~Buy Smart~
*FIRST.. I use CASH! If I take my debit card there is a
good chance I will not stick to my list as well as I should!*
When I make my grocery list, I arrange it by isle. 1. So I don't waste time. 2. I don't go down isles where I don't need anything and I am not tempted by anything not on the list. I usually end up with a couple of things that weren't on the list anyway. But it's better to have 1 or 2 than 12-15.
I try to grocery shop only once a month. Then pick up the produce and whatever else (milk, yogurt, etc.), but usually it's only once a week.
Find out when your grocery store does mark downs, our 2 most expensive things are dairy and meat.
We don't usually buy much as far as meat goes. We buy our Chicken and ground beef from Zaycon foods. I usually buy a couple of pork roast and a couple of beef roast for the entire month.
I try to hold out on roasts until they are on markdown, usually within 2 days of the sell by date. I know I am going to go home and freeze them so I don't care about that date too much. This makes them minimum of 30% off the regular price. If they are on sale, they are still an additional 30%
I buy in bulk, not that I buy a bunch of it, but I buy it from the bulk section. It's usually less per ounce/per pound and I am not buying more than I need. Things like cereal, which we rarely buy, but if we do, they are half the price in the bulk section, and we wouldn't go through a box before it was stale, so we don't need the whole box!
I also try to start out at the discount store. We have Grocery Outlet here, I can get the best deals there! Our kids usually drink almond milk, when it's close to expiration its marked down to .50 a half gallon! I can freeze those, and our kids can usually polish them off before the expiration date anyway. They have lots of Gluten Free and Organic markdowns in their freezer section.
Read the per ounce/pound prices on everything! Sometimes we assume the generic is less expensive, or the bigger package is a better deal. If the store brand is a better deal, try it. I don't buy generic everything but I will usually try everything at least once.
If something is a GREAT deal I stock up, not overboard but enough that I can wait until the next big sale. This grocery trip had tomato sauce on sale (they were getting rid of the old labels) for .18 a can. We use a lot of tomato sauce, I bought the maximum you can to get that rate. It's not going to go bad and it will save us a few dollars in the long wrong.
Apps! Target Cartwheel and similar apps are good, as long as they aren't tempting you to buy stuff you don't REALLY need!
When you check out, watch to make sure things ring up right, especially if you are buying bulk items. I let our kids write on the papers and our daughter insists on adding a random heart in the 4 digit code somewhere. Their tiny kid chicken scratch can easy be read wrong and be a costly mistake.
*FIRST.. I use CASH! If I take my debit card there is a
good chance I will not stick to my list as well as I should!*
When I make my grocery list, I arrange it by isle. 1. So I don't waste time. 2. I don't go down isles where I don't need anything and I am not tempted by anything not on the list. I usually end up with a couple of things that weren't on the list anyway. But it's better to have 1 or 2 than 12-15.
I try to grocery shop only once a month. Then pick up the produce and whatever else (milk, yogurt, etc.), but usually it's only once a week.
Find out when your grocery store does mark downs, our 2 most expensive things are dairy and meat.
We don't usually buy much as far as meat goes. We buy our Chicken and ground beef from Zaycon foods. I usually buy a couple of pork roast and a couple of beef roast for the entire month.
I try to hold out on roasts until they are on markdown, usually within 2 days of the sell by date. I know I am going to go home and freeze them so I don't care about that date too much. This makes them minimum of 30% off the regular price. If they are on sale, they are still an additional 30%
I buy in bulk, not that I buy a bunch of it, but I buy it from the bulk section. It's usually less per ounce/per pound and I am not buying more than I need. Things like cereal, which we rarely buy, but if we do, they are half the price in the bulk section, and we wouldn't go through a box before it was stale, so we don't need the whole box!
I also try to start out at the discount store. We have Grocery Outlet here, I can get the best deals there! Our kids usually drink almond milk, when it's close to expiration its marked down to .50 a half gallon! I can freeze those, and our kids can usually polish them off before the expiration date anyway. They have lots of Gluten Free and Organic markdowns in their freezer section.
Read the per ounce/pound prices on everything! Sometimes we assume the generic is less expensive, or the bigger package is a better deal. If the store brand is a better deal, try it. I don't buy generic everything but I will usually try everything at least once.
If something is a GREAT deal I stock up, not overboard but enough that I can wait until the next big sale. This grocery trip had tomato sauce on sale (they were getting rid of the old labels) for .18 a can. We use a lot of tomato sauce, I bought the maximum you can to get that rate. It's not going to go bad and it will save us a few dollars in the long wrong.
Apps! Target Cartwheel and similar apps are good, as long as they aren't tempting you to buy stuff you don't REALLY need!
When you check out, watch to make sure things ring up right, especially if you are buying bulk items. I let our kids write on the papers and our daughter insists on adding a random heart in the 4 digit code somewhere. Their tiny kid chicken scratch can easy be read wrong and be a costly mistake.
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