Feeding an Army?
Need to Save Money?
Or does it just seem like it? With summer in full
swing, groceries are costing me an arm and a leg. Do
they really eat this much at school? It seems they are
constantly hungry! Here are some simple tips to keep
the grocery bill down, and your starving bunch
satisfied:
1. Plan ahead and make a list. Planning your meals for
the week or two weeks or even the month will keep you
from becoming frazzled trying to figure out what to
cook, and cut down on last minute trips to the store
where you always end up spending more than you meant to.
2. Cooking casseroles a couple of times a week makes for
an easy meal, and they are usually pretty cost effective
as well. Not only that, but they usually freeze well
too. There are lot of good easy recipes for these out
there. Check our
recipe section for some tasty ideas!
3. When shopping, go early, and check out the marked
down or manager's specials on meats. I generally buy
all my meats this way, as they are usually half price.
Last month, I managed to pick up 9 slabs of ribs for
around $5 a slab. I keep my deep freezer stocked this
way, and when planning my meals and grocery lists, I
work around this.
4. Coupons can save you a great deal of money, if it's
something you would buy anyway. Always make sure it's a
better deal than the store or other name brands though,
and watch the sales papers. That way, if it's on sale,
and you use the coupon, you can really rack up the
savings. Take advantage of grocery store rewards cards,
and check out the back of the receipt for additional
coupons for other stores. Today, I got a $20 off coupon
on the back of my receipt for a local shoe store, just
in time for back to school shopping.
5. Shop the "always a dollar" stores for snacks and
canned goods. Things like vanilla wafers, pretzels,
etc, are always a dollar here, vs $2 at the grocery
store.
6. Shop farmer's markets. The produce is usually
fresher, and you can get a whole lot more for your
money. I got a HUGE sack of silver queen corn for $15
at ours recently. It was about 50 lbs, I split it with
my mom, and we had fresh corn for freezing and canning
that will last a while.
7. Push yourself. Try and get creative with what you
have on hand. Many times I've stared at the cubbards
trying to decide what to cook, and decided to call and
order pizza instead, when there were plenty of things to
cook, if I had just thought outside the box. Not
running to the store every day or ordering takeout can
save you a ton of money!
8. Have breakfast for dinner. Eggs, pancakes, french
toast, grits, hash browns, etc, are all extremely cheap
to cook, and most people love them. Who says you have
to have them just for breakfast?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sonya Smith runs two
home businesses, loves to write, and share tips with
others working from home while chasing after her 3
children. You may visit her at her blog,
http://sonyareads.blogspot.com. And now she
has started a new site
Stay
At Home Mom's World.
