground turkey, rice, canned vegetables & fruit, frest avocados ($.79 every day), etc. Then on to a larger mid priced store for sliced deli meat, meat on sale - I found boneless skinless chicken breasts last week for $1.33/lb. I stocked up on those.

During the warmer months, there is a local farmers market that I frequent to get fresh fruit and vegetables.

I try to feed the two of us for around $150.00 per month with another $50.00 for incidentals - vacuum cleaner bags, hair products, cleaning products, etc.

 

[Hound dog]

I love the way our town has set up the grocery stores. I can drive from one to the other without wasting gas. It's awesome. Only down fall is our aldi store is in another town. But I figured up what I was paying in gas compared to what I was saving there.....and yeah, still saving big time.

On top of this, husband works for Kao which makes lotions and shampoos and soap, facial cleansers ect and periodically gets cases of such items which I store away in the family room and we use them as needed. You wouldn't believe how much this saves us. So we're lucky that way.

And I get coupons for things online, in the mail, and sometimes in the paper. I watch sales because I don't always remember to use the coupons. lol

 

[susiestar]

In addition to making all of our mixes (biscuick like mix, cake mix, taco seasoning mix, etc...) I also make frozen pops that fill the "ice cream" and popsicle need for my kids. Out favorite is to take unsweetened applesauce (generic brand, where-ever is cheapest, but always unsweetened) and stir in a little cinnamon and sugar and then I put them in the tupperware popsicle molds and freeze them. Not only do they boost the kids fruit intake, but by adding our own sugar they are as sweet as we like them and have a TON less calories than the sweetened applesauce has.

Aldi's is over 80 miles away, so unless I have to be near one for an appointment, we only have 3 shopping choices - WalMart, a locally owned IGA which can have good specials but is overall very expensive, and a small chain that is very high in price except on specials. They have the best meat deals, but you really have to watch for them or get to know the meat people to get deals on mark-down meat (which I buy and freeze).

I wish we had more choices. Do any of your stores take internet coupons? Ones you print off on your printer? because here only WalMart will take them, and they won't take a lot of them.

 

[Star*]

I am SO impressed - this is huge - okay it's $40 huge -but that again is huge! BRAVO.

I have a few sites that I go to - that are money saving and fun. I'm currently trying to learn how to do the 20 items for under $2.00 thing - you use the store sale, store coupon and mfg. coupon OR the store bucks card and get things for practically free. It takes a lot of organizing and I really and humbly bow to my coupon sensi - Tiapet. I've been having a blast learning "how to" from her. She is incredibly organized and I've been learning bunches.

The other one is I think (on m y puter at work to save ink lol) smartsource = you can find your local grocery store specials for that week - click on them - save it to a printable list so that when you GO to the store you do NOT just use their "Price loss item -say buy 2 get 3 free" to get you in the store and then just pick up stuff - you stick to the list get the deals and coordinate with coupons you already have.

Also there are freebie sites out there that are just a BLAST to fill out and get stuff from - Walmart has the best and easiest ones and they ALWAYS come. It was FANTASTIC for traveling as now you can't take bigger than 3oz. on a plane - I didn't have to buy a thing - I just dug in my freebie basket for deoderant, toothpaste etc......
Go to wm and look under free samples. THen check back often.

HAPPY SAVING!!!!!!!!

 

[Star*]

DF is enjoying the savings and the better meals we're able to buy.

The other tip I took from this board on a post was someone posted they did NOT buy meat unless it was under $2.00 a lb on sale - (take a bow whomever you are) because when we DO find meat like that? We stock up and separate into meal sizes for us and get 2-3 meals per tray of say chicken. It's a good investment to buy freezer zip lock bags also WITH coupons ONLY! From say the Family Dollar where they are cheaper UNLESS someone runs a sale. WE're waiting on a coupon and sale for the freezer bags with that little vacuum and we're checking Craigslist and /or Lowes for a sale on small up right freezers.