Cutting the Grocery Bill in Half: Part 3

Today was my sons first day at daycare. I plan on taking on a few extra hours at work and he will be in daycare for a few hours a week. This fact was STRESSING me beyond belief (I know pretty silly). But today, I decided to take him for a "trial" day and see how he would adjust while I was just across the street at the gym. He happened to do wonderful....while I, on the other hand, could barely focus on my workout. I was worried he would be crying uncontrollably, catch a cold, or fall. I kept checking my phone non-stop to look for a call from the daycare. To help myself focus more, I started thinking about what I would say in this post and the next so that I could wrap up these tips and ya'll could get to shopping! This is what I came up with! Enough about my son/ life and onto the shopping tips:

How could I not be in love with this little cutie!?!

It was so hard to leave this precious face...even for a little bit

This past week you should have been paying attention to the sales' ads, your favorite store's prices, and making any adjustments from the previous tips. Here's a quick recap of the tips from the previous posts:

• Pay attention to prices.
• Make a list of ONLY what you need and the items that are on sale that you would buy.
• Remember when buying sale items their expiration, if they can be frozen, or if you have storage for any multiples you buy. 
• Stick to your list!
• Decide if you will go to multiple stores or price match at your favorite store. Note: most grocery stores will not price match, but Walmart and Target will!
• Make sure you're only buying what you need (a lot of people over buy and end up throwing spoiled food away or letting it sit in the cabinet and go past its expiration date).
• Don't only buy name brands some of the store brands are good also!
• Don't buy things strictly out of convenience (baby carrots, snack packs, 100 calorie packs, pre-sliced or precooked foods). Saving money does take a little extra effort, but not much!
• Consider making some things at home: cleaners, food, etc.

A few more things to consider:

Check it out!

10th: Decide if your family could use a membership to a wholesale warehouse like Costco, BJ's or Sam's Club.

• I currently have a membership to Costco and love it! I decided to get it because they carried my contact brand for a really good price and because the cost of their gas is usually the cheapest in town. On top of that, I love some of their food deals! A few things I buy from Costco are even cheaper than on post at the Commissary. 
• What I buy: Maranatha Almond Butter, Kirkland EVOO, sliced almonds or other nuts, cottage cheese for my son, oranges for my husband, dried blueberries and apricots, Bounty paper towels, Quilted Northern toilet paper, honey, soy milk, eggs, cheese, and a few other things. Oh and Costco NOW sells FLAX SEED!!! This is great for us smoothie-making people!
• What's great about Costco: First of all....the SAMPLES....isn't that the reason we all go there around lunch time? Besides the samples, they usually bring you rock bottom prices directly from the retailers and they also put out GREAT coupons! Their coupons make the deals even better....so check it out!
• Note: I do not go to Costco every week! I wait until I need a certain amount of things from Costco and then make my purchases so that I do not ruin my budget.

11th: If you plan on buying extras or multiples, consider investing in another fridge or freezer in your garage. My husband and I found an extra fridge for FREE on craigslist. At first I wanted a freezer, but the fridge/ freezer comes in handy. A couple of weeks ago King Soopers had a great deal on soy milk. Since soy milk is good for a couple of months and since my husband drinks a ton of it, I was able to buy a lot and store it in the extra fridge space, not to mention all of the extra things I freeze. See if it works in your budget of for your family!

12th: Consider couponing AND doing some light drugstore shopping

• I DO use coupons, but I do NOT get excessive or spend 40 hours a week on it. IF you are willing to use coupons and do a little shopping at drugstores, you can get some great deals. 
• I will discuss this more in part 4!

Have fun working on your coupon deals while I try to deal with my daycare anxieties!