TOT Thursday - Creative couponing

Sometimes we just can't live without a particular brand, or a certain food item. My brother-in-law is notorious for the fact that he can only stomach one specific brand of milk! But it is still possible to reduce your food budget and get the brands you love, and not just by purchasing the Sunday paper!

Get creative about where your coupons come from!

Everyone knows the Sunday paper carries coupons - usually two to three different circulars (Mommy Snacks has posted a 2010 Coupon Insert schedule if you want a heads up on how many there will be!). But your local paper is FAR from the only place you can pick up great coupons!

*Regional Papers - Don't just pick up your local paper if you live in suburbia. Often the paper for the nearest major city (Boston in my case) will carry more, or more comprehensive, coupon inserts. I noticed a while back that the Red Plum insert for my local paper was MUCH thinner than the Boston paper. And most big city papers will do Sunday-only deliveries straight to your door!

*Internet coupon sites - The internet is FULL of great places to pick up printable manufacturers coupons! My personal favorites (less advertisements to click through) are Coupons.com, Smartsource.com, and Redplum.com. They usually update the coupons available at the beginning of every month, and offer a limited quantity of high value or unusual coupons - so visiting them early is your best bet.

*Manufacturer websites - Have a favorite brand? Go straight to the source! Most food brands offer coupons right on their site, and many (like Pillsbury, Betty Crocker and Proctor & Gamble) have special websites that offer several coupons, newsletters and special deals. They are free to sign up with as well!

*Coupon clipping services - I'm just starting to explore this option, but I know many who use it regularly. The basic idea is that someone takes their time to find and clip out coupons, and charge a nominal "clipping fee" per item. You choose ONLY the coupons you will use, and purchase as many as you need. eBay has many coupon clippers, and websites like The Coupon Clippers, The Coupon Master and Coupon Clipping Crew specialize in the service. They are a great resource if you want many of the same item, but do require you to plan shopping well in advance to allow for shipping time.

*Friends, relatives, neighbors - Chances are good that in your circle of infulence, SOMEONE is throwing away coupons you need, and vice versa! Get a coupon swap going - let people know what you need and find out what they need, and trade around the horn when the circular comes out! Everyone benefits, and fewer coupons go to waste.

*Freecycle - It's a little unusual, but there are many times I've either posted or responded to a request on Freecycle for specific coupon, or unused coupon inserts. When I miss buying the paper I ALWAYS post on Freecycle, and I ususally get more than a few responses!


*Tear-pads in the store - They're in almost every aisle, those little tear-pads with coupons to entice you to try a new product. I don't advocate grabbing the whole pad - I will NEVER need 50 bottles of salad dressing - but take a few! They usually have long expiration dates, and will come in handy if the item goes on sale but there aren't other coupons available.



Stumble It!

TOT Thursday - Discount grocers!

I was guilty for SO many years of just grocery shopping at the store closest to my house. I can't even imagine how much money I wasted for the sake of convenience. Making a commitment to pay the lowest price possible for the things I need forced me to look beyond the first parking lot to cross my path...and discover a few not-so-secret goldmines for grocery savings! Here's how you can put a big dent in your grocery budget this week:

Hunt down the discount grocers in your area!

Sounds simple, and I'm sure many of you are already shopping happily at these establishments. But some of you may not know that Wal-Mart isn't the be-all of discount grocery stores! Not everyone lives in an area with multiple options for grocery shopping, but if you do a little investigating, you may be surprised at what you find!

Discount grocers come in many forms - some (like Price Rite, Shop Rite, Aldi) are straight-up grocery stores with mostly store-brand items. Others are "ding & dent" or salvage stores - the ones that get the bruised boxes and cans deemed not good enough for the fancy big chains :) 99-Cent stores will usually carry SOME selection of pantry items, in some areas they even sell produce! And many restaurant supply stores will sell to the public at wholesale prices. Local farmstands are another great way to get in-season produce at lower prices, since they don't factor in shipping to the cost of the fruits and veggies.

It's worthwhile to get to know these "secondary" shopping resources - most sell private-label (translated: store brand without the recognizable brand name) goods or damaged package/overstocked brand names. I can easily find about 90% of what I need at the Price Rite, and only go to the big stores for specialty items and crazy sales that stack with coupons. The cost difference is SIGNIFICANT, and if you've never shopped a discount grocer, it could potentially cut your spending in half with NO COUPON CLIPPING!

Here are a few examples of discount grocers that may be in your area, but Google and the Yellow Pages are great resources for finding your own hidden gems! Comment with your favorite discount store in your area and I'll add them to the list!

Aldi - store locator (many locations nationwide!)
Price Rite - store locator - CT, MA, NY, PA, RI
Shop Rite - store locator - CT, DE, NJ, NY, MD, PA

This site has a Discount Grocery store directory listed by state! Mostly salvage-type stores.
Here's Wikipedia's list of US supermarket chains, many of which are discount grocers!





Stumble It!

TOT Thursday - Storage worth the cost

Business folks are familiar with the phrase "you have to spend money to make money" - and in one particular area the same concept can apply to money saving at home. It seems counterintuitive, but a minor investment now can save you TONS of money on groceries in the coming months! Here's what should be on your shopping (or Christmas!) list THIS MONTH:

Figure out where you can fit one more appliance, and get yourself a stand-alone freezer! They come in many sizes, including small units that will fit into an apartment setup, so there's no reason not to take the plunge! Yes, it's an investment - but the money you save by being able to store food for long periods will more than make up the investment within the first year you own it.

The biggest reason I can keep my budget so low is that when freezable food goes on sale, I buy A LOT. I package into meal-sized portions (or make freezer meals) and sock them away in my chest freezer. I NEVER pay full price for meat, cheese or bread, I can take advantage of the bounty from other folks' gardens, and I can OFTEN skip grocery shopping altogether because I've stocked up my freezer during the really big sales.

The savings add up - I buy boneless chicken breast only when it's $2 or less (usually less) per pound. Regular price is around $4.50/lb here...and we eat at LEAST 75 pounds of chicken a year. That's a $187 savings just on chicken!

Why not just use my fridge freezer? Aside from having more space, a chest/upright freezer will keep food much colder (you open it less often so it holds its temperature better and keeps food at more consistent temps). That means food will last even LONGER than in a regular fridge freezer.

So instead of the Wii, get a Frigidaire - and reap the savings all year!

get more in-depth info on freezing and freezer cooking here and here




Stumble It!

TOT Thursday - know your limits!

It's no secret that when budgeting for your meals, proteins will be the most expensive ingredient on your list (unless you have eggs every meal!) But even meats obey supermarket sales cycles, so here's how you can start cutting your budget for meats THIS WEEK:

Set limits on what you will pay for your meat items! In reading many blogs and watching my own sales here (south of Boston), I've found this simple guide applies just about everywhere in the US:

*$2 per pound or less: boneless meat, ground meat, sausages, beef steaks

*$1 per pound or less: bone-in meat, including whole chicken

I rarely have to go outside of these price limits, unless I really want to pay extra for a pricier cut of beef or fish - but even then I've been able to get petit sirloins for under $4 per pound. When I see meat fall to these prices, I buy double and freeze into meal sized portions!

You can also pick up extra savings by finding out when the butcher marks his meat for quick sale (meat that is about to come to the "sell by" date), and by purchasing extra "holiday" meats when they drop the prices (Ground beef before Labor Day, ham around Easter, turkey around Thanksgiving).


The important thing to remember is this: I can decide if I want to spend a little more. Because I buy my day-to-day ingredients at the lowest price and stock up, I'm not beholden to the supermarket's regular prices. I can't remember the last time I had to pay $4/lb for boneless chicken breast! But I have the extra room in my budget if I want to have a nice steak dinner with my husband for special occasions.

And to REALLY stretch your weekly meat budget - try breakfast for dinner! Breakfast is the least expensive meal of the day, and the kids get a kick out of having a meal "out of order".

How do you make your meat budget go further?





Stumble It!

TOT Thursday - Weights and measures

A few weeks ago I mentioned how changing your portion size can not only reduce your food budget (by eating closer to correct portions your food will go further) but also reduce your waistline, especially if you're in the habit of filling up that giant dinner plate! But it's hard to eyeball a correct meat portion until you've seen the actual accurate size many times.

How can you make your meat purchase go further this week?

Invest in a food scale!

According to the USDA's food pyramid guidelines, women should consume about 5 1/2 oz of meat/protein daily, while men should consume about 6 1/2 oz. Consider that most restaurants serve up between 3/4 and a full pound of meat, and even at home we're making one full chicken breast (8 oz) for a meal..it's a reality check! If you're serving protein twice a day, your meat portion should be three ounces at each meal. THREE OUNCES! The eyeball measurements I've heard are a deck of cards or a woman's palm...but I've been guilty of "cheating" that size estimate, because it's easy when you're not dealing with hard numbers.

Using a food scale will keep you on track with your portion sizes, and will also allow you to buy meats and other foods in bulk and separate into useful portions more quickly and easily! I picked up this food scale at Ikea (hubby works there!) for six bucks, and I use it constantly - not just for meat, but bulk shredded cheese, veggies, even flour for baking (many really good bread recipes use flour measurements by weight and not cups).

So the next time you pick up that 3-lb package of chicken breast at the store, remember that it should serve up eight daily portions - then get yourself a scale and be sure you're making the most of that purchase!



Stumble It!

TOT Thursday - Dinner is served - twice!

I chuckle to myself whenever one of the nurses I work with finds out what I've done with our food budget through budgeting, couponing and cooking more at home. The first reaction is generally amazement at how little we spend. But the second response is almost ALWAYS "I just don't have time to cook every night". Sound familiar?

I certainly don't expect the mom who works full time, runs her kids to activities, shops and cleans to throw the ol' apron on and put out a five course spread every night...but with a TEENY bit of pre-planning you can easily reduce how often you eat out or grab frozen entrees during the week. Both dinnertime options are not only costly, but can also have an impact on your health, when you consider the preservatives it takes to make fresh food shelf-stable.

Here's an easy way to reduce your dinnertime costs THIS WEEK:

- Look at your schedule for the week. Is there one night you will have about 30-45 minutes free before dinnertime? Ideally you should try for two nights, but one's better than none!

- Take a minute to browse your cookbooks or online for recipes that won't take long to make. Pasta bakes and rice casseroles work very well for this exercise. Need a place to start? Try some of these resources:
30 Minute recipes at cdkitchen.com
Quick Dinner Recipes at Taste of Home
Allrecipes.Com Quick and Easy recipe library

- Now for the tricky part: DOUBLE THE RECIPE. It will only add about 5-10 minutes of prep time for you to make two full meals worth, and since you're already in the kitchen you may as well put the time to good use! Make your grocery list ahead of time so you'll have everything you need (and to help you stick to the plan - writing down your goals and plans increases your chances of acheiving them!)

Before an hour is up on the day you cook, you will have TWO fully prepared meals - send one to the table, and immediately wrap the other one and pop it in the freezer. I use a sharpie marker and write what the dish is right on the foil, along with the reheating instructions. If your family's schedule makes it hard to all sit down together, invest in some single-serve plastic storage containers. Dish out the servings and freeze for lunches or dinners on the go. Then make your family do the dishes as a reward for your hard work :)

If you can do that once or twice a week, before too long you'll have a nice reserve of frozen entrees sans preservatives at your fingertips - not to mention you'll have made dinner for less than $3 a serving, instead of $10 a head at a restaurant! Getting in that habit may inspire you to start meal planning a week at a time, which will do wonders for your food budget and your peace of mind. Get REALLY good, and you can try your hand at once a month cooking!




Stumble It!

TOT Thursday - Save some beans!

Beans, beans, the magical fruit...the more you eat the more you....SAVE!

Silly, yes...but oh so true! Beans are the frugalista's magic wand when it comes to making meals that satisfy AND save money.

They are incredibly good for you - high in fiber, low glycemic index, and even full of antioxidants and vitamins! Beans also become a complete protein when combined with grains or dairy. Adding beans to your diet is equally good for your wallet - canned beans can be found for under $0.80 in almost all areas (one can is about 3.5 servings, $0.23 per serving). If you're REALLY resourceful, you can cook dried beans in your crockpot for around $0.08 per serving!

Don't like beans? My husband was a bean-ophobe because he didn't like the texture or the skins of some of the bigger bean varieties. Black beans are the least "intrusive" bean that I've found - the skins aren't thick and they have a very mild flavor, pleasing even to his picky palate! If you're more adventurous, do a quick search on Recipezaar.com or AllRecipes for bean concoctions and experiment with kidney beans, black eyed peas, fava veans, butter beans and chickpeas!

Some practical ideas to incorporate beans this week:

- Mash up some rinsed black beans and mix with your ground beef in any recipe. It will make the meat stretch further AND add healthy fiber to your dish!

- Toss chickpeas or kidney beans in your salad along with sesame seeds or shredded cheese instead of meat - the combination makes a complete protein.

- Make a super cheap dinner of beans (red or black) and rice - four servings will run you about $1.75!

- Just about any broth- or tomato-based soup will benefit from the addition of beans, they add flavor and heartiness! Or break out your crockpot and find out how easy it is to make great chili! Substitute half the meat with beans (I prefer kidney or black).

- Have beans for breakfast - peanuts are a legume! PB on toast is a super healthy way to start your day.




Stumble It!

TOT Thursday

I decided to start a new little series, which I am dubbing Tricks Of the Trade Thursday! My goal will be to pass on small pointers and tips that you can use TODAY to save some money!

Here's today's tidbit:

Portion control

It's no secret that our portion sizes are out of whack - check out this article from MSNBC about a Rutgers portion perception study - we are eating 20-40% more than we did two decades ago, because we really don't know what healthy portions are!

You can improve your grocery spending RIGHT NOW by taking a hard look at how you portion out your meals:
*Read the actual serving sizes on the side of the box. And follow them!
*Check out this great chart of visual serving sizes.
*Stop using the 12" dinner plate - try portioning out your meals on an 8" sandwich plate instead (your plate will look fuller so you won't feel like you're missing anything!)

If you've followed correct portion sizes and your meal leaves you wanting more, try serving your meals with a slice of bread or a roll, and be sure you are drinking enough fluid while you eat! Taking breaks from the plate to take a drink gives your body time to realize it's being fed, so you may find you're getting fuller faster.

You may be surprised at how much further your meals will stretch once you're not supersizing your servings! And an added bonus - eating correct portions means your calorie intake may reduce...which may bring those "skinny" jeans out of the closet a little sooner :)




Stumble It!