Grocery Store Savings

Hello! My name is Marcy and I am the author of a blog called “Stretching a Buck”. I write about coupon and sale match ups at several stores, general money saving tips, and any other deals that catch my eye.

I have not always been a coupon clipping, menu planner, but what I have learned over the last couple of years has saved my family hundreds of dollars, reduced my stress level when it comes to feeding my family, and has allowed us to afford “extras” that we might not have been able to afford otherwise.

Ellie has asked me to share a few tips that I have learned when it comes to menu planning and couponing, and that just happens to be one of my favorite topics of discussion these days! It is my hope that you will learn a few things that will help you and your families save money, while still enjoying many of the things that you already enjoy. During this frugal journey of mine, I have been pleasantly surprised to find that I have not had to change *what* I buy so much as *how* I buy it. And I have proved time and again that it is also possible to eat healthy food on a budget!

There are many ways that you can learn to cut back on your expenses, but one of my favorite is weekly menu planning. It is amazing how much time and money you can save.  There are two schools of thought when it comes to menu planning. The first is the stockpiling method where you purchase items in bulk when they are one sale (with coupons). You then plan your weekly menus around what is in your pantry, purchasing just a few additional items at the store for the week to round out your menu. This method typically requires that you shop around for the best deals.  The second method is to plan you meals around what is on sale in a given week. You do your best to match up your coupons with current sales, and buy only what you need for the given week. (This is what I did for the $50 Challenge on First at 4).  While I tend to fall more in the “stockpiling” school of thought, it really is a personal preference as to which method you choose to use. Your lifestyle, time and personality all factor into which of these methods will work best for you. Participating in the First at 4 $50 Challenge proved to me that both methods work!

Having a plan will help curb impulse buys, reduce the number of times that you are “forced” to eat out, and can even help reduce the amount of food you are wasting. Involve your kids and make it fun! Your plan doesn’t have to be fancy or elaborate. So how do I do it? I sit down every weekend and review my weekly sales ads. I tend to highlight the items that I feel are on sale for a good price, I double check my coupons to see which sale items I can match coupons with, and I start to formulate my menu plan for the week. My pantry and freezer are typically stocked up with my most recent finds, so I always start there when planning my weekly menu.

In order to ensure variety in our diet, I always try to plan 2 days of a beef dish, 2-3 days of a poultry dish (usually chicken and pork), 1 day of a no meat dish, and 1 day for leftovers or eating out (usually Pizza!). These guidelines really help me on weeks when I am having a hard time coming up with new dishes to try! This is what works for me, but it is important that you come up with your own set of guidelines based on how and what your family likes to eat.

If sitting down every week to plan your menus does not fit into your schedule, another way to do it is to set aside some time one day out of the month to plan your menus for the entire month. This will work best if you are a “stockpiler”, but again, some planning is better than no planning if you are looking to slash (or stick to) your grocery budget.

If the thought of menu planning, going through the sale ads, and matching up coupons sounds intimidating to you, you are in luck! There are numerous bloggers such as myself who work to save you time by posting the sale and coupon match ups for you. You can find a list of some of my favorites on my blog.

Thanks so much to Ellie and NBC 4 for the opportunity to participate in the $50 Challenge. I know that I learned from it, and I hope that it helped you out too!

http://www.stretchingabuckblog.com

Great advice Marcy.  Menu planning is an easy way to start saving money.

i also started planning out my meals monthly a few months ago.  it has definitely saved time money and stress.  we are ‘stockpilers’ with a huge pantry and 2nd freezer and fridge in the garage, so it works out so well.  the great thing about planning monthly, is that there is room for fexibility.  my husband has a crazy schedule so i never know when he’s going to call and say he has a dinner meeting or surprises us with wanting to go out.  this way, i can shuffle meals around and still be ready for the next day.
i think everyone should try it out at least once.

I HATE coupons, but your story just shocked me and I may start using them. $50 for a week’s worth of food????  I just went shopping on my day off and managed to blow $97 for one person. The food and other items I purchased will probably last me 10 days but that doesn’t compare to $50 for a whole family. I thought I was saving a lot of money by making my lunch every day, but I just learned I haven’t even scratched the surface.

I’m a stockpiler- I make the best of the store’s “loss leaders” each week, combine those sales with coupons and I get rainchecks if they are out of stock.  While my husband sometimes gets frustrated (as in, “We don’t need any more peanut butter!!!“), he does appreciate that we are able to stretch our money on groceries and use it for other things (like paying down our mortgage or saving for retirement or our emergency fund).

I include purchases for food, health&beauty;, diapers& wipes, pet supplies, medication/vitamins, in my grocery budget so I’m not quite sure how much of what I spend is actually food. I suppose when I go to Meijer I could have them do a separate receipt for each category of items I buy, but sometimes that is too much hassle. I do know that I get lots of freebies with coupons and lots of great deals!

This week, I got free first aid kits, free mouthwash, free shampoo and conditioner, free body wash, and free hershey’s chocolate!

Thank you! I now know that I am not the only crazy coupon clipping mom out there. I spend at least 2 hours every week organizing my coupons and matching them with ads.  I also meal-plan according to what I have stock-piled and what’s on sale.  It’s become a challenge for me every week to see how much money I can save at the grocery store.  It’s like an adrenaline rush.  I have converted several moms to coupon clippers.  It makes me feel good that I too can help people save money.  Happy coupon clipping!!

This is truly a great read for me!! I love the quality information and news your blog provides smile I have you bookmarked to show this to my brother!
Thanks,

http://amansworldco.com/wordpress/

I love to clip coupons for my grocery shopping weekly. There are some great websites out there to help too, as so many of us are pressed for time! I found a great coupon site locally called groceryadvantage that has a wonderful system of coupon clipping. It is definately worth a try if you are serious about saving $$$‘s and time!

Some grocery stores and pharmacies will accept other stores’ coupons. Many drugstore chains like Walgreens, Eckerd, and Rite Aid have their own store coupons in their weekly advertising circular. You will not have to make an extra trip to the drugstore in order to save on a few of their deals if your own grocery store will match the drugstore’s coupon price. Drugstores frequently offer attractive coupons for health and personal care items, so it can be worth the time to check their circulars and see if your regular grocery store will honor their price. If not, it may be worth making a trip to a nearby drugstore to save the most money on those items.
My blog: http://viphole.com/blog/