Money Saving Tips

So, this post is going to be an on going one and I'll add to it as my budget meal planning journey continues. I'll add the link to the left, so you can always find it. Please comment with any additional tips you may have!

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Make a weekly meal plan and stick to it.

Don't stock up on produce unless you can freeze it for later.

I check Walgreens and CVS for their weekly and monthly deals and hardly ever pay for things like shampoo and batteries. I'm not quite as crazy about deal finding as some ladies out there are, but I do watch for deals on products I know I'll use.

I don't buy commercial household cleaners. They aren't good for the environment, they aren't good for me and most of all, they aren't good, or safe, for my son. You can effectively clean ANYTHING with hot soapy water, vinegar, lemon and baking soda. And, it saves money!

Stop using paper towels. They are expensive and you don't need to use them. Use a wash cloth or a towel to clean up messes

Stretch your meat! You don't need to use that entire pound of hamburger for any one meal. One pound can go a LONG way. I can make an entire meatloaf (with left overs), a crock pot full of chili, meatballs, strogonoff and tacos with 2 pounds of hamburger. That's about 10 to 12 meals for a family of 3. I know many of my recipes call for a full pound of meat, but you don't need to use that much if you are trying to stretch your dollar. Fill in the gaps with corn and more beans in the chili, you don't need to overstuff your tacos and meatloaf can be stretched in countless ways. Portion sizes are out of control, scale back and you'll save a ton.

While we're on meat... consider trading ground turkey for ground beef, it's cheaper. You can get away with it easy in that chili and use 1/2 and 1/2 in the meatloaf.

Tuna... use it to replace chicken in chicken casseroles and make tuna salad instead of chicken salad. It's cheap and healthy.

Cook! Start from scratch and you'll be eathing healthier and cheaper.

Buy dried beans. Canned beans, even though cheap, are FIVE TIMES more expensive than buying dried.

Recycle and repuprose. Don't waste leftovers! My husband isn't a fan of them, so I freeze leftovers and serve them in a few weeks, he has no idea they are "left overs". Make sandwiches out of that left over roast meat, make chicken quesadillas with left over chicken, be creative.

Skip the non essential commercial foods. Potato chips, cheap pizzas, ice cream, the deli counter... If you are cooking from scratch you'll have lots of yummy goodies at home, for MUCH less and won't miss these things. Homemade ice cream and homemade yogurt are much cheaper than buying. If you must have your potato chips, consider the store brand.

Use any leftover funds from your grocery budget to stock up on something that is on sale or buy a bulk pantry item.

Don't drink your food budget. Stop the soda habit. Drink water, and not bottled water.

Pay for the food, not disposable packaging.

Shope your fridge, freezer and pantry first.

Coupons... I keep my eye on the frugal blogs out there for really great deals (read free) but other than that, I don't waste time on coupons. Generally, there aren't coupons for real food (meat, eggs, milk, flour, sugar...). There are exceptions, and I watch for those, but most of the time store brands or non processed options are cheaper than using a coupon.

Carry a calculator. Yes, it's nerdy but it will help you stick to your budget and compare brands. Also, make sure you are thinking price per pound or price per ounce when you are comparing.

Pay attention to prices. Keep a log of prices you see on items you buy most frequently and you'll have a better idea of what a good price really is.

International groceries - our local Mexican grocery store has FAR better prices on things like meat and produce than our chain grocer typicaly has.

Warehouse clubs - beware! I buy some staples at Sams, like milk, eggs or cheese but generally the food sold here are all not "real" food but rather commercial processed and not needed items. I usually don't find good produce and buying produce in bulk leads to waste. My meat is still cheaper at the Mexican grocery store. We do buy toilet paper and laundry detergent at Sams.

If you have a green thumb, grow your herbs. Think about how much money that will save! Unfortunaltey, I don't have a green thumb so it would just cost me more, lol.

Buy frozen veggies! They keep and are often times cheaper.

Obtain a store card

Eat meatless at least twice a week - Beans and Rice, egg dishes, vegetable stir fry with rice, vegetable pizza, pancakes for dinner...

BOGO doesn't always mean you have to buy 2. Often times, you can buy one and get it for 1/2 off. Read the fine print.

Buy a deep freeze and cook more than you need. Time is money :)

Do you buy diapers? Check out your local drug store, I've found that their store brands are often the cheapest around, and good quality as well.

Do you have kids? Leave them at home. LOL. Focus on yoru shopping and don't allow them to throw extras in that aren't in the budget. Make them a yummy treat when you get home.