I think I am pretty frugal. Jake and I are one a very (VERY) tight budget. Somehow we make it each month. I mentioned before I am taking this "Good Sense" study. Last week we were talking about grocery bills. There is a chart titled "Government Statistics on Monthly Food Costs". It shows the family size and how much spent on groceries for the month. They divide it into 4 categories: Liberal, Moderate, Low Cost & Thrifty. A thrifty family spends $410 a month on groceries. We are THRIFTY. We haven't always been but I do several things that have got us there. First, I plan a menu. It significantly cuts back on the spending. I write down what I want to have for the week, on a calendar and post it on the fridge. It helps me be organized. Then I write a shopping list. I try my best not to buy anything that is not on the list. That helps stop the impulse shopping. I am an impulse shopper by nature so this has been a hurdle for me. I am also a sucker for packaging. My list helps me stay on track. I do most of my shopping at Aldi's. It really isn't that bad at all. I love name brands (also another weakness) but I tried some of Aldi's new items and they are quite delicious. I don't buy everything at Aldi's for a couple of reasons. They don't carry everything I use AND they aren't always the cheapest. Shocker....I know. Here is an example. Grapes. At Aldi's they are 2 lbs. for $2.99. They are pretty small grapes. Well, I watched the sales ad's and saw they were $1.29 lb. at Tops (2 weeks ago). I went there and they were plumb georgous grapes. So you have to know your prices. If there is an item I don't usually buy and I don't know how much the other stores sell it for, I find I usually pay too much. Here are some other tips. I buy cheap toilet paper. Not the paper thin stuff but the new Scott toilet paper. It is soft and really not that bad. It is cheaper anyways but then I bought it on sale! I do use coupons but not that much. Aldi's doesn't take them. But I look through them and only cut out the ones for the items I need. Then I look through the sales ads and see if any coordinate. If so I shop at those stores. I do shop at Giant Eagle & Tops. A lot of people avoid them because they are expensive. Their sales are good. And they have double coupons (sometimes triple). Things like yogurt are usually cheaper there than they are at places like Marcs (discount store in Ohio).
The reason I am writing this today is....Yesterday Acme (a store I don't typically shop at because it is expensive) was having a meat sale. I don't buy a lot of meat because it is expensive. We eat hamburger meat, ground turkey and chicken breast. Occasionally I will throw in ham or pork chops. We have bought meat bundles before and that worked out okay but we haven't done it again. Well, I went to Acme expecting I probably wouldn't find anything that great. Well...I bought roasts (pork & beef), bacon, chicken strips, chicken breast, chicken quarters, pork chops, turkey breast, steaks, salmon and alaskan king crab legs. I bought enough meat for 2 months (suplimented with ground turkey) for $100. Yes, I am frugal and maybe even a cheap skate but I cook healthy, well balanced meals and we even eat fancy stuff like crab legs (or lobster) every now and then.
So there is my little lesson on saving money. It takes a little time but not as much as you think. I actually takes organization, which none of you thought I had (did ya?).
Have a good day.
4 comments:
YOU-thrifty? Whoda thunk it?? I should really talk.....
I used to do all that too, but have gotten out of the habit. I need to go back to it! We still maintain a pretty frugal budget b/c I do almost all my shopping at Aldi. B/c overall their prices are much lower and b/c I almost always have to take the kids and at Aldi I don't have to think. If I have my list there is only one brand to choose from and less aisles to go through.
A couple of other tips I will throw out there that I used to use too. Don't shop with the kids. (Too distracting!) Use bread outlet and bulk food stores.
The most helpful was to keep a notebook of the lowest prices of the items you buy regularly. When I did this I wrote down all the Aldi prices. This way when you are looking at a sale ad or in a store running a sale you can see if the sale price is actually better than what you normally pay.
Glad to know you inherited some of my genes!
Aunt D
I am also on a very tight budget. I've been able to make it work. I shop at Kroger (like Top's or Giant Eagle) and Wal Mart mostly. I actually spend well under the average monthly grocery bill. I try to buy mostly minimally processed food, whole and organic, when I can. You'd think I'd spend more, but I don't. I've compared things, and cut out (or reduced the amount of) unnecessary junk.It also makes me feel really good about the food I feed Isabella (and myself). I also try to make a weekly menu and post it on the fridge. It does help alot.
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