Today in part 4 I'm detailing the individual steps I've taken to lower what we spend monthly on food and household products. My goal here is to hopefully show that the steps aren't hard and that you may be already doing some of them and just adding another component will allow you to start saving money!
1. The first thing I did was research on the Internet.
I've mentioned this before and the sites I found (some are listed in My Favorite Sites in the sidebar) were instrumental for a couple of reasons. They provided motivation and affirmation that it WAS possible to achieve my goal and they showed me HOW with coupon tutorials and store "101" posts. I encourage you to visit the sites I have listed as a beginning - I don't think it's necessary for me to reinvent the wheel - they've done a great job!
2. The second thing I did was to start shopping weekly.
I read how important this is to being able to take advantage of ALL the sales AND to be able to plan menus around these sales. This was a big change, because in my mind I wanted to get it all over with in one monthly shopping so I didn't have to think about it again, except for short runs for milk and produce. But it was so time consuming that I dreaded the half a day it took and then having to put the huge load away.
Since I've been shopping weekly I've discovered a couple of things:
- I've come to LIKE the fact that my shopping is usually done within an hour! Putting the items away takes only a few minutes. I didn't realize what a burden it was to have such a long shopping trip before.
- I actually go to the store the same or even LESS than my previous "monthly" shopping. Hun? I don't have any need for a short trip to pick up some milk, etc. and I've already got the items on sale for the week that would lure me in before.
- The sales are cyclical in nature. Meaning, the same items go on sale at 6 to 12 week intervals, so as I shop weekly, I'm able to buy enough of a sale item to get us through to the next sale now that I'm aware of it and not just shopping based on my schedule.
3. I started using coupons in conjunction with the sales, especially the "buy 10, save $5" type sales- they really can maximize your savings IF they are things you'd use.
In order to have more than one and be able to stockpile, I started asking people for their Sunday paper coupon inserts if they don't use them. Then I file them in a box (I use Money Saving Mom's method, just on a smaller scale) and I WAIT for a sale! Even if it's an item I usually buy, I'll hold off until the coupon is within a week of expiring and only then will use it even if there is no sale. This is happening less and less as I build my pantry - I usually can always wait for the sale cycles to come around again.
**Now here's my caveat: There are things I don't want in my house, whether they're a good deal or not, even if they're FREE! And so, I don't always realize the same savings on my weekly shopping posts that some other bloggers do.
I don't buy commercial cleaning products, most junk food (Pringles, etc.), convenience foods (Bisquick, canned soups, etc.), or soda, and our family doesn't use more than one or two types of cold products. I don't think anyone needs 20 packages of emery boards or air fresheners (I tend to think a clean house won't smell). Some say they are going to hold garage sales, which is way too much work for me, and others will donate some to charity which is a good thing EXCEPT if it is junk food, or air fresheners! :-)
What coupons are left, you might wonder? Some I have in my box now are for toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, canned tomatoes, baking items, rice, dairy products, frozen vegetables, plenty to be able to get savings.
4. I plan the menu around what I have in the house and what's on sale.
I've been using a menu for our meals for awhile now, which I talked about here, but I wasn't very purposeful about it. Now I try to really look at what I already have that I've bought the previous month ON SALE and use these items to plan our meals. Done this way, menu planning can be a real money saver.
5. I shop with a list and stick to it as much as possible.
I don't pass up clearanced items or unadvertised good deals, but buying only what's on my list really helps to keep my total down. It was a "duh" moment for me!
6. I'm working on building a good stockpile of grocery and household items.
I used to buy slightly more than I needed if things were on sale, but never on household items. I'd wait until we were low on toothpaste or my son said he needed a razor before I'd buy them. Now I'm trying to buy enough pantry and drugstore items to get us through to the next sale.
Here's a food example: We end our dinners with a small piece of dark chocolate. You can find candy marked 50-75% off after holidays, and before, if I found the sales, I would buy a couple of packages. After Easter though, there aren't too many of these sales, and I'd find that I would need to buy packages at $3.50 to $4.00 each! Now I have a stash of about 10 bags in my freezer (I hadn't thought to freeze it before, either), that I bought clearanced AND with a coupon!
(I also have some bags of Hershey Kisses, too, I got for about .50 each. I never used to buy these until I read somewhere you can freeze them and then chop them in a food processor to use in cookies- much cheaper than chocolate chips which only have coupons and sales very occasionally.)
7. I have taken advantage of drugstore "games."
These are the rebate and coupon programs of Walgreens and Rite Aid (no CVS where I live, unfortunately. They are supposed to be the best). I will go into shopping at drugstores and how it is helping me get my monthly totals low in Part 5 of this series: Drugstore Games.
I'd love to hear about your strategies for saving money on groceries and household expenses!
Jami
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