Sunday, March 22, 2009

I am playing the coupon game

As I mentioned before, I am sick of the talk of the economy just the same as the next guy. I was thankful for college basketball this weekend just to get the tv off the news and onto some sports.

And as I don't know anyone personally that has been laid off, being a state employee has its risks, and the possibility of me losing my job due to budget cuts is always there, regardless of a really bad year or just a bad year.

So I decided to take a challenge with our groceries. And you can tell me that my challenge is ridiculous or stupid, but to each his own. We normally would spend around $100 a week on groceries for our family of four. Sometimes $120, but rarely less than that. And it seemed that we were always running to the store between "big" trips to get a few more items, thus adding to the total.

My goal is to spend less than $75 a week on groceries.

Last week? I spend $58 on groceries. This week? $68.

I am winning, yipee!

And I am not going without. We have some expensive tastes in our house. Ashley really likes the organic poptarts; I am a huge fan of having fresh produce in the house. This week, to make it harder, we needed things like vitamins for the girls and dish washing detergent.

But what does make it better is watching for things you really need that is on sale. And I am a HUGE proponent of freezing. I freeze everything as normal recipes are most of the time too much for my family (aka two adults, a five year old and a three year old who eats like a bird).

And no, I am not running to multiple stores, although I know that is working for some I know. I am just not that dedicated, but I am sure I could save even more if I did.

To cut our monthly grocery bill from around $450 to $300 would be a huge advantage on our part. So what can I buy with that savings? Just kidding....(sort of).

6 comments:

Martha said...

with farmer's market season coming up you can save even MORE by stocking up on cheap, local produce that you can freeze and save all winter!

SJINCO said...

You know, I've been giving our grocery shopping habits a lot of thought - we spend way too much on groceries and it would be so helpful to just scale back and not spend so much. Our fridge is always bare and so is our pantry come the end of the week.

I live with THREE BOYS who eat. A lot.

If you have any tips / tricks you'd like to share, I'd be willing to listen! Good luck!

Lost A Sock said...

You're going to have to expand on this topic because I need haaaalp here. Diapers and formula included, we spend $800-900 per month on groceries for our family of five. We rarely eat out so this does cover three meals daily save the once or twice monthly at a restaurant, but I'm still scratching my head at where the money goes. Definitely share more on this one!! I'm so interested in what you're doing.

Anonymous said...

Good luck with this! It's pretty addicting when you see how much you start saving and I love the excitement and challenge of a great deal and saving, saving, saving. :)

Natalie said...

Please share your tips. I spend way too much money on groceries and would love to hear how you have been able to save.

Anonymous said...

Good for you on the grocery savings! I saved $40 on a $100 bill last week - coupons coupons coupons! I haven't done it again, but it sure felt good.

Like you, I freeze. But beware bulk . . . it's not always cheaper.

Ya just gotta look for the sales . . . if you find any fun tips or good replements for typical items, lemme know.