Once a Month Grocery Shopping

You know when your refrigerator looks like this…..

… that it is time to go grocery shopping!  However, I detest going to the grocery store.  It takes too long.  I can't find what I need.  I spend too much money. The list could go on and on.  Therefore, I started doing a BIG trip once a month.  This helped so much not only with time but also with money.  Unfortunately when Adelaide was born, I did not do as well keeping up with this.  In order to have more time and money in 2014, I decided that I am going to start back doing this with a few changes in hopes to make it better for our family.  Here is what I am doing:

I sat down this morning, and I planned 20 main course meals.  The meals range from newbies that I have found on the internet to our family classics, from quick preparation crock-pot meals to ones that will take a little longer, from Italian to Southern cooking, from beef to chicken, and the list could go on and on.  I wrote down the name of the recipe, where I could find it, and what ingredients I needed to make it.  Then, I decided if I needed a side dish to go with it.  You know you have some meals that are fine without anything, but there are others that need some veggies or bread to make it complete.  I wrote down EVERYTHING!

Then I took my list and wrote a shopping list by category.  My categories were arranged by where I would find it in the grocery store such as Produce, Dairy, Frozen Foods, etc.  I wrote down not only the ingredient but also how much I needed of that ingredient.  I wrote down EVERYTHING even if I thought I had it in my kitchen.  I did not want to think I had something and not know for sure.  I took my complete list to the kitchen and checked to see what I already had.  If I had enough of something, then I marked it off.  By doing this, I was able to eliminate buying extra, and I was able to think of some other things we needed.

After I got my shopping list finalized, I sat back down and went through my coupons.  I marked on my list what I had a coupon for, what brand the coupon was for, and how much I had to buy to get that coupon.  This allows me not to have to scramble through coupons during my grocery visit which allows the trip to be a little shorter.  If I found a coupon of something that was not on my list but that I thought we would use this month, I wrote the product down on my shopping list in the appropriate category.  I designated a coupon with a C on my list.  Then, I was ready to go!

Since, I only shop once a month.  I go to Jackson to get everything.  My first stop was Sam's.  I stock up on paper products, dog food, meats, fruits, and random other things here.  I love Sam's meats!  I buy bags of frozen chicken breasts, because a lot of my recipes call for chicken. I also buy a 10 lb roll of ground beef, cut it in 1 lb segments, and freeze it so I can pull out what I need when I need it.  We do this also with a tray of steaks.  It makes life so much easier.  Anything I got at Sam's was marked off of my shopping list.

After leaving Sam's, I went to Kroger.  Since my list is arranged by sections of the grocery store, I am able to go through each section, get what I need, and make sure I don't forget anything.  I make sure to cross the item off my list when it is put in my buggy.  There are times when I have something on my list that I can't find.  Most of the times these are things that I added I had a coupon for, but that I don't really need.  When this happens, I put a box around it on my list so I know to pull it out from my coupon stash.  When I get through shopping, I pull my cart off to the side, get my coupons together, and check-out.

Try pushing this through this store.  This was on the cart at Kroger.  The one at Sam's had the 50lb. bag of dog food on the bottom.  Yes, tons of people stare at me like I am crazy, and I have had tons of people ask me questions about having so much.

Eventually, the back of my vehicle looks like this or sometimes worse…

At least this time I had some help unloading when I got home. :)  Now my refrigerator looks like this...

and I have enough stuff to make 20 meals plus. No, I won't be cooking everyday.  I know that I will have leftovers for some days and some days we may eat out (hopefully less often than we have been).  Yes, Kevin or I may have to run to the store in the middle of the month to grab a gallon of milk or something extra, but we should not have to spend more than a few bucks.

My goal is to sit down every Sunday and plan out the meals for the week.  This should not take too long since I have a master list for the month.  I think that I will not get to all 20 meals this month so I will just move the leftover meals to February's list.  This will help with the cost of February's grocery trip.

Check back Monday.  I plan on posting our week's menu.  Maybe you can get some good ideas of something that will work for your family!

Elizabeth

Couponing!

A lot of people have asked me to explain what I do to be successful at couponing.  First of all let me say a few things. I am no means a pro at this like some others. (If you have seen the show Extreme Couponing, you know what I mean.)  As most of you know, I do not have a lot of extra time so I try to make my couponing experience as hassle free as can be.  I also do not have a stockpile room or a pantry to say the least so we only buy what we need.  (Hopefully, one day I will have a pantry and maybe a freezer!) I only coupon in order to save money for something else down the road.  Plus it feels great to know you did it!  So here are things I did to get started: (I'll write more later about more things you can do.  Let's just get started.)

1)  Coupon Organizer - I guess you could say I am an organizing freak so it was vital that I have something to store my coupons before I get them.  I bought an organizer from a dollar store that works well for me and that will fit right into my purse.  I know my sister-in-law uses a big photo album so she can see all her coupons.  It is really whatever works for you.  I like easy access and the fact the coupons are organized.  My grocery coupons are organized into sections - New (for any coupons I have not had time to file), About to Expire (for those coupons that I see are about to expire but I don't want to use at that current time), Breakfast, Cooking, Snacks, Condiments, Fridge, Freezer, Bathroom, Cleaning, Around the House, Outdoors.  I, also, keep a small pair of scissors in this one so I always have some.

Recently, I have outgrown my coupon organizer due to other store coupons.  I bought a new coupon organizer (almost the same as the other).  In this organizer, I am keeping other store coupons.  I did have all my coupons and store rewards cards all in my first coupon organizer.  Here are the sections for that organizer - Kroger, Walgreens, Discount Stores, Local Diners, Fast Food, Restaurants, Local Stores, Clothing Stores, Houseware Stores, Hobby Stores, Other.  I am keeping any coupons, gift cards, and reward cards in here.

2) Finding the Coupons - Once you have a place for your coupons, it is time to start couponing.  Newspapers are a great place to find coupons.  I have a weekly subscription to the States Graphic where you can sometimes find coupons.  I,also, buy the Commercial Appeal every Sunday.  I take the coupons out and then give it to my dad to read.  (I only buy one, because that is efficient for the amount of coupons for Kevin and I, but I know some places say buy more than one.  I just don't see the need in this unless you have a huge family.)

There are many coupons blogs, websites, etc out there.  You have to find the one you like the most if you want to follow one.  (I would highly recommend having a separate e-mail account if you follow some.)  However, I do well not actually following one.  Here is where I find my coupons.  First of all I joined a point community called Mypoints.  Go here http://www.mypoints.com/.  Here you receive points for printing coupons which can be used for future gift cards. (I'll make another post soon about shopping online. :))  On Mypoints, I go to the post Deals - Grocery Coupons.  Here they have coupons from the sites coupons.com, smartsource.com, and cellfire.com.  Instead of going to each of these sites, I can just go to Mypoints, log on to my account, and get all my coupons here.  If you don't want to sign up for Mypoints, definitely go to these websites.  Cellfire loads coupons to your Kroger card which is becoming more popular. 

Another site that I sometimes check is Redplum.  http://www.redplum.com/  I have found that coupons overlap from one site to another so make sure you aren't printing the same ones over and over.  If you do to choose to go to Kroger (check previous post), make sure to go to kroger.com, register your Kroger card, and upload online coupons from their site as well. 

If you set up another e-mail, a great e-mail I get frequently is Free Coupon Alerts.  This e-mail keeps me up-to-date with new coupons that have come out.  You can sign up for it at http://www.freecouponalerts.com/. 

3) Understanding Coupons - Most coupons you print online especially from any of the online coupon databases expire within a month from printing.  At the end of the month, coupon databases typically change coupons up so I try to print what I need before the 1st of each month.  Most stores accept coupons that say Manufacturer's Coupon. Some stores double coupons all the time, some at certain times, and some not at all, make sure you know so you can save the most (I'll try to write more later about this.)  Make sure to give your coupons to the cashier before checking out.  There are many ways to find coupons, you just have to have the time. 

I hope this gets you started.  I have some more helpful insights into couponing if you would like to hear, but I really need to get back to Spring Cleaning (another goal of mine for being 25).  Remember my couponing experience all started with a goal.  It is where you take your goal in order to be successful. 

Elizabeth

Living a More Frugal Life

One of my goals each month to see if I can save more money that the previous month.  The only thing is the money cannot come directly out of a paycheck, bank account, or so forth. (Though that is great to do!)  The money I save has to be something that I have done to work for in order to make my life more frugal.  Oh what a challenge this has been, but I think I am finally getting the hang of it.

Well March has arrived.  Tonight I sat down to see how much I saved in February.  I saved my highest amount of money so far!!! Almost $150!!! ($147.15 to be exact)  You may ask how do I do this?  It is done in many different ways, but let me tell you what was almost over half of my savings - savings on groceries!  Yes I have fallen a victim of extreme couponing.  Let me tell you it takes time which as most of you may know I don't have a lot of, but somehow I have fit it in my schedule.  However, that's not all that has helped me with my grocery shopping.  Here is what I have started to do:

1) I made a plan back in January to only go to the grocery store twice a month.  I was going once a week, and I dreaded it each and every time.  Now, I have started going around the 1st and 3rd weekends of each month. 

2) Before I take out for that not so fun trip, I sit down and plan enough meals for a two week time span.  I make sure to plan for some easy meals, crock pot meals, desserts, and so forth.  I try to make sure that some of the things that I plan to cook will have enough for leftovers, because that allows Kevin and I to use it as lunch for the next day. 

3) Once I have my meals, I create a list of all the things I need for the meals I have planned for, everyday necessities, and other wants.  Everything from the ingredient list for a recipe goes down, because I do not want to get ready to cook the meal and not have it.  I go through our refrigerator and cabinets in order to mark things off the list that I may already have. (I wish we had a stockpile room, pantry, or something, but I will have to live with my few cabinets for now.)  With my list I know how many eggs I need, how many cups of flour I will need, and so forth.  I can easily mark things off my list that I have enough of already in my kitchen.

4)  With my final list, I sit down and go through my coupons.  (I will have to write down all my couponing tips later, but I carry a small organizer in my purse that I sort my coupons in.)  I pull out the coupons that I know I will use or think I may use.  I make sure that if I have more than one coupon for the same item that I pull the one that has the closest expiration date to my shopping trip. 

5) After I have my coupons ready, I head out to the grocery store.  Here is where my most life changing event has taken place.  I have always bought groceries in Brownsville at Wal-Mart, but I realized a few months back that I can save so much more by going to Kroger.  So, I typically travel to Covington to there Kroger.  (I would love to support my hometown, but this has been my best choice for myself.)  Kroger not only doubles coupons, but they also allow you to save lots of money by using your Kroger Savings Card.  I, also, can concentrate more on my grocery shopping, because I am not constantly seeing people I know.  (I am Queen of spending more time talking to other people than shopping when going to the local Wal-Mart. Joys of being in a small town.)

6) While at Kroger, I almost 100% stick to my list.  I try not to stray from the list.  I took a lot of time to prepare that list, and I know that I will have everything I need if I go by it.  A big mistake is if you go to the store and think something is a good deal and buy it just because.  Don't buy it unless you have a plan for it!

This is how I have saved $100 this past month just in grocery shopping alone.  I cannot wait to see how much I can save next month.