New Grocery Shopping Techniques (2)by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 17 Jun 2008 01:36 PM
In the previous article I shared some of my new strategies. Here are the rest. (If you missed the first part of this article, click here: New Grocery Shopping Techniques. I skip the coupons. The newspaper recently raised their cost to $1.75 for the Sunday edition, and the coupons in it have been pretty skimpy. Because I am not going to the store as frequently, I seldom can use more than a few coupons (to combine them with sales). Most of the products can no longer be found for free or a few pennies even using the coupons. There are exceptions, and I usually find these online. I stick more to the basics. There is probably less variety in our meals now, since I rely mostly on the basics for meal preparation instead of cooking what is on sale that week. I will adjust recipes as new prices become available, but for the most part, most of the meals are combinations of chicken, turkey, pasta, brown rice, vegetarian dishes, soup and homemade baked goods, with an occasional ham or potatoes thrown in. If something is a great bargain, I by all means include it in meals, but the basics win out for the budget. We consume new food. Being open to what is inexpensive has helped the food bill. We never usually consume margarine, for example, but when a good brand was being discontinued we purchased two tubs in order to save on the expense of butter. Microwavable pasta kits were on clearance for $1.41 for a box of four meals. The box also had a coupon on it for 55 cents that could be doubled. For 7.75 cents a meal, we'll deal with some of the preservatives, especially since we usually avoid them. Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. Starting June 1st, don't miss her articles in the Baby Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here. Related Articles: Same Store, Different Neighborhood 10 Ways to Cut Your Grocery Bill 10 Ways to Cut Your Grocery Bill 2 Adjusting Your Price Book with Escalating Grocery Costs 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 Tashi (1013) 17 Jun 2008 04:57 PMI usually skip coupons too, except, it's mainly because I'm always bad at remembering to *bring* them with me to the store. :-) About the only coupons I do remember, are the gas coupons offered by my favorite grocery store; for every $10 you spend on groceries, you get 1 cent off your gas at a local station. And you can combine up to 3 coupons, and can use expired ones as well. It may not sound like much, but these days, everything really helps! I've gone back to buying the large bagged cereals Malt-O-Meal makes. After seeing how much Honey Bunches of Oats was costing recently (sorry, I can't remember the figures), I twirled around to the other side of the aisle and grabbed Malt-O-Meal's version. Maybe they've gone up too, but I feel better about the shopping change I made, in an effort to save some dinero. I think I'll be making more and more choices like this. MegfromAllAboutAppearances (330) 17 Jun 2008 10:57 PMI rarely if ever use coupons. I've never paid for newspapers and I've never been impressed by the coupons I have spotted in the paper -- or anywhere else for that matter. Most of the coupons are for some new, "improved", more processed than ever "food". I'll pass. Even when I do find coupons for things I eat, the generic is cheaper almost every time. But when I do find that rare useful coupon, I make darn sure that I use it. AllyssaRea (18) 18 Jun 2008 08:58 AMmary ann; have you ever tried the "grocery game" thing?  Mary Ann Romans (26876) 18 Jun 2008 10:33 AMAllyssaRea, I've practiced my own version of the grocery game, but I find now with changing prices and coupon policies that it just doesn't pay. The official grocery game isn't in my area, but I would probably pass on that since I can do the same thing for free using couponmom. Mary Ann Romans (26876) 18 Jun 2008 10:36 AMMeg--exactly. I am a big fan of coupons when there are freebies. I don't think I have paid for toothpaste in years. But many of the coupons are for processed overpriced food. Also, new coupons policies don't allow you to double or triple the same coupon even if used for multiple items, so making a trip to the store for one free can of beans just doesn't make much sense when you spend more than that in gas. Now, if we could go back to the days of buying 15 cans of free beans, it would be worth it. Mary Ann Romans (26876) 18 Jun 2008 10:37 AMTashi, have you considered ditching the cereal all together and making oatmeal, muffins or granola? Tashi (1013) 18 Jun 2008 06:25 PMNo, Mary Ann, I hadn't thought of those ideas yet. I think it's a great idea. However, after a lifetime of Cheerios, etc. With skim milk every morning, I'm not sure I could stick with muffins, whatever, instead. I do occasionally add granola or almond slices to my Cheerios. Many mornings, I'll do half Honey Nut Cheerios, half Malt-O-Meal honey and oat flakes. If my doctor told me to give up cereal, then maybe that's what it'd take for me to ditch the cereal altogether Tashi (1013) 18 Jun 2008 06:29 PMBtw, WHAT'S the "grocery game"? :-) Mary Ann Romans (26876) 19 Jun 2008 01:21 PMCereal, per ounce, is one of the most expensive "common" foods out there. Mary Ann Romans (26876) 19 Jun 2008 01:39 PMThe grocery game is a service that for a fee will tell you what sales for your store will match up with what coupons in your local coupon flyer, therefore saving you the most money. It saves time for anyone who doesn't want to match everything up themselves. Discuss this article
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