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When Grocery Coupons Won't Work
by Gary Foreman
Question: I am frustrated! I always read about people who have many
options in saving money. My husband and I have 3 children plus child
support for his two. I work part time at various jobs. Our combined net
income is $2500 per month after his child support. I am currently
working on a degree in secondary education with two years left. We do
not live in a town that offers double coupons or co-ops for food. There
are only 2 grocery stores. The price of gas lately doesn't even make it
efficient for us to go to Costco 180 miles away. Please offer some
insight for people who have situations similar to this. ~ Kay
Answer: Kay has a point. Not everyone has the same tools available to
them. So lets see if we can't find some ways to reduce grocery bills for
folks who don't live in the big city.
We'll begin with an obvious tool that many of us overlook in our busy
lives. Don't waste the food that you buy. Timothy Jones at the
University of Arizona estimates that 14% of all the food we buy is
wasted or about $590 per year per family. Two tools will help you to
avoid food waste. First, don't buy perishables that aren't in your menu
plan. Second, have a plan for your leftovers. Don't let them spoil in
the refrigerator.
Many families have gotten in the habit of freezing meal-sized portions
of their leftovers immediately after a meal. Each portion is marked and
dated so it's easy for snackers to find what they want. Some even go so
far as to keep a running inventory posted on the freezer door listing
what's inside. That's especially useful for busy families where not
everyone gets to eat at the same time.
Avoid buying prepared and individually packaged foods. That means
everything from microwave dinners to prepackaged potato chips and
individually wrapped cheese slices. There are exceptions, but typically
you pay for convenience. Quite a lot, in fact. Sure it's nice to have
those little carrots already sliced. But compare prices to the
unprocessed carrots and you'll see just how much it's costing you.
Food preparation doesn't need to be a burden. Your kids can help. Even
young ones can learn simple tasks. Not only will you be spending quality
time together, you'll be teaching them money saving skills.
The third technique is to shop like a professional buyer. A pro always
wants to know when and where they last bought an item and how much they
paid for it. You can do the same thing by creating something called a
pricebook.
This simple tool can cut your bills by 10% or more. Most families have
between 10 and 20 recipes that they make regularly. And, those recipes
contain 40 or so different ingredients. So you end up buying the same
things over and over. You'll also find that a large portion of your
grocery bill is spent on less than one third of the items that you buy.
A pricebook helps you keep track of those items. You can buy a pricebook
(search online) or make your own. All you need is a loose-leaf or spiral
notebook of any size. Each item has it's own page. Keep track of info on
those frequently bought, expensive items. List the date, price, package
size and which store you were shopping at. That way when you're shopping
it's easy to identify the real bargains. Stock up when you find a
particularly good sale of one of your regularly purchased items. After
awhile you'll have a well-stocked pantry and the only items that you
'must buy' will be the perishables. The savings can be significant.
Next, learn more about what you buy. Don't buy low fat, low carb,
all-natural or any other specialty foods without reading the whole label
first. It's all too common for the expensive version to be the same as
the regular product, but at a higher price. Only thing low-cal is the
label.
Eat healthy. Make use of in season fruits and vegetables. Reduce the
amount of meat in your diet. Not only will you lower your grocery bill,
you'll probably also reduce your doctor bills.
Finally, don't buy a lot of different cleaning supplies at the grocery
store. You can make all the cleansers you need for your home from a few
simple, inexpensive ingredients. You do need to watch which chemicals
you put together, but there's no need to buy expensive name brand
cleansers. You can find all kinds of cleaning recipes on the web or at
your library.
Kay is right. It is easier to save money on groceries when they double
coupons, you have a choice of grocery stores and a warehouse club is
just down the road. But, even without those tools it is possible to keep
your food bills to a minimum without sacrificing your diet.
About the author
Gary Foreman is a former purchasing manager who currently edits
TheDollarStretcher.com website. If you'd like to "live better, for
less" visit today!
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