How to Cut Items from Your Grocery Billby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 29 Apr 2009 08:43 AM Chances are that there are things on your grocery list that you really don't need. I'll share some ideas and ways to cut items from your grocery bill that will lower your costs without drastically changing your lifestyle. Some items we tend to purchase for convenience or out of habit when it fact, these items really aren't adding much to our lives. Sometimes the convenience is a matter of an extra minute to five minutes out of the day. To me, that just isn't worth a large grocery bill. Here are some examples. Paper towels Purchase reusable handiwipes, absorbent dishtowels or thin washclothes (check the dollar stores) to use in place of paper towels for everything from drying hands and wiping little faces, to cleaning spills from the counter and scrubbing the floor. To clean windows and mirrors use newspaper or the thin washcloths. Running one extra load of laundry (for the towels and cloths) every two or three weeks is worth the savings in my book. Expensive cleaners Baking soda, vinegar and bleach are inexpensive and clean very well. They each go a long way to keeping your home clean. In fact, as soon as I started to spray a solution of vinegar and water in my shower I noticed that I didn't have to scrub it as often. The vinegar kept the mold away. Convenience foods Did you know that there are only two extra ingredients to add to flour to get a baking mix? Flour is much cheaper than those boxed mixes, and there isn't much of a convenience to be gained. Plus you can avoid all of the extra preservatives that come with the mixes. Likewise, anything that is in a kit or frozen can be recreated at home with fresh ingredients. Have you noticed the serving size of some of these foods lately? I could feed a family of five with double helpings on what it would cost to purchase just two or three of those frozen meals. Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog, caring for little ones in the Baby Blog and now relationships in the Marriage Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here or subscribe to the blog using the subscription box on the right. Favorite Deal Websites: Related Articles: Things to Do with Expired Coupons A Guide to Salvage Grocery Shopping A Guide to Salvage Grocery Shopping 2 Five Little Grocery Shopping Tricks: Shelf Placement Coping with the Grocery Shrink Ray Adjusting Your Price Book with Escalating Grocery Costs Coping with No More Coupon Inserts New Grocery Shopping Techniques Five Little Grocery Shopping Tricks: Hide and Seek Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantfrugal tags User Comments  thequeenofthecastle (413) 02 May 2009 11:35 AMSeasoning mixes are one area I realized I was over spending. They are mostly salt with a few added spices. It's much cheaper to buy the spices that go into these mixes. For example: Taco seasoning is just chili powder, comino, garlic powder, onion powder, and HUGE amounts of salt. You'll find the same to be true for those packets of "gravy mix, chili mix, ect.." The other advantage of mixing these yourself is you can add a lot more flavor by upping the spices and cut down a lot on the salt. Community Tags frugal living, Food, grocery shopping, save money Discuss this article
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