Post your best grocery tips here! (Inspired by shirleyb's post)

[Shelle&Dave]

All I can say is store brand and coupons! That's the way to go. I do go to Save-a-lot and Aldis sometimes too.

I used to be really big into coupons, but I've been slacking off lately. It takes A LOT of time to stay organized. I started off with just taking an envelope full to the store with me. Then I got the usual coupon organizer with the dividers. Then I went to the shoebox with dividers. When that got out of control I went to the 3 ring binder with trading card holder sheets. This takes the longest to keep organized, but it's easy to use in the store.

I tried the pricebook and couldn't make it work.

I used to go to 3 different stores to buy the loss leaders and B1G1 deals. I had quite a stockpile of toothpaste, deoderant, laundry detergent, fabric softener, cereal....you name it. All of that is gone now and I need to get on the ball.

My favorite coupon message boards were

http://www.fatwallet.com/c/57/

http://www.dealideal.com/

[mrsbornkuntry]

DH and I have 5 kids (8,7, 5, 3, 4months) and what helps us alot is cooking from scratch whenever we can and trying to avoid the frozen foods. We also got a deep freeze so when something's on sale we can stock up. I clip coupons, too, but I'm not very good at sticking to my budget when I try to shop different stores to get the best prices, I always seem to go over, so I get what I can at Aldi's and then get the rest at Wal-mart. OH, and a big help is making a list of the meals we're going to eat (I shop for two weeks at a time) and making a grocery list from that. That works really well for telling my kids "no" at the store, I just say "sorry, guys, that's not on my list this time. Ask for it when I make my list and we'll see next time" although I have been known to, um, pretend things are on my list if they really want something, I'm a big softy!

[takemetoo]

Okay, if you live in Southern New England you MUST go to Job Lot! They have things like organic cerial for 99 cents, AND you can use coupons!

Amy

[pearlieq]

What works for us...

Stockpile non-perishables (though I must say, I am sooooo sick of people poking around my house and saying, "wow, that's a lot of laundry detergent". These are always the same people who say "wow, going to WDW again?!?!")

Be very careful in buying perishable items--buy only what you'll realistically use. It's no bargain if you throw it out.

Make a double (or triple!) batch of everything you make and freeze the leftovers. It's much easier to resist takeout when I have a full batch of ready meals.

Plan your meals a week in advance based on what's on sale at the grocery stores.

Nothing earth-shattering here. Just the same old, same old.

[mrsbornkuntry]

I forgot to add, my baby is4 months old and I make his baby food from scratch instead of buying jars. Also, DH packs his lunch almost every day from leftovers so we rarely throw anything out (he has a fridge and microwave at work).

Our biggest vices are soda and DH's cigarettes, we buy by the carton and try to find them on sale, but I hate spending the money on them! But those come out of my grocery budget, also.

[kimbac3]

I make menus ahead of time, write a detailed list. Rarely ever use coupons because the store brand is still cheaper. Also by the cheap brand of cereal, the kids don't notice. We also don't drink alot of soda.When I do buy it (for birthday parties or BBQs) I get it at Walmart for $.50. I make homemade pizza.(I have a really easy pizza dough recipe if anyone is interested)We have pasta twice a week. I buy a LARGE can of plain ol' tomato puree and then kick it up.I freeze it in meal size portions in freezer bags. We eat alot of rice, noodles, and dried beans, I can cut back on the meat that way. We also have breakfast for dinner usually one night a week. We never have big breakfast in the mornings, so it is a treat for my kids to have pancakes (homemade) for dinner.
When we do eat out, (which is very rare) we look for places where kids eat free or places that offer coupons.
Kimba
P.S. My Dh has taken PB & J for lunch for the first 12 years we were married. We just now have added lunch meat and cheese to the shopping list. Although on tight weeks he still takes PB&J. Boy I love that man::yes::

[eeyore kelly]

I always go to the store when it is almost empty. I can look around, compare prices, and find unadvertised sales better. I save leftovers all week and do a leftover night. I save the two table spoons of peas, corn, rice, beans etc, in a sealable bowl in the freezer. When the bowl gets full, I add a can of tomato sauce, an onion soup packet, and a cheap cut of beef. Put it in the slow cooker, and at the end of the day you have "Trash Soup" (Learned that one from my grandmother) It's my family's favorite. Buy whole fruit-- not cut up. Buy fruits and vegetable in season when buying fresh. I hate cutting onions, bell peppers etc for every meal, and the fresh chopped in the produce section is expensive. However, in the frozen food section, it is $0.92 a bag. 2 bags last me a week. Snacks (chips Little Debbie) for kids (or DH) are few and far between. I always cook one serving more for DH to take to work.
No sodas.

[Cindy B]

Yes, nothing earth shattering.

I do stock up on stuff when the grocery stores have one GET 2 FREE! I've had shampoo, and laundry detergent from sales back in December!

DH also takes his own lunch, and I do also.

[minnie1928]

Don't forget rebates, big and small! They all add up! Many stores in PA are doing the "one check" thing where all you do is sign up for the rebates. After the rebate period ends they mail you a check automatically for qualified purchases. It doesn't get much easier than that!

[sorchamac]

Originally posted by takemetoo
Okay, if you live in Southern New England you MUST go to Job Lot! They have things like organic cerial for 99 cents, AND you can use coupons!

Amy

I agree - Job Lot is the best! I've even found more "upscale" items like Pantene shampoo and conditioner for great prices there. I get all my spices there ($0.88) and sometimes cookies or nuts.

[sorchamac]

Has anyone tried those coupon books - The ones where you send in a voucher and get $10 worth of coupons you choose.

here's one on ebay so you know what I mean

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=57742&item=4318579161

I was just wondering if these worked out well...

Sorcha

[sorchamac]

Originally posted by kimbac3
I make menus ahead of time, write a detailed list.

For you all who make your menus ahead of time, how do you do that? I have a hard enough time planning tonight's dinner! I often think it would be easier if I just stuck to "Hamburger Monday, Spagetti Tuesday... Steak Sunday" etc My other problem is that DH works evenings, so there is no real evening meal. I should start doing it anyway, my kids are ages 4 and 6 and would like to have a meal like that every night. Then I can give DH the leftovers for his dinner the next night. I always make him his dinner to bring to work, but it's usually just chicken and pasta. I don't really like to cook....but I really need to get over that! I've also been thinking about going 'low carb', which means I really need to learn to cook something other than pasta and rice!

So anyway, how do you plan your meals so far in advance? And what freezes well? And how do you thaw and serve it?

Signed;

Clueless in the Kitchen

[ReneeQ]

These are a few of the things I do:

1. Subscribed to www.savingdinner.com. Check it out, you can get the first week free on her site. If you subscribe (or buy her book "Saving Dinner") you get your weekly shopping list and recipes. I always know what I'm cooking and what I need to buy.

2. Combine coupons with items on sale. I tried using www.cutouthunger.com, but I shop a lot at Food Lion and it's not on there. I do a lot of the figuring myself. If $3.00 cereal is buy one get one free, that makes it $1.50 a box. If you then use your two $1 coupons, you get the cereal for .50 a box. I check the grocery ads before I go and only take the coupons I need.

3. Ask friends or coworkers to give you their coupons, even if they cut some out for themselves, you might like what they don't use.

4. I shop at Publix every other week for the bulk of my groceries. I run into Food Lion the opposite week just for the specials. If they are having great specials on my Publix week, I'll go to Food Lion that week, too.

5. Anytime meat is on sale, I buy $30 worth. After a few months your freezer gets pretty stocked. Then by the time you're running low on chicken, it will be on sale again.

[punkin]

I don't really plan menus too far in advance. I cook whatever is on sale that week. For example, last week we had very cheap liver at the store. I bought two packages. One to make and one to freeze. (Now I know most kids don't like liver, but mine love it). Also, this week I found salmon steaks for $2.99 per pound. I bought a lot and froze them. Whenever there is ricotta or mozzarella chese for sale, I buy enough for 3 lasagnas and freeze 2.

[sorchamac]

Originally posted by punkin
Whenever there is ricotta or mozzarella chese for sale, I buy enough for 3 lasagnas and freeze 2.

wow, I never thought of freezing mozzarella cheese. I know you can freeze butter, never thought of doing it for cheese.

What else freezes well?

[pjlla]

Honestly, I think that the number one key is KNOW YOUR PRICES! Who cares about B1G1 free, if the one you are buying is way overpriced!?? If you don't know your prices you won't know a real bargain when you see it. Keeping a price book is time consuming, but if you at least keep an eye on the basics (meat, milk, bread, lunch meat, cheese, paper products, detergent), then you'll know if you really find a good buy!

I rarely use coupons, as I find that the store brand is still cheaper, even after double coupons! I don't buy store brand of everything, as there were a few things we didn't like, but I buy many storebrand things.

We're very lucky as there have been grocery store wars going on around here since Stop N Shop opened in the spring... several large chains in one area equals competition which also equals... good sales!.................P

[punkin]

Actually, I meant, I freeze the lasagnas, but I think cheese should freeze fairly well too (After all it freezes well in my lasagna).

[LisaZoe]

I often buy a 2 pound brick of cheese, grate it and put it in a freezer bag with a date. It does get some ice in it from the moisture of the cheese but it works great on anything where the cheese is going to melt anyway, such as in chili, burritos, etc. I've also found great prices on shredded parmesan and have frozen that. By the time it hits the spaghetti sauce, it's mostly thawed.

Since it's just DD, not yet 3, and me, it's sometimes hard to get the really good deals because most are in family/large sizes. Somethings I have done, that also saves time, is to brown hamburger in a large batch, spread on a cookie sheet or 2 and place in the freezer. I later transfer to freezer bags and use whatever amount I need later for tacos, burritos, spaghetti sauce, chili, etc. I've done something similar with the jars of spaghetti sauce (I've tried making from scratch but decided it wasn't saving enough money to make up for the time). I get a family size jar and pour it into ice cube trays, freeze, bag and later pull out as little or as much as I need.

I have to admit that until recently, I wasn't worried too much about a budget. Now, though, I know I need to get back into the habit as I'm going back to college and will have to live on much less than we're used to.

[mamalle]

Im not really a coupon saver at all but do alot of buy one get one free items and stock up that way. granted if publix has a $2.00 coupon in their weekly flyer I will use it or one that is on the product to peel off. I do use my costco coupons when they come out also. I know my prices for everything that I buy so if it isnt a bargain I do not buy it! I make my weekly grocery list and write down dinner for each night and calculate the price for each item and Im always right on the money. dh thinks thats anal but oh well. I do alot of bulk shopping and I think that helps. My milk is cheeper at costco and alot of what I buy there I freeze in our freezer out on the patio. I buy kirkland brand things like water and household supplies. it seems to go a long way.

[The Princess]

Last year I bought the Food Saver and I freeze everything!!! I have 2 freezers plus 2 refridgerator freezers.

I have a garden and have already this year froze 70 stuffed green pepper, Hot stuffed peppers, tons of parsley and basil. I even freeze tomatoes~(which you can only cook with not to use on sandwiches) Last year I did corn on the cob but wansn't to happy with it.

I never throw bread out I make my own bread crumbs.

I buy meat in bulk when its on sale.

My friends think I'm nuts! Oh well its fun. If I think of anything else I post it

[grlpwrd]

Same ole, same ole for me, too:

* Always double check your item while being scanned and make sure the correct price is reflected plus double check your receipts before leaving the store. Common store policy is to get the item for free or for a reduced price if there is an error in pricing..of course, point it out to the cashier or service desk.

* Have themed dinners: soup or salad night, taco night, ethnic food night, leftovers night, etc.

* Make copycat versions of restaurant foods from www.topsecretrecipes.com and www.recipegoldmine.com .

* Use your crockpot a lot. During summer it keeps your kitchen cooler - rather than using your stove and cuts down on energy cost. Plus, cheaper cuts of meat are tenderized and less costly meals in the long run. I find it best to turn the crockpot on and cook overnight to avoid the morning rush and the meal will be ready in the morning so you would just have to refrigerate and warm up during dinner time. Yet some people prefer the regular way of cooking (turning on the crockpot) while away at work or by using a timed crockpot.

[kfeuer]

Coupons...lots and lots of coupons! I'll order extra coupons from a coupon service for particularly good deals.

I would also second the poster who mentioned rebates. There's usually one or two try me free rebate offers in the regular Sunday coupons. Also, Walgreen's, Eckerds, and Rite-Aid all have rebate offers each month. They're easy to do, plus you can use coupons and still get a rebate for the full price of the item. We don't each much processed food so there's a limit to how much I can save on our grocery bill, but I find it possible to get almost all of our health and beauty products for free. I have a closet stuffed full of hair color, styling gel, hairspray, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, razors, shaving cream, soap, facial cleaners...all free. I won't even get any of these items unless they're free. That's a huge savings!

[frannn]

Many times I can find a lot of the health/beauty stuff that can cost a lot at the market. I buy shampoo, shower gel, conditioner, hairspray, brushes, toothpaste, bandaids, hair gel, etc. there. I also get a lot of inexpensive school snacks for my kids, cereal, and some condiments. I find my grocery list to cost more in past months than it ever was before, no matter which supermarket I go to. I think its because the cost of meat and milk seems to have skyrocketed, plus my refig/freezer in the basement died, so I only have one in my kitchen. Can't save too much in one small side by side refig/freezer. Plus, DH cooks dinners (only simple stuff, no chopping, etc), so he wants to have a say in what I buy at the market. I try to shop the sales, but we are getting sick of the same 'ol stuff. Unfortunately, my family doesn't like plain pasta or just a pot of homesoup. I'll have to start getting creative, as the least expensive cut of meat for my family of five is now about 7-8. Once you add all the trimmings, seasonings, etc, we might as well get Wendy's and save the effort.

[Kimmie5870]

tons of coupons.I never buy the sunday paper though.Twice a month I head up to our recycling center and dig through the papers to get all the coupons I can carry out in a brown paper bag.Its time consuming but with the krogers in our area its well worth the time.Coupons .50 cents and under are tripled and any .55 cents to a $1.00 are doubled.I am WAY stocked up on hygenene,papr products and cleaning items and food so I only buy what is on sale w/coupons and rarely pay more than .25 cents for anything except meat and produce.

true story: in august of 2003 I made a special trip for a huge sale at krogers....after the cashier rang everything up and took off all my coupons she calls the manager up and explains that they owe me .23 cents and she doesnt know how to enter that in the registar...Well, the manager was pretty angry and flat out said that they would not PAY me to take their products!I wasnt about to argue ,so I handed her a dollar,grabbed a pack of big red gum and walked out with 328$ worth of grocerys,etc..

I do get ALOT of free stuff this way,any food that i know we will not use goes to needy families and any extra hygene,paper products and cleaning items that I do not use gets saved until christmas,then I make big gift baskets and give them all to a local charity drive to hand out.

[kimbac3]

I make up two weeks worth of menus, however I am very flexible. For instance if I have an unexpectedly busy day and I'm out of the house all day, I obviously can't have that roast turkey breast (bought on sale for $0.79lb), so instead I'll pull out the frozen pasta sauce and pasta. With the menus I know how many complete meals I have available and what they are.

As far as freezing goes, I freeze just about everything! Bread, rolls, lunch meats, cheeses(american and shredded mozzerella). When I get back from shopping I think about how I'm going to use the food. For example: If I buy 20lbs of chicken breast on sale when I come home I'll process it according to the planned meals. So if I have chicken fajitas on the menu I'll slice the chicken for that, put it in a freezer bag and label "Chicken for fajitas". I do that with the rest of the meat. It's so much easier than trying to cut through frozen chicken. If I remember far enough ahead I'll thaw it in the frig. usually I'm quick thawing in the microwave. Sometimes I'll just throw the frozen meat into a large skillet with water and seasonings,put alid on it and cook it on medium.

I always try to have mac & cheese and hot dogs on hand in case I'm sick or whatever (I have feet/leg problems and some days they just won't work :( ) that way DD or DH can cook something fast and easy.

Kimba

[canwegosoon]

You know I always thought the store brand items were cheaper ( and sometimes they are) but yesterday I got $212 in groceries/ HB/laundry for $97 (inc tax/deposit) plus I have $10 in rebates to send in.:bounce: ANd there was not a store brand in there. This was a lot..usually I buy half that but there were lots of great sales this week....There were fruits/ soda/ other items that were not on coupon/sale too. But I watch for sale/espically B1G1 + coupons...if not sale I try not to buy...I need mayo... but no sale:rolleyes: Hopefully next week!!! Waiting for a Chicken sale too!!!

I also garden, but this year has been hard. Also we try not to eat too many pasta meals, so finding healthier foods with coupons can be challanging, but doable. Wish there were more coupons on veggies/meat. I also have my shampoo/toothpaste/deoderant for the year...for free (or very very close) EG. my store has shampoo on sale b1g1 and, I have $1 off (doubled with special store coupon so $2 each bottle) so it is free!! Toothpaste 2/$4 ..coupon $1 each (also doubled) so also free.

[Muushka]

Great tips everyone!

Just to add my own:

1. When you are looking at a product, look around and check to see if the mfgr is offering " Free **%". Like laundry detergent. They may have several boxes of 100 OZ boxes, but there may be boxes that weighs 150 OZ for the same price that has a banner across the top "50% More Free ". It is surprising how many products you can get like this.

2. Buy a freezer. If you have an old one, consider replacing it. We just replaced our 13 CF freezer that was 12 years old with one that is 20 CF, which actually is cheaper to run than the old one.

3. Don't limit yourself to XX dollars a week/month for groceries. I can spend $300 a month for groceries and the next I may only spend $50. Some weeks have really great sales, and some weeks don't. If I find a good deal, I want to take advantage of it and not worry that I may have gone over my food budget. For example, Kool Aid is on sale for .10 a package. Usually it is .25 a package. Well, when there is a good sale like that, I will buy 200 packages. The stuff does not go bad (well, maybe after a few years) and I am going to buy it anyway, so why not get a deal?

4. I am terrible with cupons (EEEKKKK!!!). But I make up for it with my willingness to not only shop at 1 store and willingness to shop at up to 3 stores a week.

5. Where we live there are always price wars going on. For the most part we do not spend more than 50% for pretty much everything, and up to 75% of a lot of things.

6. Freeze, freeze and freeze. Bread, cheese, milk, butter, prepared foods, chopped vegetables. You name it, I freeze it.

7. Always have groceries on hand. And toiletries. My poor husband cringes when he tells me he needs something and I have to buy it when it is NOT ON SALE!!!


Now you know my innermost private secrets.... :eek:

[travelbug]

Great thread! I've enjoyed everyone's ideas.

I'm lucky enough to live centrally located to numerous grocery stores, drugstores, and discount stores. So on weekends, I go through all the sale flyers that come with the newspaper. As someone said earlier, I do know prices extremely well. So I usually know a good deal when I see one. I'm a big coupon user, so I always have plenty of coupons to check. I make up a list of the sale items I want, put a C in parentheses by each item for which I have a coupon, then I paperclip the list and the coupons right to the sale flyer. When I have a chance to stop at each store, my list and coupons are all set to go.

I stockpile things when I can get them for an outstanding price. It is a VERY RARE day when I pay full price for anything. It is even a rare day when I have to pay even half price for many things. By coupling great sales with great coupons (our stores double coupons), we can do very well around here.

I often buy extra items that I have no intention of using and donate them to a food bank. It's pretty cool to drop off a big box of all kinds of stuff when I may have paid a grand total of a couple bucks for the whole thing!

Cutting and organizing coupons, and making out my shopping lists are great activities for when I'm watching TV. :D

[ReneeQ]

I am trying to get back into using coupons. I used some this week, combined with a buy one get one free sale, and got cereal for less than $1 a box!

To those of you that use coupons, what have you found is the best way to organize them? Those little accordian files are too small and hard to use for me.

[swilshire]

One of my 10yo's chores is to cut out the coupons we get in the newspaper each week. He inherited this from his older sister when she was always too busy with her part-time job. It took a while to make him understand that you can't cut off the dates, and I always check to make sure he didn't miss any coupons. He cuts out everything and I toss or give away any I don't need.

I have a couple of shoe boxes and keep the coupons sorted by category such as dairy, cleaning supplies, paper products, etc. I also keep an envelope of the ones that are expiring in the current month.

Once or twice a week I go through the five grocery store ads we get in the newspaper (three on Sunday, two on Wednesday) and make lists of the bargains. Then I go through the coupons and pull out any that match the sales. I paper clip them to the grocery lists and use an envelope in the store to put them in as I find the appropriate items. Near the end of the month, I check for any coupons that are good enough to use even without the item being on sale.

I probably spend a couple of hours a week working on this (not to mention the time spent going to four or five stores each week), but it's usually when I would be watching TV or hanging out with the kids anyway. Sometimes it's a real pain, but I do save a lot of money.

Sheila

[Kimmie5870]

I could never use and regular coupon holder.Not enough room or categories listed for me.I have found that the more I can seperate my coupons into specific categories the faster I make it through the store...and there is less chance of coupons expiring because I couldnt find or forgot about them

I use a cheap Photo box (shoe box size) use the large index cards to make seperaters (another good hint,I bought a pack of 4 highlighter pens and highlighted the top of the index cards, alternating colors, It is much easier to sort through the categories that way).

for those of you who shop mostly at one store it is much easier to categorize your coupons in the order that you go through the store.Once you are used to this system it is simple to find what you need quickly even in other stores.

[CherylA]

I used to cut out all the coupons in my flyers. Now I just cut out the ones I know I'll use. Also I don't even bother with the "off 2" coupons unless it's an item that I would buy no matter what the price (like Cheerios for my toddler). The rest of my coupons I buy on e-bay or from a coupon service. Other parts of the country may have coupons for amounts that are better than those it your area. For me I'd take a .75 coupon over a 1.00 coupon any day because my stores double all coupons under 1.00 and on special weeks they will triple 6 of your coupons under 1.00. I too have had them not know what to do when they owe me money at the register.

I go to Costco for some items especially staples like milk, eggs, and lettuce that there are never coupons for. Planning meals is so great, I have to get back on the ball with that. It saves $$ and makes like easier in the long run. I love the trash stew idea(or something like that someone mentioned) When I was a kid my mom used to make garbage soup! (she saved the peels from carrots potatos cucumbers etc and then boiled them to make a veg stock then added leftover meat and veggies to the stock)

Yummy garbage soup night!

Cheryl

[crisi]

Two I don't think have been mentioned:

1) Meatless or limited meat meals - meat is expensive. Chili with 1/2 a pound of beef and beans is cheaper than chili with 2 pounds of beef and beans - and vegetarian chili is cheaper still. I cook a lot with tofu, beans and rice - more for the health benefits of limiting meat, but its cheap, too.

2) Ethnic grocers....if you cook with a lot of rice, its often cheaper from your Asian or Indian market. Lentils can be bought cheaply at an Indian market as well. This has the added benefit of making you feel good supporting a small business.

[sorchamac]

Originally posted by CherylA
I used to cut out all the coupons in my flyers. Now I just cut out the ones I know I'll use. Also I don't even bother with the "off 2" coupons unless it's an item that I would buy no matter what the price (like Cheerios for my toddler). The rest of my coupons I buy on e-bay or from a coupon service.
Cheryl

What coupon service do you use? I've been looking into these and was wondering which one works best.

Thanks-

Sorcha

[minnie1928]

Check your Entertainment Book. The local store (Weis Markets) puts 3 or 4 $5 off coupons in our book. This about pays for the book itself! I also use Valupage.com, they don't offer as many items as they once did, but occassionally I'll find a good deal.

I'm also interested in the coupon service, if anyone has experience with one I'd love to hear it.

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I have trouble shopping--but it is b/c of our diet that we CHOSE to go on...no sugar, no white flour....etc etc....

So since we go wholesome...I am still feeling it out....but the key is to make a grocery list and stick to it. That is the only way I can save money.

Also--since we have gone "healthy"...in one month I have had absolutely no desire to eat out at all. Came up as a thought once or twice, but it no longer coincides with the lifestyle.

So it didn't reduce our budget--but it certainly reduced our expenses.

Now if someone has some tips on that--I would soooo appreciate it!

[Dizkneenurse]

Hi there!
For all of you trying to get organized with your coupons, I just bought this and I LOVE it. i keep it in my car all the time and take it in with me every store.

Coupon File (http://www.refundcents.com/newcouponfile.htm)

It is great..I recommend their site too....

Refund Cents (http://www.refundcents.com/)

Their free stuff is great and so is the info you can subscribe to.

heidi

[sorchamac]

I just got my coupons today from my coupon book I bought on ebay. It really works. I bought the coupon book on ebay for less than $3. Then I fill out the voucher and mail it with a check for $1 and a self addressed envelope. On the voucher I choose the coupons that I want. They then send me back the $10-$12 of coupons I asked for. It worked great.

Sorcha