I have a hard time with this. "They" say you are doing well if you can save 50% or more. Extremer's save about 75% on a regular basis. I am no where near this. I'm not sure how they do it. I clip my coupons, I check the websites for match-ups and good deals but I just don't feel like I'm able to save lots. There are a few things that I feel hinder me and I'm o.k. with that. Mostly it's because of our eating habits. We almost NEVER eat beef, at least not at home, maybe twice a month and we buy it straight from the farm. And when the budget allows we also get our milk and eggs there too. We almost never have soda in the house unless company is coming over. (Now, in full disclosure I must admit that pregnancy makes me crave some good ol' Dublin Dr. Pepper from Chicken Express, so this is on occasion - or lots of occasions- in our home). I share this because a lot of the food I find on spectacular deals tends to be the stuff we wouldn't eat, or at least not buy normally.
I try to shop at Albertsons or Kroger because they will double and triple coupons. Last week Albertson's had several things on sale Buy One Get One free and an even better sale of Buy One Get Two Free. I stocked up on some lunch items for here at home and beverages to take up to the pool. There was only one item on sale at Kroger this week I wanted so I just price matched it at Wal-mart with the other items I needed to get. If I have a higher value coupon that can't be doubled at the other stores I will use it at Wal-mart. Their non-sale prices and store brand are consistently cheaper than the other stores unless they are on sale. It's not hard for me to find good prices on pasta, which we do eat alot of.
I haven't done much grocery shopping at Target but this week I've got a manufacturer's coupon I'll stack with a Target coupon to get some yogurt for the girls fairly cheap which will make for good snacks. I'm not a big stock-piler on grocery items for three reasons. 1. I don't have much pantry space, 2. I won't stockpile food items in my garage because I live in Texas and it's currently 180 degrees in my garage, 3. I'm concerned about critters... bugs, mice, etc. Now I do have a large chest freezer so freezable things I'll more than gladly stock-up on.
So, I'm at a loss. What do you do to save on groceries? What kinds of items do you find on sale consistently? Do you meal plan and then shop to your plan or do you buy what's on sale and make meals out of that?
1 comment:
Ack! So frustrating! Don't worry about it. You are saving a lot of money just by doing what you are doing. Don't try to be an extreme couponer. They save 75% because they only buy what is on sale for a great deal. So, you get a few of those things and then whatever else you need. But I know your frustration too, you spend time and plan and don't know if it's worth it. Jeff sometimes tells me I would have been better off taking a nap than planning out and spending time with coupons!
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