November 16, 2009

Couponing and Groceries continued

I wanted to add a post early this morning and will follow up with an update later today.  I made a decision this weekend to spend more on groceries this month.  Okay, that doesn't at first glance go with the title to my blog.  However, it would appear that the two grocery stores we have here in town are both doing everything they can do to get business away from Super Wal-Mart.  It is like we are having "grocery wars" similar to the gasoline wars in the 1960's.  Over the past month I have been able to purchase 5 lb. bags of flour for 88 cents; 4 lb. bags of sugar for 99 cents and the savings go on and on.  All sorts of baking supplies go on sale at this time of year but these stores are offering real deals right now.  All of the flour I have purchased has a use by date to the end of 2010 - not that I will wait that long.  Also, my husband believes that the only cookie God intended for us to eat is chocolate chip.  Name brand chocolate chips - Hersheys and Nestle - have been on sale for as low as $1.00 and when you team them up with a coupon (50 cents off) it is a real deal.  Kraft Deluxe Macaroni and Cheese was on sale 3 for $1.00 at one store. There has been a lot of sales on Kraft Cheese, produce (large bags of baby spinach for 99 cents, red peppers 99 cents, carrots as low as 49 cents a lb.) and deli meats.  These are only a few of the great deals these stores have been offering and when I have teamed them up with coupons the savings have been great.  Of course, this adds to my pantry and I have had to come up with some interesting ways to store and keep track of all of my stock piled items. 

So I have increased my grocery budget to $100 a week for the next month in order to stock up for the future.  Come January you will not see flour and sugar this cheap.  Whole Wheat flour has not been on sale as much but I have noticed that the prices have gone down somewhat and have been able to purchase 5 lb. bags at $1.99. I have changed my goal for the time being by increasing my grocery spending now in order to save a lot more come January.  I know that by then flour will be back up to $2.00 for a 5 lb. bag and so will sugar.   The additional $25 I am spending is giving me easily $50 or more in groceries. 

I will post this evening (hopefully if not interrupted) about my savings with pictures and I will also post my new way of keeping my coupons.  I have gone from an envelope system to a notebook.

Today I am taking a meal to a family that attends our church.  The husband had knee replacement surgery on both knees last week.  With a stock pile of food in my pantry and freezer I didn't have to make a trip to the store for something to make for them.  On the menu for them is meatloaf; scalloped potatoes; steamed broccoli, buttermilk cornbread, and rice krispie bars for dessert.  As to the cost of this meal - the ground beef (85% lean) was purchased on sale at $1.59 per lb., the scalloped potatoes is not homemade but from a mix purchased on sale at 78 cents and then I had a 40 cent off coupon; green giant vegetable steamers were on sale for 99 cents and I had a 50 cent off coupon; I always have cornmeal in my pantry and I had the buttermilk from another recipe; and as to the crispy rice cereal - purchased extremely cheap about 2 months ago knowing it would get used in something.

I guess the point I want to make here in this early morning post  (now it is not so early) is that sometimes in order to meet financial goals you have to look ahead.  Spending some money now may save you a load of money down the road.  Fortunately I have some flexibility in my grocery budget right now but if I didn't have the flexibility I would find money in my budget in order to buy flour at such a low price. Also, hospitality doesn't have to cost a lot of money. I have a lot of nice budget conscious casserole recipes to choose from that might have been cheaper but I thought that the above menu would be a nice change from hospital food and would give them some leftovers for sandwiches tomorrow.

I know that macaroni and cheese and scalloped potatoes from a box are convenience foods and have a lot of sodium in them and such BUT these are used within reason.  Nearly everything I make during the day is made from scratch but it is nice to have some convenience foods on hand and as I have posted before I donate several of these items to our Ecumenical Food Cupboard for their use. 

Well, this whole journey has been interesting. Come January or perhaps by mid December when the sales are not as good, my grocery bill will be down considerably and should remain low for a very long time.  I need to come up with a goal but I would say that I should be easily able to keep my grocery bill down to $60 a week for a very long time.  Actually I would like to get it down to $50. 

Every day I struggle with spending money.  I track all of my grocery spending on a spread sheet so I can stay on budget.  I am prone to spend and I could easily get carried away with stock piling too much food and over spending by having to throw something out that expires.  So far I have had a good handle on it.

Well it is Monday and Monday is laundry day in our house.  I need to get started.  When I became a SAHW I decided that the housewives of years past had the right idea with Monday being laundry day and it works for me.

4 comments:

tammyyarbrough said...

To organize your coupons, I strongly suggest that you invest in a Couponizer- check the site. The cost is around $20. I have used this system for over 10 years, and it has saved our family thousands of dollars by keeping coupons VERY organized. By the way, I give these to friends for gifts and they Love them!! Also, I try to spend around $300 a month to feed a family of three- this includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There is a site called
5dollardinners that has really great recipes. About stockpiling, I try to spend around $10-$15 per trip for items that are super cheap to stockpile so that I won't have to pay full price if I ever run out. These items may include shampoo, TP, cereal, soups, snacks, juices ,cleaning supplies, etc. Also, don't forget to donate to food banks! There are lots of folks who have nothing, and to be able to help always makes your "path" that much more rewarding! Have fun with your laundry- it's my day to mop!

Martha said...

Tammy:

Yes I do donate to our local Ecumenical Food Cupboard. I have also been on the 5dollardinner site and I love it. I will check into the couponizer and thank you so much for your comments. I love getting feedback.

Stacy said...

I was struck by your comment on each day being a struggle to not spend money. I am the same way. There are so many things out there to tempt us and saying no over and over can be hard. I have found that staying committed is easier now than it was in the beginning. Once you get your new habits established, you will celebrate frugality the way you once celebrated great buys :)
Stacy

Martha said...

Moderate Means:

So true. It gets a little easier each day as it becomes more a part of my life. Thanks for your comment.