GRACE CAN'T BELIEVE THE MONEY HER MOMMY SAVED ON GROCERIES!Chatters,
Good Morning! I know we are all experiencing the "squeeze" at the store and the pump. I wanted to share what I have found after over a decade of shopping and trying to find the best deals. Hopefully, it will help.
- Always check the unit price. This is the price per unit and can be found in smaller print on the grocery store tag. This is the quickest and easiest way of finding out if you a really getting a good deal because it will tell you how much you are paying per unit,(ie. pound, ounce, packet etc). This by far has been one of the most useful tools for me and has saved me lots of money.
- Shop Generics: Being raised in the Cain House this should be no surprise. My unofficial internal statistics monitoring device states that 95% of the time Generics cost less, even if you have a coupon for a name brand. Most often you can tell very little difference between the name brand and the generic.
- Shop the bottom and the top of the shelves. Brands pay extra money to the store to have their items placed at eye level. Less expensive brands are placed at the top and bottom.
- Great buys can be found at KMart, Target, CVS, Rite Aid etc. I'm speaking mostly of pantry items like chips, cereal, crackers, and canned goods. For example, Target brand popcorn for .88 a box with 10 packets. Target brand fruit loops 16.0z for 1.88, CVS last week had Pringles on sale for .88 a can. These prices were better than the Generic Prices at our local grocery store. Look at the ads in the Sunday paper.
- Shop your local bread outlet. Natures Own Wheat Bread. Walmart- 2.77, Bread Outlet Price .75 a loaf. 'nuff said. (PS. You can put bread in your freezer. I usually buy a months supply at a time.
- Look at other cuts of meat or have a few nights a week as "meatless". I don't know about you guys but meat is expensive! Boneless, skinless chk. breast is the most expensive if you're looking at chicken. Save $$$ and get the skin on kind and take it off your self, or try the bone-in kind. Actually keeping the bone in retains a lot of moisture during the cooking process so it's much more tender than boneless. Great for Crock pots and grilling. Go to a higher-fat ratio in your ground beef. Cook and drain excess fat. It's and extra step but it could save you .50 or more per lb. Or, my personal favorite... Mix equal portions of ground beef and ground turkey (usually cheaper then beef).
And the last meat tip... use meat as an ingredient in you're meal instead of the main course. This is called a meat extender and allows for more servings with less meat. A meat extender would be pasta, veggies etc. think casseroles. - Sam' and BJ's aren't always cheaper!!! Beware here fellow shoppers! I have found very few instances where buying in bulk is cheaper. More often than not it's about the same price you'd buy at the store. Again here is where shopping by unit price is a BIG saver! So unless you really need lots of a particular item (ie diapers) your probably better off at the store. Plus warehouse stores tend to offer fewer brands and less choices.
- Real butter and Cheese Freeze. When it's on sale stock up and put in your freezer. For the butter just wrap the sticks in foil.
- Don't pay extra money for the microwave "steam" in bag frozen veggies. This is a big rip off! You can do the same process with a regular bag of frozen veggies. Take your MUCH CHEAPER bag of regular veggies and a sharp knife. Punch lots of holes in the top. Place bagged veggies on plate and nuke for 6-8 min. Drain water, serve. We do this at lest 3 times a week so it works. In fact, anything that's convience bagged lettuce, grape tomatoes, individual servings of cakes or brownies are always more expensive.
- Beware of Coupons: I'm thinking back in the 70's and maybe 80's coupons were a great way to save. In fact every thrifty-frugal-save money website or family circle article I've ever read says to use coupons. We'll here is my assessment after trying to use coupons for many years. A: Hardly ever coupons for stuff I buy, lots of processed foods or expensive brands. B: Stores say they double coupons for up to a certain face value but ,strangely, coupons are a few cents over the double limit of your local stores. C:Even with the coupon buying the store brand is usually still cheaper. So, unless you have the time to be super coupon organized and can join one of those coupon trading circles I don't think coupons are one of the top ways to save money. I've saved more money by being a wise shopper and knowing how much stuff really costs.
- Cooking at home still the cheapest way to go!
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