Saving Money On Food

It's really easy to lament the high cost of groceries and accept that that's the way it's going to be.

Or you can take a look in your pantry and freezer and think a little harder about what you could do to stretch your grocery budget.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Cut back on meat. Make one meal a week meatless. Make a veggie pizza, a quiche, or bean burritos. You can use less meat than a recipe calls for. For example, if a recipe calls for 1 lb of ground beef, try to use 1/2 lb instead. I buy family packs of ground beef when it's on sale, and then I repackage them into 1lb increments and freeze them. If I froze the meat in 3/4 lb packages instead of 1 lb, I would get 2 extra meals out of a family pack. Most of the time, you'd never miss the 1/4 lb of meat. Eating less meat is just plain good for your health, too.

Stock up when there's a good sale. I expect that all corn-based foods will increase in price because of flooding. That will also affect beef prices, too. Watch those prices, because you may find fish and chicken to be less expensive.

Don't be afraid to try cheaper cuts of meat. Many cheaper cuts of meat are great after being marinaded or put in the crock pot.

Eat more beans. They're cheap and loaded with fiber and nutrients. Read The Simple Dollar's take on beans.

Shop at the Bakery Outlets. My area has a Sara Lee Bakery Outlet and I LOVE IT. I frequently get whole grain bread for 75 cents a loaf instead of the insane $3.50 + a loaf at the grocery store. Plus it can be a great place to get hamburger buns, spices, and snacks. My store has discount days and a shopper rewards program. Sure, the stuff is near or just past its prime, but it freezes really well. I've never had any problems.

Rethink convenience. Do you need someone to cut your fruit for you? Let's get real. You can wash your own lettuce and peel your own carrots. And when you do, you'll save some money.

Shop in season and watch the news. Summer is a great time to get watermelon... not such a great time to get oranges. Are there hurricanes in Venuzuela? Then it may not be the best time to get a deal on bananas. Head to your local farmers' market and save money there.

What are some ways you stretch your money at the grocery store?

Super Savings Saturday: Walmart and Target

I'm a little slow in getting this posted, but I did want to brag, ahem... share.

The items in the photo are all things I got for FREE at Target and Walmart this week!

Here are the good deals I got this week at Walmart:

FREE Vlassic Pickle Relish using the coupons here.

FREE Kashi Heart to Heart Cereal after signing up to get the coupons here.

FREE Golden Puffs Cereal. It was a dollar a box and I used the coupon from here.

Ronzoni Smart Taste Pasta (14.5 oz) for 50 cents a box using manufacturer coupons

Here are the deals I got at Target:

FREE Jumbo Pack of Pampers (this was one of the coupons I got from Proctor & Gamble for being a parent of multiples)

FREE 8-ct bottle of Tylenol using a coupon I got here.

FREE travel sized packets of Boudreaux's Butt Paste (terrible name, I know) using the coupon from SmartSource.

Lea & Perrin's Worcestershire Sauce for 39 cents a bottle using a Target coupon and a manufacturer coupon.

Lays Cracker Crisps for 50 cents a bag using a Target coupon and a manufacturer coupon.

A BIG THANKS goes out to The Centsible Sawyer, Money Saving Mom and A Full Cup for helping me get these great deals.

Check Out Grocery Gathering for Savings

BeCentsAble has been developing a great new feature called "The Grocery Gathering."

Grocery Gathering matches sale prices with printable coupons and coupons from the Sunday inserts to help you get the best deals. The site is FREE and has listings for dozens of stores. It's updated every Monday and Thursday. The best part about it is that the site is interactive, so if there's a deal you found, you can easily share it with others. It's slowing turning into a great little money-saving community. Their mission is to be a one-stop shop for grocery savings.

Visit Grocery Gathering this week and tell them what you think and participate on the site for a chance to win a $100 and many other prizes.

Should You Be Stockpiling Food?

With major warehouse clubs like Sam's and Costco rationing the amount of rice customers can buy, many folks are wondering if they should be stockpiling food.

Brett Arends, a columnist for WSJ.com, said on the Fox Business show "Cavuto" that it might make financial sense to stockpile food. He points out that if your money is earning 3 percent in a savings account, but food prices are increasing 5 to 15 percent, it may make more sense to stock up on some of those goods.

He cautioned people not to go "panic buying" but instead do "shrewd buying."

I already do "shrewd buying." I've been stockpiling food and other goods since I first got bitten by the frugality bug 7 years ago (and no, I don't have food that old in my pantry!). I do what author Mary Hunt calls "Reserve Shopping." When I see a great sale on a product I normally would buy, I combine that sale with coupons and stock up on it. This reserve of food, toiletries and other household items, has gotten us through some lean times (as well as a snow storm or two). And it's also saved us a lot of money. We rarely pay full price for any of these things because we buy enough to last us until the next great sale. As Annette and Steve Economides say in "America's Cheapest Family," think of food as a commodity... you want to buy when prices are low. A well-stocked pantry can become a secondary emergency fund of sorts, if you buy wisely.

I'm not worried about running out of food any time soon. I can ride out this "shortage."

The segment on the Cavuto show made me smile. When I first started living frugally, there were people that scoffed at it. Now they want to know how to do it. Interesting.

Super Shopping Savvy

With food and gas prices, soaring, I'm constantly looking for ways to save money. Here are a few shopping tips I've been thinking about lately:

Plan your trip before you go. Make a list and check it against the sale fliers. Visit sites like A Full Cup, Coupon Mom and Hot Coupon World to see what kinds of deals you can get before you go. Be Thrifty Like Us and Money Saving Mom also have great tips for getting deals at the major drugstores.

Don't go hungry. You'll buy more than you need and most of it will be junk.

Don't shop with anyone else. In order to save the most money, you need to be focused on prices, using your coupons, and finding great deals. Other people, even well-meaning ones, can distract you from your money-saving mission.

Shop the perimeters of stores. In grocery stores, the perimeter is where you'll find the healthiest foods. In stores like Target and Walmart, it's where you'll find the clearance items.

Look up and down. The lowest priced items are usually on the top shelves or the bottom shelves. The more expensive items are kept at eye level so that you are more drawn to them.

Look left and right. Many shelves are also organized to have the more expensive items on the left hand side because they grab your attention.

Check the shelf tags to be sure you're really getting a bargain. The Super Target near me often puts up signs on items that say "Price Cut." But if you gently lift the sign up, you will see that the price is exactly the same as it was before the price cut. Make sure a sale is really a sale and not a marketing technique.

Keep an eye out for peelies. Peelies are those little coupons that are stuck on some products. Sometimes the savings make the product worth buying.

Watch your weight. If you're buying produce by the pound, by the smallest amount you can. If you're buying produce by the item, get the largest one you can.

Give your produce a good shake before you check out. Most stores water their produce... and that makes it weigh more.

Look at the scratch and dent items. I recently found two slightly dented boxes of Rice Krispies with Real Strawberries in the scratch and dent section of my Cub Foods for $1.50 each. I had two coupons for $1 off making each box just 50 cents! Combine your coupons with scratch and dent deals to save on all kinds of products.

Gas vs. food? A Disturbing Story

I was disturbed today by a story I saw on Good Morning America this morning.

The story claimed that people were giving up breakfast and lunch to afford putting gas in their cars. Other people were lamenting that they had to give up things like kids' after school activities or going to church because of gas costs.

I can't say I'm all that surprised. The housing debacle illustrates how absolutely insane people's logic is when it comes to personal finances. Let's try some problem solving people!!!

I understand that many people don't have a choice when it comes to driving. I live about 30 miles from the nearest decent-sized town, so we have to drive a car. Every trip to town is costing about $7, and I expect it will be up to $9 by the end of the summer.

But, there are things you can do so that you aren't forced to choose between eating and driving.

First of all, re-evaluate what you drive. Maybe you don't need to drive a giant 4x4 SUV. Maybe something smaller and more fuel efficient would work better for you.

Car pool. Ride with a co-worker. Share a ride with a neighbor. Take the bus. Ride a bike. Walk.

Combine trips. Plan your trips so that you're traveling as little as possible. My parents live next door to us, so whenever one of us is going to town, we either ride together or we pick up things for each other.

Learn to budget! Take a good hard look at where your money is going and you might be surprised. What other things could you trim from your budget? Can you give up a few toys? Scale back your cell phone or cable TV packages? Eat out less? Give up smoking? Give up soda? Use coupons? There are hundreds of little things that you can do that will save you enough money to counteract the increasing fuel costs.

It always amazes me that many people are so quick to cut the important things in their lives rather than to take a good hard look at what stuff is cluttering their lives and destroying their finances. Food and shelter are basic needs that should come before everything else. I cannot relate to people who are willing to give up food to have a flat screen television and then cry because they can't put a tank of gas in their Yukon.

If you have a responsible budget that you stick to, slight increases in prices shouldn't force you to choose between gas and food.

Free Land O' Lakes Butter

Need some butter?

You can try a one-pound package of Land O'Lakes Butter in 8 Half Sticks for FREE, thanks to this rebate form I got from Be Thrifty Like Us.

The offer is good for up to $4.39 and doesn't expire until October 15, 2008.

Land O' Lakes also has free gift-giving labels that are perfect for those tasty treats you baked for friends or family. They even give instructions for how to print them on self-adhesive Avery labels.

Possible cheap lunch and other low-cost goodies

Sometimes you just need a treat for lunch, I know.

Target is offering free Pizza Hut Breadsticks with the purchase of $1 or more from the Target Cafe. You can get the coupon here.

Also a reminder for those of you with babies: the Luvs diaper coupons for Target expire Friday. Using the $2.50 coupon, you can get a family pack for just $12.50 this week. For a size 4, that works out to 16 cents a diaper!

Money Saving Mom has links for FREE bars of Johnson Buddies soap for your little ones. I was able to take advantage of this deal at Walmart yesterday, but I heard it also works at Target.

Money Saving Mom also says that the Post Honey Bunches of Oats Chocolate Clusters coupon has been reset AGAIN! I was able to print out three more coupons. Take them to Walmart and get 20 oz boxes of chocolaty goodness for 24 cents each! I've gotten 11 boxes of this stuff for a grand total of $2.64!!!!

Also at Walmart... use the $3 off Glade Scented Oil Warmer Kit coupon from the March 16 Sunday paper to get one for FREE (plus 53 cents overage!)

Happy shopping!

Tales from the (bargain) hunt

Today was one of those days I needed to get out of the house sans kids. I spent a few hours bargain hunting at K-mart, Target, and the local grocery stores.

I had a boat-load of coupons... saved a total of $48.19 with the coupons alone (not factoring in all the good sale prices).

Here are few of the good deals I snagged while out and about (prices include sales tax):
At Target: 2 packages of Kandoo wipes for 83 cents
2 softsoap pumps for $1.07
Softsoap Body Wash for 58 cents
Nestle Chocolate Chips for 99 cents
Goldfish crackers (6.6 oz package) for 69 cents
At Kmart: 2 fleece winter hats for $1.49 each
2 pairs of heavy winter gloves for $2.99 each
Loreal Kids shampoo for 68 cents
Garnier Fructis shampoo for 74 cents
Speedstick deodorant for 95 cents
Queen size bed sheet set for $5.32
At Ogle's (local grocery store): Two 20-ounce boxes of Raisin Bran for 50 cents each.
At Cub Foods: Six one-pound packages of John Morrell bacon for $6.00 (Thanks for the tip, Teresa!)
3 boxes of Betty Crocker Augratin potatoes for 65 cents each
1 dozen eggs for FREE with purchase of above potatoes.

Things to note: K-mart had GREAT clearance sales on clothing, winter outerwear, shoes, shampoos and conditioners, and all kinds of linens. Lots of stuff for 50 to 70 percent off. And for all you uncomfortable pregnant moms out there, I noticed Kmart had body pillows on clearance for $4.... how I wish I could have found that deal when I was pregnant with the twins! I also found that Target had started a massive clearance on its pet toys, so now's the time to stock up for your pet's next birthday or Christmas.

In all of my shopping today, I only had one annoyance.... The clerk at Target was very meticulous in ringing up my giant pile of coupons (that's fine). The woman behind me in line said her son uses coupons a lot and gets things for free. She was friendly, so I thought she was an ally. But when the clerk stopped to double check something, the woman behind me in line - who only had ONE item, by the way, said to me in a rude tone, "You really should just check out in customer service if you're going to use all those coupons... it slows down the line."

I smiled politely and brushed it off... but I wanted to scream, "YOU have ONE item. Why don't YOU go to the EXPRESS LANE?" I'm proud of myself for not being rude back to her, even though I really wanted to!

Anyway, I survived. And I saved money.

Cereal Coupons galore!

There are a few decent cereal coupons floating around on the internet right now. If you're able to be patient for the great sales, these coupons will make your money stretch even further.

First of all, there's only a little bit of time left to use the $2 off Post Honey Bunches of Oats Chocolate Clusters coupons. The best deal I've seen for these is at Walmart. After the coupon, each box will cost you 24 cents.

Then, there's another great coupon for $1 off Kellogg's Rice Crispies with Real Strawberries. I saw Cub Food has Kellogg's cereals on sale for 4 for $10, which after the coupon would make them $1.50 a box.

You can also get another $1 off Rice Crispies with Real Strawberries coupon and a $1 off Quaker Oats Cinnamon Life Cereal here.

Raisin Bran is also $1 off with a coupon from Smart Source. For my local readers: Combine two of these coupons with the 2 for $3 coupon from Ogle's to get two boxes of Raisin Bran for 50 cents each! (The Ogle's coupon was part of the 8-week refrigerator magnet mailing they sent out about two months ago and there's a limit on two boxes per household.)

And if all this talk about cereal is giving you a headache, go here and get a $2 off any size Excedrin coupon. I was able to use this coupon on 24-count bottles of Excedrin at Target to get them for FREE.

Know of any other fabulous deals? I'd love to hear them!

Mmmm... free animal crackers

Target has done it again!

iMommies found this great tip for getting free animal crackers at Target.

Go here and print the coupon for $1 off any two Nabisco cookies or crackers. Take the coupon to Target and use it to purchase two small boxes of Barnum's Animal Crackers (they cost 50 cents each). Use each coupon to get the two boxes of crackers for free!

The coupon expires March 29. Don't forget the free string cheese deal ends this week.

These deals are a great reminder to pay attention to the sizes listed (or not listed!) on coupons.

(Almost) Free Cereal

I got this tip from Money Saving Mom. Go here and you can print $2 off a 14.5 oz box of Honey Bunches of Oats with Chocolate Clusters. It will let you print the coupon twice.

I took my coupons to Super Walmart today and got each box for only 24 cents!

A few more couponing tips

As promised, I thought I'd write a little bit more on couponing.

The internet is a GREAT resource when it comes to finding coupons. And so far, I have never had any problems with my local stores taking internet coupons. Just be sure you are going to legitimate coupon websites.

First of all, for tips on how to combine grocery coupons with manufacturer coupons, I can't give enough praise to CouponMom. Her service is completely free and she also has a blog with other frequent savings tips. (Like $5 off $15 at TGI Fridays... I wish we had a TGI Fridays...). She also has an e-book you can download for free that will give you lots of how-to advice.

Those coupon inserts in your Sunday paper have their own websites with printable coupons on them... and some of them are even better than the ones in the paper. Check out SmartSource and RedPlum for coupons. I also like Coupons.com for printables.

Sign up for e-mail lists for any and all products you like or may want to try. I recently signed up for Robutussin's e-mail list and got a $2 off coupon for any size cough syrup. Not bad.

If you really want to become a coupon queen (or king), you can check out the chatter on these two websites: Hot Coupon World, and A Full Cup. These two websites have lots of talk in their forums about great coupon deals and even do sales or trades of coupons. They also have great tips on their websites. I especially like A Full Cup because it has a coupon generator and it has cool links for what stuff to buy at Amazon when you are $1 short of the free shipping.

And finally... if you want someone else to do the work for you, check out Coupon Clippers or Coupon Master. They do the clipping for you and charge a small processing and shipping fee. Be sure to do the math to make sure purchasing coupons will save you money. I've used both services to get lots of coupons to stock up on things like toilet paper and detergent.

A few couponing tips

Since I posted the link to the Star Tribune article recently, I've had a few people ask me if I had any tips on using coupons and saving money at the grocery store.

First of all, I try to keep track of grocery prices. Some people keep a written price book, but I don't have time for that. I just try to pay very close attention to what I am paying for items and keep a mental tally. Know your unit prices. Know how much you pay per ounce or per item. This can help you decide if a "Price Shocker" is really a good deal. Sometimes, it's not.

On Sundays, I get two local newspapers and the state edition of the Star Tribune. The Star Tribune by far has the best coupons... but the locals have some ones tucked in unusal places. Look over the entire paper, because you may find a $5 off coupon for Ground Round, or a $13.95 oil change coupon out there. Also look for coupons in magazines, too. I've seen great coupons in American Baby, Parents and Parenting, and Fitness magazines. I clip coupons while I watch tv. It really doesn't take that long. If you really love a product call/write the company and tell them. Sometimes you'll be rewarded for your effort with great coupons.

I have very little brand loyalty. I often will buy the store brand of something if I don't have a coupon that makes the price of a namebrand item comparable.

Because I have so little brand loyalty, I clip any and all coupons I might use. Sometimes, particularly with brand new products, the stores will have a really good sale that when you use a coupon, makes it worth trying the product. Example: I normally buy either Cascade dishwasher detergent with a coupon or a store brand. But because I had clipped some coupons for Electrasol 3-in-1 dishwashing tablets, I was able to get several boxes of them for 41 cents each!

Always try to combine a store coupon with a manufacturer coupon. Target is a great example for this. They have store coupons right on their website. Use a manufacturer coupon with it for even more savings. This is how I was able to get Huggies baby wipes for 14 cents a tub!

Think small. Sometimes the best deals do come in small packages. If a coupon says $1 off one item, find the smallest size, and purchase it with the coupon. You will probably get the item for free or nearly free. (If the coupon doesn't exclude trial sizes, check out that section, too). For example, I got a 2 oz bottle of Purell hand sanitizer for free because I had a coupon that covered the entire cost of the bottle. I also got a 24 count bottle of Tylenol for less than a dollar.

Stock up. When you see a great sale on something, fill your pantry. Many items go on a four to six week sale rotation. If you buy enough during a great sale, you'll have enough to make it to the next great sale.

Stay tuned for more couponing tips soon!

Free Snack

Got the munchies? Freebies4Mom had a great link to get a free FULL SIZE bag of Flat Earth baked crisps. They claim to have a 1/2 serving of fruit or veggies in every serving. (My kind of snack!) Just click on the link and fill out the info and then you can print a coupon. The coupon expires 3/09/08.

Price-gouging on Pears

I know I shouldn't get so ruffled about little things, but it seems like it is the little things that snowball into bigger deals.

So I am ticked off about the price of pears... no... not the price of pears... what I have been CHARGED for pears. Twice now I have purchased pears at TWO different grocery stores. Both times, I specifically bought the pears that were on sale. And both times, I got home, read my receipt, and discovered that I had been charged for a different type (and more expensive pears). Of course, by the time I'm home, it seems ridiculous to try to correct it since to return the merchandise would cost me about $6 in gas.... so I just grit my teeth.

I know, I know. It's not a lot of money. Between the two grocery stores, I've lost about $1. And shame on me for not checking the receipt today when I'd already gotten burned once on it.

But it does make you think, doesn't it? I mean, what ELSE is costing us more than it should?

From now on I guess I should check my receipts more carefully.

Yes, I do like chicken

I had a meeting in town today, so after I was done, I went to one of the local grocery stores to get more fresh fruits and veggies for the babies and to stock up on meat. (It was on sale).

The bagger, noticing the large quantity of chicken I was buying (about 28 pounds worth), said, "You must really like chicken."

And I do... but especially when it's on sale! I spent about $100 at the grocery store today, and saved $53. My freezer is well stocked. Now I just need to make some more baby food.

Big savings today!

Have I mentioned that I love the Coupon Mom? Thanks to two tips from her website, I got two GREAT deals from Target.

Using manufacturer and Target coupons, I got TEN tubs of Huggies diaper wipes for $2.87!!! (they are normally $2.39 per tub).

I also got Campbell's tomato soup and chicken noodle soup for 20 cents a can!!!

Woo hoo!

I also overheard an employee say he expects the remaining Christmas stuff to go on sale 90% off tomorrow. So if you are in the Grand Rapids area, you may want to take a peek. They still have quite a lot of ornaments and wrapping paper left.

Coupon mania

About the time we moved to our new house was when I first read Mary Hunt's "Live Your Life for Half the Price." The biggest piece of information I gathered from that book was about grocery shopping. Hunt suggests stocking your pantry by watching for sale items. Buy enough items to last until the next sale. This way you won't run out of something and be forced to run to the store and pay full price. You can "shop" from your well-stocked pantry.

The trick is to watch the sales and match them with coupons to get the best deal. Of course, stocking your pantry does take a little up-front money, but once you've got a good stash, you can go a long time without going to the store (a real benefit when you live in the northwoods like me!)

There is a GREAT website called Couponmom.com. You have to register, but it's totally free. Once you're registered you can see what coupons to use at what stores to get the best deal. Stephanie Nelson has bargain information for stores like Target, Wal-Mart, and Walgreens, as well as grocery stores all over the country. Her mission is to help you save money, and hopefully, you will use your new bargain hunting skills to help cut out hunger by donating some of those finds to your local charity.

Bottom line: With a little research, you can find ways to get items for free or next to free.