With a little effort – you can save on your groceries!

II am sure you have been watching the increase in milk, eggs, bread, and other staples. You are trying to get that dollar to stretch further and further. Let me make some suggestions.

Consider generics. 20 years ago with generics you sacrificed taste and quality. In most cases this is simply not true anymore. Oftentimes the generics and store brands are made in the same plant by the same people as the name brand. Because they do not have to pay for advertising, the generics are sold at a lower price. Next time you are in the store, compare the labels. See if there is a difference in the ingredients. Give the generics and store brands a try.

Coupon cutting is becoming big business. No longer are you restricted to what comes in the Sunday paper. Google coupons on the Internet and you will find dozens of sites. It may mean having to wade through some junk mail or un-checking the option that you want to be added to their mailing list. A few sites that I really like are www.eversave.com, www.smartsource.com, www.coupons.com, and www.couponmom.com.

You may find that it is also best to get a throw away email account (ie. a free account at hotmail, gmail, juno, etc) rather than use your normal email account to prevent too much junk mail from coming in.

The key with coupons however is to be sure you are only using them for items that you would have purchased anyway. The manufacturers put coupons out there hoping to get new people to try the product. You will only increase the cost of your grocery bill if you become one of them.

You should be aware too that if you have a store coupon, you can often also use a manufacturer’s coupon for the same item. So – if you can find a coupon for cereal at your local grocery store in their news flyer and a manufacturer’s coupon at one of the coupon sites that you googled for, you can use them on the same box of cereal.

With aggressive couponing some individuals are saving 40% or more on their grocery bill. We have all seen those individuals getting $100 worth of groceries for $5, but that takes a lot of work. If you are willing to do it, great. But, with just a little bit of effort you can see a reasonable amount of return.

Do not limit your grocery shopping to grocery stores. You can often find milk and eggs cheaper at a convenience store. Discount department stores can be great places to stock up on staples like cereal, boxed goods and canned goods. Drugstores run good sales on laundry detergent and soda. Bread outlet stores can have staples at 50% off.

A word about warehouse stores – they can be a great place to buy in bulk as long as you limit what you purchase. Make sure you can use it before it goes bad and that you stick to what you would normally purchase anyways. How often have you gone into one of these warehouses to pick up one or two items and come out having spent $250?

Right now farmers’ markets offer a great buy on fruits and vegetables. Better yet start your own your plants. It may be too late to plant an outdoor garden, but you could plant a couple of containers that you can bring in at night as it starts to get cold.
Also as you are using all these different types of stores you need to tie these stops into your regular errands. If you are making special trips the cost of the gasoline may outweigh the food savings.

Watch your unit prices. Stores have caught on to the fact that people are buying the bigger packaging thinking it will save them money. In some cases purchasing two of the smaller sizes will give you the same quantity at a lower price. This can especially be true when the smaller sizes are on sale and the larger sizes are not.

And finally, plan your meals around what is on sale. Look at the grocery flyers in your Sunday paper or you can also find many online if you do not get the newspaper. Determine what you will be having for dinner based on what is on sale. Mac and cheese, if there is a good sale on cheese. Ham if that is priced low. Barbequed chicken if that is on sale.

If you want to have more choices stock up on sale weeks and have extras in your freezer and pantry. If something is two for one, maybe buy four. And if you have coupons, double great!

The cost of meat quality meat for feeding a large family can really eat into a budget. Consider going meatless once or twice a week. Look up vegetarian recipes on the Internet and you might be amazed at the number of tasty options.

And probably most cost effective of all, limit what you buy. This in turn limits what you eat. How many times have you bought a bag of chips only to have your teenager son scarf them down in one sitting. Would he starve if you did not have the chips in the house? And if you normally buy the jumbo size, maybe you go down to the smaller size. Tell your family they get one gallon of ice cream to last the week. When it is gone, there is no more. Maybe they get three two liter bottles of soda a week. When it is gone, there is no more.

I am not suggesting that you starve your family. So often we are eating mindlessly and not aware of how much we are eating. Instead of eating out of the bag, put some in a bowl to limit portions. Portion a large bag out into individual serving sizes in Ziploc bags. Make those expensive items treats instead of an everyday occurrence.

There are ways to save. It does take time and effort. You need to get the whole family involved. Make it a game. Let them see that the savings on the grocery bill means that you can do some of the fun things you like to do. Good luck and happy saving!

Why Gerri Harrison Financial Services?

Gerri Harrison Financial Services is an incorporated business involved in all areas of financial services. It is our mission to provide you with a lifetime of services. We want to be part of the family. We want to pack your child off to college and you off to retirement. We want to be there through the christenings, weddings, illnesses and deaths. Whenever there is a financial matter you have a question about, I want the first thing you think of to be "Gerri will know how to handle that".
 

So, are you ready to start your personal financial planning process?

Call me today - Gerri Harrison - (607) 729-4144

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