My job: Saving money

I was worried early in our marriage that I would not be bringing in a monetary income to our family. I did not know how I was going to contribute financially to our family. Since we have been married, I have learned to save us money. This has helped us tremendously in our finances and budget. It helps to keep our income IN instead of going OUT. When we are able to save money in certain areas of the budget then we can use it in other areas of the budget where there may be a deficit or to make up for increased spending due to rising prices.

One area that I have mastered saving money is in the grocery budget. I knew early on that we were going to have to use coupons and other money saving tips in order to keep us on a tight grocery budget. It took some time to master this skill but I have managed to save us more and more each time we go to the grocery store.

Here are some tips on how I have been able to save us money.

Money saving tips

1) BOGOs & Bonus buys.
2) Coupon stacked on top of BOGOs & bonus buys
3) Competitor coupons

I use BOGOs (Buy one, Get one free deals) and bonus buys to "stock up" on basic supplies such as pasta, rice, and soup. I have kept our big shopping days to only twice a month – once at the beginning of the month and another in the middle of the month. On the other weeks, I only shop for the perishable items such as milk and eggs. I sometimes will capitalize on a few good sales such as crackers, snacks, or juice.

I know it may seem a bit out of the ordinary with the rise of technology and the Internet, but we use the Sunday newspaper to clip coupons. We look at the grocery store sale ad that comes in the Wednesday paper. Kris and I often fight over who gets to look at it and catch the good deals first. Stacking these coupons with BOGOs and bonus buys can help to save even more money.

Look out in your mailbox for the sale ads and coupons for grocery stores that you do not typically use. They may have better sales on items that you normally use.  Check if your favorite grocery store honors competitor coupons. Stacking these coupons with your BOGOs deals and other coupons can really save you money. Sometimes it may seem like just "junk mail" but there are money saving coupons in there. I know Publix, our local grocery store, takes competitor coupons.

Shopping tips

I always make a very detailed grocery list and stick to it. I know what items on my list I really need and which ones can wait. I have a basic idea how much I would spend if everything on the list was purchased. I typically only add items not on the list when I have other items from the list that I have not purchased. I am able to stay within budget each time I go to the grocery store.

Not only do I not go to the grocery store when I am hungry, but I do not make my grocery list when I am hungry. I may look at the sale ad a few times before I compile my list. I am able to limit my impulse for a certain item even it is on sale. It is not necessary to capitalize on every sale or deal. Decide which deals are advantageous for you.

Be careful of product size and cost. Check per unit costs of each item. Manufacturers use different sizes to entice you to buy less and pay more. The better deal is not always what you think when you compare per unit costs.

This article appeared in our local paper and you may want to take it into consideration the next time you are at the grocery store.

Make sure you watch your items as they are being rung up. Your grocery store may have a policy for items that do not ring up correctly. I know Publix has a policy if an item does not ring up at a price you think it should be, then they give it to you for FREE whether it is your error or theirs. I have caught this a couple of times.

I have found fiddledeedeemom.com to be a helpful website/blog. The author lists sales & BOGOs deals coupled with coupons at various grocery stores.

Meal planning tips

I devise our weekly meals plans based on what is on sale and not what we are craving. It is an extra special treat when the ingredients for the special meals we have been craving are on sale. There are websites such e-mealz.com available for a small fee to help you devise meal calendars based on what it on sale at your favorite grocery store. I plan our own meal calendar based on our food inventory at home and what is on sale. I am sometimes able to plan two weeks worth of meals based on our current inventory without having to go grocery shopping for additional items.

I have had fun developing my own techniques for saving money. These are the tricks that worked for me in helping to save money. I started off saving only twenty-five percent each time at the grocery store. I slowly was able to work up to thirty percent. Just the other day I was able to save the same amount of money that I spent. I am slowly working on tipping the scale where I am able to save more than I actually spent on the groceries. If I can just do it once in this lifetime, then it surely would be a great accomplishment.

Remember saving money is making money.