Keeping That Grocery Budget Down
When you have a larger than average family and a smaller than average grocery budget it can be a challenge to keep your family in food, toiletries, and household products. My current budget is $120 a week for a family of 6, and this includes food, toiletries, and household products, but also keeps in mind certain preferences. If hubby's the one who work so hard to provide the least I can do is keep him in his favorite cookies and beverages when he requests them.
I have a lot of tips for eating on the cheap (and healthy, too) and keeping the toiletry and household product spending low, but for this blog post, I'm going to share the easiest and least lifestyle-changing tips. And these tips are for those in the Continental USA.
1. Join Krazy Koupon Lady! You can find her at www.krazycouponlady.com or download her app. Serioulsy, this is where I find my greatest deals matching coupons and rebates. I get stuff for free. I even get paid to buy things! Today, I got razors for just a few cents. I got paid to buy gluten-free crackers! Last week I got two packages of top brand feminine products for free!
2. Clip Coupons. You can typically find coupons in your Sunday paper, but you can also find coupons at various websites. Krazy Coupon Lady tells you in her posts where to find printables. There are also coupon apps like Savings Star and Coupons.com you can download.
***As a side note, there are health-food coupons and rebate apps you can download, too.
3. REBATE APPS! Seriously, this is where the rubber meets the road with savings. I'll list them below:
FETCH: Fetch is probably the easiest app to use. All you have to do is download it, sign up, and start scanning your receipts. You earn points you can redeem for gift cards and such. To join Fetch, download it onto your smartphone. To download it and automatically get 2,000 points to start, go to www.fetchrewards.com and enter referral code: A9BTP
IBOTTA: Ibotta is my favorite rebate app. It is easy to use and has so many great products even a stickler like me uses. Plus, pairing it with Krazy Coupon Lady and coupons this is where I hit up my biggest savings. I have $144.25 in my Ibotta account right now! I'm saving all my rebates for Christmas spending. You can also click through Ibotta to shop online and earn percentages back. I just bought something on ebay through Ibotta and got 1.5% back! To sign up and get a $10 bonus go to https://ibotta.com/r/elhjevd
CHECKOUT 51: This is another rebate app similar to Ibotta. You choose your rebates, make your purchases, scan your receipts, and rack up the savings!
SHOPKICK: This app is kind of like a game. If you shop with children it can be fun to include them. Basically, the app lists products to scan. You scan the products and earn points to be redeemed for gift cards. If you purchase those products you get even more points. This is great if the products are matched with coupons, sales or other rebate apps - more bang for your buck. You also earn points just for walking into stores. To join go to https://getsk.co/win999787
4. Store Loyalty: Sure those cards can be a pain to carry around, but so many stores offer loyalty through the convenience of the smart phone. While grocery stores differ from place to place, other box stores are all across the USA such as:
WALMART: download the Walmart app and after shopping scan the QR code at the bottom of the receipt into the Savings Catcher in the app. Walmart will automatically look for lower prices offered through their competitors in the area and give you the difference. Also, Walmart.com often has lower prices on certain items than the in-store prices. You can order online and have it shipped to the store for free.
TARGET: Download the Target App into your smartphone and join cartwheel. Cartwheel can save you so much money! Combine it with coupons and rebate apps for some big savings. Plus, Target stores price match their lower website prices right there in store. I've gotten lipstick for pennies by showing the cashier the lower online price and combining with a coupon and cartwheel. Also, if you sign up for the Target debit card you get 5% off every purchase.
WALGREENS: Krazy Coupon Lady finds a LOT of great deals at Walgreens (and CVS and Riteaid). These stores require signing up for their loyalty programs to get the big deals, but it can certainly be worth it!
5. Shop Sales and plan your menu around the sales.
6. Buy products that do double or triple duty. For example, many grocery stores offer rotisserie chickens...already cooked and ready to go for LESS than buying a whole uncooked chicken. Eat the chicken on day 1. Then, boil down the carcass and pick off the leftover meat to make good bone broth. Turn that into chicken, biscuits, and gravy for another meals. That makes a lot of gravy when that meal is done, add some water and stew vegetables and make chicken soup or stew for yet another meal.
Think of how foods can do double duty. Think of how you can use leftovers. I even save the water out of tuna and salmon cans to make chowder later on.
7. Most Americans eat too much, anyway. You can save money by reducing your food intake to a more reasonable level. I don't even use a dinner plate. I use the dessert plate at mealtimes. Snacks should be kept to a minimum.
8. You don't need fancy meals all the time. Nor are convenience foods that much faster to cook. Learn to cook from scratch. Learn good old fashioned simple meals like chili and corn bread, biscuits and gravy, stroganoff, etc. I can make homemade macaroni and cheese almost as fast as the boxed junk. Eggs go far for many meals. Oatmeal is a more than adequate breakfast fare.
9. Learn when food is really bad. You don't have to throw away milk just because it tastes sour. Use it for pancakes or baked goods. Got a little mold a cheese? Scrape the mold off and use the cheese to make a quiche or homemade mac and cheese. A bruise or rotten bit on fruit? Just cut around it and use the fruit in oatmeal.
10. You can make your own yogurt easily in the crockpot. You can find the recipe here:
http://beyondgranola.blogspot.com/2012/02/make-your-own-yogurt-greek-yogurt-and.html
11. Look for clearance, day old, dent and scratch, cheese ends, or other discounted products. Many times products near their expiration date are marked down. Remember, expiration date is just a suggestion, a guideline. Food doesn't automatically go bad just because it hit that magical number.
12. Bulk doesn't always equal savings. Keep and eye on the price to weight or price to volume ratio.
13. Get your family used to drinking water.
14. Bread and butter is a decent snack. Your kids don't need fancy packaged snack junk foods.
15. Keep treats as treats. We aren't meant to have ice cream and chips every single week. They are party foods, celebratory foods.
16. If your faith has feast days, fast days, and ordinary days, keep it as such. Feast days are great for pulling out the stops. Fast days should be treated as such. For example, if you are Catholic and have to go meatless on Fridays, then don't spend even more money on meatless meals. Keep it simple. Pancakes are fine!! Ordinary days should be basic, healthful meals. Protein, carb, and fruit or vegetable side is enough.
17. If you buy free range or organic or vegetarian fed or cage free eggs, just stop right now. You're blowing your money on eggs that aren't much better than the cheap ones. They are still factory birds and chickens are omnivores, not vegetarians. And vegetarian fed means they get corn and soy. Instead, find locals who sell eggs. Around where I live, backyard chickens are treated like pets, often get to free-range, and are the healthiest birds and their eggs are about $2.50 per dozen.
18. If you live near farm country ask around for deals. Perhaps an orchard will let you pick up apples on the ground. Or maybe they have seconds they'll sell for cheap. I used to be able to get 50 lbs of smaller red potatoes for $10!!
19. Alternative meats may be an option. Organ meats tend to be cheaper. If you are making meatloaf, substitute a portion with ground liver. Heart is amazing! It is cheap, tastes great, and doesn't have the weird texture that tongue or liver does. Know a hunter? Shop their freezers!
20. Use washables where you can. Cloths instead of paper towels. Washable diapers and wipes instead of disposable. Cloth maxi pads or menstrual cups like Diva are great for saving $.
Hopefully, these tips help you!
I have a lot of tips for eating on the cheap (and healthy, too) and keeping the toiletry and household product spending low, but for this blog post, I'm going to share the easiest and least lifestyle-changing tips. And these tips are for those in the Continental USA.
1. Join Krazy Koupon Lady! You can find her at www.krazycouponlady.com or download her app. Serioulsy, this is where I find my greatest deals matching coupons and rebates. I get stuff for free. I even get paid to buy things! Today, I got razors for just a few cents. I got paid to buy gluten-free crackers! Last week I got two packages of top brand feminine products for free!
2. Clip Coupons. You can typically find coupons in your Sunday paper, but you can also find coupons at various websites. Krazy Coupon Lady tells you in her posts where to find printables. There are also coupon apps like Savings Star and Coupons.com you can download.
***As a side note, there are health-food coupons and rebate apps you can download, too.
3. REBATE APPS! Seriously, this is where the rubber meets the road with savings. I'll list them below:
FETCH: Fetch is probably the easiest app to use. All you have to do is download it, sign up, and start scanning your receipts. You earn points you can redeem for gift cards and such. To join Fetch, download it onto your smartphone. To download it and automatically get 2,000 points to start, go to www.fetchrewards.com and enter referral code: A9BTP
IBOTTA: Ibotta is my favorite rebate app. It is easy to use and has so many great products even a stickler like me uses. Plus, pairing it with Krazy Coupon Lady and coupons this is where I hit up my biggest savings. I have $144.25 in my Ibotta account right now! I'm saving all my rebates for Christmas spending. You can also click through Ibotta to shop online and earn percentages back. I just bought something on ebay through Ibotta and got 1.5% back! To sign up and get a $10 bonus go to https://ibotta.com/r/elhjevd
CHECKOUT 51: This is another rebate app similar to Ibotta. You choose your rebates, make your purchases, scan your receipts, and rack up the savings!
SHOPKICK: This app is kind of like a game. If you shop with children it can be fun to include them. Basically, the app lists products to scan. You scan the products and earn points to be redeemed for gift cards. If you purchase those products you get even more points. This is great if the products are matched with coupons, sales or other rebate apps - more bang for your buck. You also earn points just for walking into stores. To join go to https://getsk.co/win999787
4. Store Loyalty: Sure those cards can be a pain to carry around, but so many stores offer loyalty through the convenience of the smart phone. While grocery stores differ from place to place, other box stores are all across the USA such as:
WALMART: download the Walmart app and after shopping scan the QR code at the bottom of the receipt into the Savings Catcher in the app. Walmart will automatically look for lower prices offered through their competitors in the area and give you the difference. Also, Walmart.com often has lower prices on certain items than the in-store prices. You can order online and have it shipped to the store for free.
TARGET: Download the Target App into your smartphone and join cartwheel. Cartwheel can save you so much money! Combine it with coupons and rebate apps for some big savings. Plus, Target stores price match their lower website prices right there in store. I've gotten lipstick for pennies by showing the cashier the lower online price and combining with a coupon and cartwheel. Also, if you sign up for the Target debit card you get 5% off every purchase.
WALGREENS: Krazy Coupon Lady finds a LOT of great deals at Walgreens (and CVS and Riteaid). These stores require signing up for their loyalty programs to get the big deals, but it can certainly be worth it!
5. Shop Sales and plan your menu around the sales.
6. Buy products that do double or triple duty. For example, many grocery stores offer rotisserie chickens...already cooked and ready to go for LESS than buying a whole uncooked chicken. Eat the chicken on day 1. Then, boil down the carcass and pick off the leftover meat to make good bone broth. Turn that into chicken, biscuits, and gravy for another meals. That makes a lot of gravy when that meal is done, add some water and stew vegetables and make chicken soup or stew for yet another meal.
Think of how foods can do double duty. Think of how you can use leftovers. I even save the water out of tuna and salmon cans to make chowder later on.
7. Most Americans eat too much, anyway. You can save money by reducing your food intake to a more reasonable level. I don't even use a dinner plate. I use the dessert plate at mealtimes. Snacks should be kept to a minimum.
8. You don't need fancy meals all the time. Nor are convenience foods that much faster to cook. Learn to cook from scratch. Learn good old fashioned simple meals like chili and corn bread, biscuits and gravy, stroganoff, etc. I can make homemade macaroni and cheese almost as fast as the boxed junk. Eggs go far for many meals. Oatmeal is a more than adequate breakfast fare.
9. Learn when food is really bad. You don't have to throw away milk just because it tastes sour. Use it for pancakes or baked goods. Got a little mold a cheese? Scrape the mold off and use the cheese to make a quiche or homemade mac and cheese. A bruise or rotten bit on fruit? Just cut around it and use the fruit in oatmeal.
10. You can make your own yogurt easily in the crockpot. You can find the recipe here:
http://beyondgranola.blogspot.com/2012/02/make-your-own-yogurt-greek-yogurt-and.html
11. Look for clearance, day old, dent and scratch, cheese ends, or other discounted products. Many times products near their expiration date are marked down. Remember, expiration date is just a suggestion, a guideline. Food doesn't automatically go bad just because it hit that magical number.
12. Bulk doesn't always equal savings. Keep and eye on the price to weight or price to volume ratio.
13. Get your family used to drinking water.
14. Bread and butter is a decent snack. Your kids don't need fancy packaged snack junk foods.
15. Keep treats as treats. We aren't meant to have ice cream and chips every single week. They are party foods, celebratory foods.
16. If your faith has feast days, fast days, and ordinary days, keep it as such. Feast days are great for pulling out the stops. Fast days should be treated as such. For example, if you are Catholic and have to go meatless on Fridays, then don't spend even more money on meatless meals. Keep it simple. Pancakes are fine!! Ordinary days should be basic, healthful meals. Protein, carb, and fruit or vegetable side is enough.
17. If you buy free range or organic or vegetarian fed or cage free eggs, just stop right now. You're blowing your money on eggs that aren't much better than the cheap ones. They are still factory birds and chickens are omnivores, not vegetarians. And vegetarian fed means they get corn and soy. Instead, find locals who sell eggs. Around where I live, backyard chickens are treated like pets, often get to free-range, and are the healthiest birds and their eggs are about $2.50 per dozen.
18. If you live near farm country ask around for deals. Perhaps an orchard will let you pick up apples on the ground. Or maybe they have seconds they'll sell for cheap. I used to be able to get 50 lbs of smaller red potatoes for $10!!
19. Alternative meats may be an option. Organ meats tend to be cheaper. If you are making meatloaf, substitute a portion with ground liver. Heart is amazing! It is cheap, tastes great, and doesn't have the weird texture that tongue or liver does. Know a hunter? Shop their freezers!
20. Use washables where you can. Cloths instead of paper towels. Washable diapers and wipes instead of disposable. Cloth maxi pads or menstrual cups like Diva are great for saving $.
Hopefully, these tips help you!
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