Take Thrifty Grocery Shopping To A New Savings Level
Thrifty grocery shopping can be done many different ways. We probably all know how to go grocery shopping, but to be a thrifty food shopper takes a little bit of planning.
One way is to use The Coupon Method.
The Grocery Game is an inexpensive way to get the most out of coupons.
The author of The Grocery Game, Teri Gault, was recently on a television show and her helpful tip was to build up your household supplies by purchasing them at a discount. Then when you need products, go to your own storage, your own supplies. Overall you will pay less by building your own inventory of non-perishable products.
The List Method
Another method of thrifty grocery shopping is to make a list prior to stepping into a store.
First make a list of every dinner you plan to prepare for the coming week. Next beginning with the first meal on that list, and make a grocery list of any ingredients you need to prepare that meal. Of course this means checking to make sure you don't already have whatever ingredient is in the meal before adding it to the grocery list. Once you have the list of ingredients for that first meal, move on to the next meal and do the same thing again.
Once you have completed a grocery list of all the ingredients you need for 5-6 dinners (some call this meal supper, but whatever you call the evening meal), move on to lunches.
If you have been eating out or eating fast food for lunch, start packing a lunch and you will already be saving a ton o money! You will need to figure out lunches for all members of the household. With all the varied schedules these days, that will take some planning.
Next move on to breakfast adding anything you need for breakfasts to your list. Finally add on snacks, paper supplies and any cleaning supplies you need.
Are you HUNGRY for more thrifty grocery shopping tips?
The Bulk Method
Another inexpensive way to buy groceries is in bulk. If you happen to belong to one of those membership-bulk-food-warehouse places you will need to put anything you buy from there on a seperate list. These stores do offer a good discount on some items, but check prices. Once you get used to which items they offer that are cheaper, you can always plan to get that item at the warehouse store.
Don't miss the following tip on using your coupons!!
Since thrifty grocery shopping is about always looking for ways to save money, if you have any coupons for items on your list, pull those coupons and attach them to your list. Then place a mark beside that item on your list. This will jog your memory in the store to look at the coupon and purchase the correct brand in order to use the coupon. Thrifty food shopping is sometimes a matter of using coupons and sales at the same time.
As you can see there are many different ways of thrifty grocery shopping. Choose one that works for you and always be watching for that next way to save a penny and be a thrifty shopper.
Do you want to hear a story about the $10.00 week of groceries? It was simply one of those weeks when the money ran out before the bills and I found myself with only $10.00 for groceries and a week before another paycheck was due in.
So my husband and I got creative. Fortunately we aren't very picky eaters.
Here is what we bought: 1 bag of potatoes, 1 pound of hamburger, 1 package of beef liver, 2 onions, 1 loaf of bread, 1 small jar of peanut butter, 1 container of milk.
Keep in mind this was around 20 years ago, so I'm not sure how much all these items would cost now, but the milk would have put me over my $10.00 limit. So I was able to make potatoe soup that we ate for dinner and at least one lunch, liver and onions which aren't my favorite, but my husband still likes them, mashed potatoes and hamburger gravy, and I used part of the hamburger for another soup.
That second soup could have been made with just the hamburger, potatoes and onion, but I had a carrot and some celery and part of a bag of frozen green beans to throw in. Of course lunches were the peanut butter sandwiches and before we knew it, the week was over and we were able to stock the cupboards again.
This story just proves that when you absolutely have to, you can survive on very, very little. You just have to be creative.
