Money Saving Tips Part 1

Money Saving Tips Part 1

I'm sure I'll have more money saving tips later, but I really wanted to share something that I have learned about maximizing grocery shopping.

I love saving money where I can but we all need to eat and we all love to eat well. I consider myself on a fixed budget when it comes to food shopping. I have food stamps due to the amount of people I feed- three- and the amount of money my fiancee makes. Although he makes enough as if both of us would work a full time job, the expenses keeping the car afloat and his job security take a huge toll on what we have left at the end of the week. 

I have shopped a few different places in hopes to find good deals, even going as far as strict shopping at Save-A-Lot for a couple weeks. 

Here's my observations and what I have learned from trying different methods.

Regional chain here in the south east, Publix, gives me both quality and quantity for MOST things food related. Every week they offer great Buy One, Get One (BOGO) deals. If I shopped for the same thing or off brand at Save-A-Lot I may pay a dollar less for one of the items, but the extra dollar couple get me two! Great for non-perishables or things you go through quickly and use a lot of. Now, if you COUPON most times you can find a manufacture's coupon for the same item on sale for BOGO. 

So let's do some math. Let's say it's a BOGO sale on a box of pasta. This box of pasta is... $1.30. So, usually $2.60 on two boxes, but this sale now is $1.30 for two- saving you $1.30. You now have a coupon that says buy any 2 of this box of pasta and save $.30! The 'free' one IS included in the purchase. You now get $2.60 worth of product for only $1.00- with a savings of $1.60!

Most stores also 'double' a manufacture's coupon with an IN STORE coupon. So let's say you had the manufacture's coupon, the BOGO sale and you got one of the ad papers with the bonus savings of another... $.20 on any ONE box of this type of pasta. Since the one box was "free", take another $.20 off of the $1.00 and you now only pay $.80 for the two boxes! 

If I went to Save-A-Lot they may beat individual prices on most items, but you wouldn't buy 2 for the same deal- especially coupled with coupons. 

Wal-mart has that same mentality but a slight more expensive the Save-A-Lot with some items more expensive then my Publix. They accept manufacture's coupons but they rarely if ever have any BOGO sales. If you feel like price comparison shopping and multiple trips Wal-Mart isn't always a bad choice especially if you buy large amounts, but I would check the regional stores first. Wal-Mart, however, is usually better with taxed items on your grocery list- such as shampoos, shavers, toilet paper, etc. Unless you can scope out a good deal at your regional chain try Wal-Mart or Save-A-Lot for some of these other items. 

Wal-Mart for me personally has always been more expensive when I bargain shop at my local Publix. 

Meats, however, are usually less expensive per cut and pound at Wal-Mart and especially Save-A-Lot. You can't usually find the expensive cuts as easily and sometimes fears of quality present itself. Always check your meats and freeze them immediately when you get home. Save-A-Lot is always sketchy to me, but I usually buy Tyson chicken when going there and once they have restocked if I'm not using it right away. A pack of chicken breast here may only cost me $4.00 versus Publix at $9.00 for the same thing. It pays to go look around.

The problem with Save-A-Lot and other dollar stores: People buy what they need to eat and feed a family. Often times when on a very low budget they aren't concerned with what is IN the food they find on the shelves, rather, that they like it, they can buy in bulk, and feed their families. Go into a Save-A-Lot and walk around and read the packages of cheese products, pastas, processed meats, and the like. Cheese flavored cheese?! The ingredients are much more like plastic additives! Cream cheese- unless it's Philly- is NOT real cream cheese. Pastas are full of anything but flour and turn out gummy. And who knows what's really in those chicken nuggets. Heck, my roommates bought a package of huge hot dogs from there and each hot dog was 800 calories and full of fat and sugars and names unpronounceable. 

I'm an advocate for healthier alternatives but I understand the dilemma. Spending what little you have to buy as much as you can so you don't go hungry. But how is that really going to make you feel in the long run after meal after meal? How much more will you have to shell out for health care and how long will your life expectancy drop due to poor nutrition, additives, and just corn and flour? Our society eats corn through almost everything. While it's fast growing and solves hunger itself by producing anything with corn in it- especially animals- this problem only exacerbates diabetes, obesity, and malnutrition even worse then the corn syrup problem itself.  

Get what you can for your money. Cut portions for healthier eating and saving on money. Win/win. Shop around, look for deals and COUPON. Lot's of sites give out printables and pick up store ads- even look at store ads online. Plan. If you can freeze it, pick it up on sale. Put back if you can to spend less throughout the month. So many blogs that walk you through these things, even couponing sites with cheat guides in your area. It PAYS to do your homework and you'll be saving money in no time.