Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Patience~Grocery Shopping/Planning on a Budget, The Finale

Here is my last post on being Patient when learning to grocery shop with coupons.  If you missed the first 3 posts they are HERE, HERE, and HERE.

The next time you plan to go shopping is going to be a bit different.  If you stockpiled some of the good deals and steals you found from your last trip, you should have some extra things in your freezer/pantry you can use for your Meal Plan this week.  Remember, you have to stick with the flow of things to maximize your savings. 

You are going to follow exactly the same process you did last time. 
-Itemize what you already have
-Determine your meals for the week
-Make your list
-Add to your list deals and steals from the store ads, and online resources

What I found ended up happening, is that I was able to make almost my entire week of dinners from things I already had purchased.  SO, when I made my shopping list, it was for produce, lunch meat, dairy, and then whatever deals I could find.  I take cash to the grocery store.  I buy the deals.  I mean I BUY the deals.  If you come to my house and go in my freezer today, (as I type this), you will find 3 lbs of ground beef, 2 Hillshire Farms Kielbasas, 1 Whole Chicken, 4 Chicken Breasts, 6 chicken thighs, and more.  AND I'm planning to go to the grocery store tomorrow.

However, when I go to the store, my envelope contains $80.  I buy the needs first, then I buy the deals.  When the money is gone, I stop.  OR-if there are not any great deals we can use, I stop.  The money will not get spent, if there is not a great deal on something that we can actually use.  Some weeks, the deals just don't match up with our needs.

We were spending in excess of $550 a month on groceries.  (We also include household items in this category; cleaning supplies, garbage bags, cat food, etc.)  When I started shopping like this, I realized I was spending only $100 a week.  I made the plunge, and decided only to give myself $80/week, and the $20 difference didn't change the game plan for me one bit.  No one in my house has noticed a difference, other than the bursting freezer and pantry!

We have saved loads of cash, and my cart gets fuller each week it seems!  Try it...what do you have to loose?

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