A frugal Saturday post
Since I didn't post anything on frugality yesterday, I decided to do so today after Jeana inspired me with her very simple and helpful article on saving money on groceries. For those of you who would like to save more in this area and aren't sure where to start, she shared a lot of easy-to-understand information.
As I always advise people: If you've never used coupons and shopped store sales before, start simply. Don't try to buy five newspapers each week and go to ten different stores. Set reachable goals. If you normally spend $150 on groceries, aim to spend only $130 per week and accomplish this by learning to shop the store sales and plan your menus around the sales. Little by little, as you become more proficient at it, you can add a new store, start using more coupons, start doing rebates, and so on and so forth. Before you know it, you will be a coupon queen, too, and all your friends will be asking how on earth you get so much stuff for free or pennies each!
However, do not start off by biting off more than you can chew. That's a sure recipe for giving up from the get-go. Like Jeana says, it takes time - time to learn the ropes, time to find the best websites for deals in your area, time to learn each store's policies, and so forth. Not to mention the time that you will spend clipping coupons, planning your menu, and strategizing the best way to combine your coupons and store sales to feed your family for the least amount of money.
But, as you will very likely find out, the time you put into it will be well worth it once you start seeing the savings. I love to calculate how much I am saving per hour - a savings of $50-$100/hour is not a bad wage in my opinion! Especially since a penny saved is more than a penny earned since it's tax free money!
For more in-depth information, I encourage you to get a copy of my ebook, Secrets to Supermarket Savings.
Other recommended books:
Miserly Moms (this book was my motivation and inspiration when I first got married.)
Shop, Save, Share
And my favorite websites for finding deals:
CVS Deals
Walgreens Deals
Walgreens, Target, Walmart, CVS, Ace Hardware, Rite-Aid and more
Kroger (Dillons) and other local store deals for Kansas
Other websites/links which are also useful:
MiserlyMoms
CouponMom
TheGroceryGame
Deals for each state (some of the forums are active, others are not)
I know there are many other sites out there, those are just some of my favorites. What are your favorite websites or books with helpful information for saving money on groceries?
As I always advise people: If you've never used coupons and shopped store sales before, start simply. Don't try to buy five newspapers each week and go to ten different stores. Set reachable goals. If you normally spend $150 on groceries, aim to spend only $130 per week and accomplish this by learning to shop the store sales and plan your menus around the sales. Little by little, as you become more proficient at it, you can add a new store, start using more coupons, start doing rebates, and so on and so forth. Before you know it, you will be a coupon queen, too, and all your friends will be asking how on earth you get so much stuff for free or pennies each!
However, do not start off by biting off more than you can chew. That's a sure recipe for giving up from the get-go. Like Jeana says, it takes time - time to learn the ropes, time to find the best websites for deals in your area, time to learn each store's policies, and so forth. Not to mention the time that you will spend clipping coupons, planning your menu, and strategizing the best way to combine your coupons and store sales to feed your family for the least amount of money.
But, as you will very likely find out, the time you put into it will be well worth it once you start seeing the savings. I love to calculate how much I am saving per hour - a savings of $50-$100/hour is not a bad wage in my opinion! Especially since a penny saved is more than a penny earned since it's tax free money!
For more in-depth information, I encourage you to get a copy of my ebook, Secrets to Supermarket Savings.
Other recommended books:
Miserly Moms (this book was my motivation and inspiration when I first got married.)
Shop, Save, Share
And my favorite websites for finding deals:
CVS Deals
Walgreens Deals
Walgreens, Target, Walmart, CVS, Ace Hardware, Rite-Aid and more
Kroger (Dillons) and other local store deals for Kansas
Other websites/links which are also useful:
MiserlyMoms
CouponMom
TheGroceryGame
Deals for each state (some of the forums are active, others are not)
I know there are many other sites out there, those are just some of my favorites. What are your favorite websites or books with helpful information for saving money on groceries?
posted by Crystal Paine at 5:23 PM
10 Comments:
Thanks for the compliment! I'm glad you posted those links; I knew I had seen some of them here before but I couldn't find them when I was writing that.
Dear Crystal, I just came back from a two-week holiday and want to congratulate you on your precious second daughter. She is beautiful! I'll pray for your family and especially for your quick recovery.
Love, Jeannine
Hi Crystal,
Here is a great site that lists Grocery and Drug Store deals by state and even includes which coupons to match up with the sales for HUGE savings. It is free, but you must register to view the deals. Also, not all grocery stores are listed.
Hi Crystal :)
How do I use the families.com forum link you posted? I wasn't sure if I have to create a log on identity or if I could just read the threads posted. How do YOU use this website? Are the deals listed specific to a state? Do you personally pay to subscribe to the Grocery game website? If so, do you feel it's worth it (in savings)? Where do I start? I kept hearing so much about the Walgreens/CVS rebates that I got started on that last month - although I am only getting $15 (+10%) for a rebate. I guess it's a start. :) So, when you clip coupons, do you clip EVERYTHING and then if you find a deal, you buy it? Do you not care about brands - do you just buy the good deals and not care which toothpaste, shampoo, feminine products you buy? I'd love some info! :)
Crystal - I don't know how you do it! Congrats on the baby. I've been enjoying your site and blog for about a month now and wanted to give you kudos.
Grace and peace,
Kim
You've been blog tipped!
http://4fabmoms.blogspot.com/2007/07/blogtipping.html
I have tried those sites in the past, but now only use groceryguide.com. It is free and without all of the annoying ads.
Your comments are very appreciated! It is overwhelming to try to take on multiple coupon booklets and match them to the sales. I learned the hard way that with coupons you buy things you don't need or use and end up spending more money in the long run. The way to maximize the money saved is to match a coupon to an item that is a great sale item. Groceryguide.com does this for me and I use it regularly to plan menus and do my shopping. I started with groceryguide.com using the search feature where you can search an item at your favorite stores to find the best buy. That is a good way to start saving money without being overwhelmed.
I also like www.livingonadime.com
She has some great stuff!
Dear Crystal,
Thank you so much for this post! You amaze me with how prolific your writing is, esp. being a mommy to two beautiful little girls! Congrats on your precious new baby girl!
This post was so timely for me. I have been very convicted about my spending habits at the grocery store and Walmart, and that I could do a much better job at managing our money. My husband earns a good living as an Army helicopter pilot, and we are comfortable. Not wealthy, but comfortable. However, he is seriously considering leaving the military. He is on his second tour to Iraq and it breaks his heart to be away from our two year old daughter. He most likely will take an initial pay cut when and if he gets out, so I need to get used to managing our home on less to insure that I am able to continue to be a stay at home mom. . . which has been a blessing to our family. LOL . . . plus, it has taken me two years to get "good" at it and I don't want to stop anytime soon. Even if he does stay in, I still need to do a better job with our food budget.
So thank you so much for taking the time to put this together. I'm sure there are many, many ladies who read your blog and can use help in the area of budgeting for food.
Laura's Couponing and refunding hints and tips
http://laurawilliamsmusings.blogspot.com/2007/07/lauras-couponing-and-refunding-hints.html
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