A Smarter Way to Shop for Groceries

For all you beginners out there here is a smart new way to do your grocery shopping without even getting into the extreme couponing strategies yet. Here is a good place to start as you are learning to shop with coupons.

Preparation:

1. Make a menu for the week. I shop for a week at a time because I cook 3 meals a day for my family and I use a lot of fruits and vegetables. Produce can go bad quickly, and I also have a small fridge. Two weeks of groceries just isn't going to fit in my teeny tiny fridge. A menu is great because it eliminates the stress of trying to figure out what's for dinner everyday. I post my menu up in the kitchen so I am sure to stick to it. When planning out your menu pick meals with ingredients that are affordable. I love Rachel Ray recipes but some of the ingredients she uses are expensive! Also, try and stay away from prepared frozen dinners. Most of the time you can make the same meal for half the price! It's not always convenient but unfortunately, saving money isn't always convenient. Same goes for frozen vegetables. Fresh produce is cheaper. 
2. Make a shopping list based on your menu. Look and see what you already have in your pantry. Get off the couch and double check if you're really out of onions or if you just think you might be. I can't tell you how many times I've returned from grocery shopping and said, "Dang it. I could have sworn I was out of _____," ending up with double what I actually needed, because I was too lazy to check before I left. 
3. Check your grocery store's weekly ad to see if any of the items on your grocery list are on sale. Refer to my previous post "BOGO (Buy One Get One FREE)". Remember, if you can match a sale item with one store coupon and one MFR coupon, that is where you save the big bucks! Some people even plan their menu off of what's on sale. I'm not there yet but if you can make meals out of sales items you save even more.
4. Match your grocery list with coupons. Go item by item down your list and try and find coupons to go with them. Refer back to my "Where Do I Find Coupons?" post to get an idea of where to search. Match coupons with as many items on your grocery list as you can. I have a small accordion folder that I keep coupons in. It's easy to flip through while I'm at the store. My first coupon trip I had them loose in my purse, disaster. 

BAD habits to break:

• Buying something that isn't necessarily on sale nor is something you are out of at home, but you know it's something you use often so you buy it anyways. NO. Stick to your grocery list!
• Picking up that box of crackers that is not on your grocery list. You don't really need it, but the picture on the box looks so yummy. NO. Stick to your grocery list!
• Buying something on sale that you don't need. Yes, that's fantastic that you found dog food on sale for $1.00 but if you don't have a dog (or a need for whatever the item may be) and it's not on your grocery list don't buy it! I know you're thinking, "That's crazy! If I didn't have a dog I would never buy dog food I didn't need!" You'd be surprised what you will consider buying when you first start coupon shopping. It's so exciting when you match up a big sale with coupons, you're like BUT IT'S SUCH A GOOD DEAL!! You have to bring yourself back down to earth and remind yourself, Kelly you do not need (there's that word again) this. :)
• Grocery shopping while you're hungry. Bad idea.

GOOD shopping tips:

• Be flexible and willing to try the off brand, it just might surprise you. Compare the prices of some of your favorite brand name items with the off brand. Try the off brand. You may not even be able to tell the difference and a simple switch can save you money. True story. I was looking for my GLAD garbage bags that I had a $1.00 off coupon for. GLAD trash bags $4.79 - $1.00 coupon = $3.79 awesome, or so I thought. Then, I compared prices of GLAD, Hefty, and some off brands to find the best deal. On the bottom shelf there was an off brand for $3.00 less than my name brand bags. My husband is really picky about trash bags, but I decided to give them a try anyways. $3.00 is a huge difference in savings and that's without even using a coupon! I got a small box, took them home, and honestly can't even tell a difference. No more GLAD bags for me. Lots of money saved by a simple switch!
• I can't emphasize this enough stick to your shopping list! Even though I often shopped with a shopping list I was really surprised how often I tried to stray from it when I first started doing this! Stick to your shopping list and save yourself money by not buying things you don't need.
• If you know that there is an item on sale you use often and you have coupons to match go ahead and stock up! Here are some items that I went ahead and stocked up on last time I was out grocery shopping because I hit a good sale: bread (freeze bread until you need it), cream of wheat, waffles, granola bars, cereal, coffee, oatmeal, and juice. If you catch an item on sale (matched with coupons for even more savings) and stock up you save money in the long run instead of waiting until you run out and buying it full price.

A big part of budgeting and savings money with coupons is being willing to say goodbye to favorite brands and going with what's on sale. I have always used Pampers, just because. I guess that's what they sent me home with from the hospital so I stuck with it. These days Joshua wears whatever diapers are on sale and I can get coupons for. Obviously if I come across a brand that leaks bad, is uncomfortable for him, or just doesn't cut it I won't continue buying it, but I've got 3 different brands in his closet right now (all of which were on sale and matched with coupons) that I am perfectly happy with! Take this way of thinking and apply it to all areas of shopping and you will be successful. It will blow your mind how much money you will save by this strategy alone. Advertising is no joke. Without you even knowing it they have you brainwashed to buy their particular brand and half the time you don't even know why you prefer their brand.

TIP: As you get to the end of your week see what you have leftover in the fridge and pantry. Get creative and try to make it one more day without grocery shopping. For instance, my menu week ended yesterday. I still had stew meat in the freezer, celery and carrots left over in the fridge so I made beef stew for dinner. I pushed my menu out one more day. Make it a challenge. I was supposed to go to the grocery store tonight but my car wouldn't start. :( My husband won't be able to take it to the shop tomorrow because of work so I have to get creative again for dinner tomorrow night. Here's an idea, turn leftovers into a whole new meal! I took leftover pot roast and made beef stroganoff one night. I made leftover london broil into delicious steak and cheese quesadillas for lunch the other day. Get creative! Picture yourself saving money every day you make it past the end of your menu week!