a few savings ideas

So here we are a month into the new year - how has everyone been doing with their New Year's resolutions?  I have probably been keeping up with half of mine, half the time...which I am actually pretty happy about.  I'll do a post update next week.

I am assuming whether it was a resolution for you or not, most people would like to save more money. (Me, me, me!!!!)  But the trick to doing so WITHOUT sacrificing quality of life or the things you like to buy and it takes some learning.

I went on a savings quest 2 years ago.  Since that time, I really have just learned how to coupon.  This has been wonderful at helping me still get what I want (organic milk for instance, most of the time), but I pay less money.  I consistently save more than I spend (spending $65 for instance but saving $75).  My favorite part of couponing is getting most of our toiletries for free (shampoo, lotion, toothpaste/brushes, etc) so that I free up "real food" money.  I am still learning, though.  I don't like how I do some months - this past one I spent $497 on groceries and household needs - so all drugstore (not Bailey's Rx) and grocery trips.  Now, when I started this journey I spent upwards of $150/wk, so spending $500 a month would have been good!  This past month I had to rebound from not couponing at all through December, so we went through some of our stockpile - esp meat and I had to replenish.  This next month, my goal is to spend $400 - all of the things we need and to continue to build my stockpile.

Anyway, here are a few things I just implemented this year to save more at the store.

*No more lunchmeat at the deli counter.  Even at $4.99/lb which is a SALE price for Boar's Head turkey, that is just too much!  I was spending at least $10/wk on Kevin's lunchmeat.  So now I am cooking up an extra serving or two of whatever meat I am making that week - chicken breast for instance, or london broil, and I slice it thin for his sandwiches.  I also have been making egg/tuna/chicken salad a few times, and he gets pb&j at least once a week.   I have 2 turkeys in the freezer that I got for .39/lb at Thanksgiving time that I look forward to cooking soon and saving some of that meat for his sammies.

*Speaking of meat, I have been stretching it with more veggies and sides.  I have been making soup once a week also, which helps too - soup is a frugal meal.

*I stay on top of what's in the fridge.  I used to waste too much!  I'd have high hopes of my kids eating blueberries let's say, and maybe we'd make it through one pint not two.  For shame!  Now I flash freeze the berries (and any other fruit/veg that can freeze) after a few days to insure it won't go to waste.  Our fave way to eat fruits that are in the freezer are in smoothies and waffles, and for veggies - soup.

*Buy big, and separate.  This new year, I have switched most of the girls yogurt to organic.  When they were babies/toddlers they ate organic, but I got away from it in favor of Gogurts for school - so easy to pack!  Well, I'll still buy go-gurts once in awhile but they eat yogurt every day, so now they are getting organic and I buy the quart size and separate it into reusable containers for their lunches and freeze the night before so it stays cool until lunch.  Sometimes it is cheaper to buy small and use a coupon (ie - if a coupon says $1 off, any size - use 4 coupons and get 4 of the smaller one that's on sale for $2, than buying the bigger one that's $8.  So you spend $4 for the same amount of product, than buying the bigger one and spending $7.  See?) but in instances such as the yogurt, it's cheaper to buy big.  (Stonyfield Farms has coupons on their website by the way - you can still coupon with organic!)

*Speaking of couponing organic, look through your circular!!  Last week at ShopRite I scored Gala organic apples (my fave!) and organic cut baby carrots for .99/lb with a coupon that was in the circular.  No limit was on the apples, so I got a huge bag, apples last for a while.

*I made a list of products I like, and am going to be emailing the companies.  I have done this a few times, but want to do more of it.  My favorite coupon I received from emailing the company so far has been Eggland's best - they sent me 4 .50 off coupons.  I waited for a sale - SR then had Eggland's best for $1.77 - the .50 doubled (most grocery stores double coupons, drugstores and supercenters like Target and Walmart don't) so I got the eggs for .77 each.

Do you have any tips?  I'd love to hear them!!

Sales Saturday - how to save without coupons

Ok so everyone knows how much I love couponing.  It has freed up money for us to use in other areas, or save for fun stuff.  This year I am using the money we're saving for a few vacations, but next year I hope to use it for a few home improvements.  It's a wonderful way to relatively-painlessly shave money off your grocery/necessities/entertainment/dining-out bills.

That being said, I may not always be a couponer.  I have fallen in love with it, but I can see myself falling out of love pretty quickly.  It does take some time each week to cut and organize coupons, and if I get a full-time job at some point, I don't know if I'll be able to maintain this level of couponing.  It is something you can do a little or a lot of.  I consider my level medium, so to speak, and I do think I will continue for a long while.  As the years go on though, I may make time for it, but maybe I won't.  Thankfully, I have learned a few ways to save money without having to hardcore coupon.

*Shop the circulars - by far the best non-couponing savings tool.  There are still great sales even without coupons.  For instance, I have learned that many of ShopRite's sales of "Buy $20 worth of (whatever)...Get a Catalina worth $10 off your next visit' go by the SHELF price, not the sale price.  So for example, a few months ago, they had a health-and-beauty deal of buy $20, save $10 on ShopRite brand products.  Their fem hygiene pads were priced at $1 each - already a great price.  But the SHELF price was something like $2.50.  I bought 8 - reaching the $20, but I only really spent $8 bc that was the SALE price.  Then I got back $10 in Catalina money (it looks like a coupon that prints out with your receipt) to use on my next order.  So I actually MADE $2 buying pads!  That's a for instance, but you get the idea?  The best way to know if a sale is working on shelf or sale price to get a catalina is to check out my fave site "Living Rich with Coupons" bc she does the work for you and tells you what's on sale and how to do the deals.

*Speaking of LRWC site, before I shop I always check her site bc she lists everything on sale, and if there's an online coupon available for it (ie - say "Ragu" pasta sauce is on sale and the Ragu website offers a .50 coupon, she'll link you right to their site so you can print it off).  So even without cutting insert coupons that come in the paper, I could still take a few minutes to at least save a few dollars with coupons that are available online immediately.

*Stock up on sales.  Chicken breasts are a rare $1.79/lb?  Buy a lot.  Freeze in Ziploc freezer bags, and freeze the way you want to use it.  Like when chicken is on sale, I buy as much as my store (they might say "Limit 1 pkg per family") or budget allows, then I cut it into strips, nuggets, etc.  If the store does have a limit but I want more, I'll make another trip that week and use my mom's phone number instead of mine at checkout.  I give her some too, and I don't feel badly about that - I make meals often for others too. Also, some stores have coupons right in the circular, making the sale better.

*Use cash.  Now, this is not a tip I even use.  For shame!!  But I do believe in it.  If you know your family can only afford $50/wk in groceries, you'll figure out a way to do it.  Farmers markets for your produce for $25 let's say, and then $25 for the rest...you'll get creative.  This is where your stockpile comes in great, that you can do a little at a time.  You can fill in your families meals with cheap pasta, potatoes that you bought when they were .99/ 5 lb bag, etc.

*Now taking that $50 budget for example, where do toiletries fit in?  This would be hard to do without couponing.  Using coupons means you can get name brand toiletries for pennies on the dollar from drugstores, Target, Walmart, etc.  BUT you can still save, just not as much.  Drugstores offer toiletries often with sales like "Buy $10 worth, save $5 on your next order."  Say it's John Frieda shampoo/conditioner and it's priced at $5 each.  You buy 2, spending $10 but getting $5 back, so $2.50 each after sale.  More than Suave but a better product.  Now, this is a brand that has $3 or $2 off coupons often, making it then cheap or free...and sometimes they're available online.  Again, worth check the LRWC site to see the deal.  And also again, this takes looking in the circulars - you don't buy John Freida when you "need" it  - you only buy on sale so you HAVE it already when you DO need it.

*After couponing for over a year now - and nothing like you what you see on tv, just saving some money - I have realized that the easiest thing to save on is in fact toiletries/necessities.  You can amass a great stockpile in a short amount of time, and then you can live off of it without messing with coupons for a long while.

*Some sales are seasonal and that's the time to stock up.  Like BBQ sauce - it'd be nice to have it in your pantry for a winter craving of shredded pork in the crockpot - but summer brings the best sales for that and things like salad dressing.

*And perhaps all of this just boils down to being intentional about how and where you spend your money.  Knowing what you need, knowing where it's cheapest to buy it, saving some for later, and even just plain old going without.

Please ask me a question if you have one - and if I don't know, I'll try and find out!