I mentioned in one of my previous posts that we're working on spending less & saving more. For us, this means some serious budgeting, especially for groceries. I'm not going to say how much we were spending, but let's just say it was ridiculous since there are only two of us. So we've decided we're going to get better, I started reading books about budgeting and cutting grocery bills in half. Originally we decided to start by just trying to reduce our grocery spending by $100 this month. However, after today I think we can do better. I used today to buy some of the essentials we needed like carrots, celery, hummus, cereal, etc. Stuff that we eat a LOT of that doesn't keep. However, I also used today to work on building up a stockpile of things we use a lot; especially because those items were on sale- which is why I bought them today!
I do want to make it clear, I'm not a super awesome coupon person. I am not at that point where I can get a $100 worth of stuff and only pay $4. Honestly, I don't think I'll EVER get to that point. However, I did save almost $30 today and I met the goal of staying under $100. That got me thinking, "Hey, that wasn't hard...." so I'm thinking we'll be able to aim for $100 a week instead and that will cut our grocery bill down even more (I told you, our bill was ridiculous).
So here are the things I've learned so far:
1) Plan your meals! It seems like a complete pain, but it is completely worth it. I've only done this for a few days but I can't say it has! I'm less frazzled when I get home because I have a plan for dinner, I don't have to stand at the fridge or pantry wondering what the heck I'm going to make.
2) Plan your meals around the sales flyers:
This is less of a big deal for me this time- because I only needed a few things for this week's dinners. However, I did use this to plan out what cereals I bought and what items I bought to work on stocking up our "use a lot" section.
3) Don't clip coupons for things you don't buy, pay attention to the coupons and they stack on already there sales!
This is one I'm still working on. I'm pretty good about not clipping coupons for stuff we don't normally buy. I misread a couple coupons today- but it worked out ok. I didn't realize I could stack coupons on top of the store sales, but you can! That saved me a few bucks today too!
Right now I'm at the "start small" stage. I realize it will take me a while to figure out how to save even more money. But I"ll get there.
I do want to make it clear, I'm not a super awesome coupon person. I am not at that point where I can get a $100 worth of stuff and only pay $4. Honestly, I don't think I'll EVER get to that point. However, I did save almost $30 today and I met the goal of staying under $100. That got me thinking, "Hey, that wasn't hard...." so I'm thinking we'll be able to aim for $100 a week instead and that will cut our grocery bill down even more (I told you, our bill was ridiculous).
So here are the things I've learned so far:
1) Plan your meals! It seems like a complete pain, but it is completely worth it. I've only done this for a few days but I can't say it has! I'm less frazzled when I get home because I have a plan for dinner, I don't have to stand at the fridge or pantry wondering what the heck I'm going to make.
2) Plan your meals around the sales flyers:
This is less of a big deal for me this time- because I only needed a few things for this week's dinners. However, I did use this to plan out what cereals I bought and what items I bought to work on stocking up our "use a lot" section.
3) Don't clip coupons for things you don't buy, pay attention to the coupons and they stack on already there sales!
This is one I'm still working on. I'm pretty good about not clipping coupons for stuff we don't normally buy. I misread a couple coupons today- but it worked out ok. I didn't realize I could stack coupons on top of the store sales, but you can! That saved me a few bucks today too!
Right now I'm at the "start small" stage. I realize it will take me a while to figure out how to save even more money. But I"ll get there.
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