FRUGAL FRIDAY

This week I read a delightful blog post on saving money on grocery shopping. Please go over to http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2009/08/8-ways-to-lower-your-grocery-bill.html and check out their suggestions for ways to lower your grocery bill. Just reading it made me grin and there are some really great ideas that I have posted before.

I tried to go to the Supercook link that she suggests and it did not work, so I just typed it into my search engine and it came up. It really does give some wonderful suggestions for recipes using the ingredients you happen to have on hand. For instance, I just bought a large bag of fresh okra (I LOVE okra!) and was looking for some new ways to use it. I typed in okra, diced tomatoes and ground meat (ingredients I had on hand). They gave me a recipe for Chile Gumbo that sounds just delicious. I can hardly wait to try it.

FRUGAL FRIDAY

This morning I heard a news story about a woman they call the Coupon Queen. It seems that she went to the grocery store and bought $220 worth of groceries but only paid $20 for all that she took home. THAT is really making use of coupons.

She suggests that one should first clip newspaper and magazine coupons. She also suggest going online to find coupons that can be printed out. Next she reads the grocery store flier and notes items that are on sale. An example she used was for a particular brand of frozen vegetables that were marked down one dollar--to $1.99. She had a coupon for $1 off on that brand of vegetables, so they only cost her 1/3 the usual cost. She said that her usual savings run 50 to 60% each week.

I clip newspaper coupons and also read the sales at the grocery store to obtain the best possible prices for the things that I buy. When I go shopping and use my coupons I usually save about $5 to $6 each week. I am always very proud of myself for that bit of frugality. I do not match the Coupon Queen's shopping skills and am thinking that I might need to pay more attention to online coupons. For me it is just a matter of time--how much computer time do I want to use searching for those coupons??

FRUGAL FRIDAY

Thinking about living more frugally always sparks my creativity and pushes me to find ways to make our money go farther. My husband has always changed the oil in our car and done simple repairs himself. I have learned to darn holes in the toes of my socks and mend my clothes. I reuse our plastic grocery bags for trash can liners rather than buying them in the grocery store. All of these are ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Recently I realized that these efforts have helped us save a few dollars here. This allows us to save for our future and for a few treats along the way.

Since grocery shopping is the most frequent shopping I do, I thought I would give you a few hints that I am trying to incorporate into my buying.

• This week I had time to read the grocery ads, make my list based on meats and vegetables on sale, and then add my coupons for a few extra savings.
• Lately I have begun using store brands on items which are often 25 to 50% cheaper than the name brand products.
• I make a grocery list during the week and then, when shopping, I try to stick to what's on my shopping list to avoid impulse buying.
• I shop the sales in my favorite stores.

FRUGAL FRIDAY

Today I was thinking that I have saved money this fall by staying out of stores. I go the places that I have to go and try to work all my errands around those trips. I am sometimes tempted to stop at a favorite store just to "look around" with no specific purchase in mind, but have resisted those temptations lately.

Lately, I have been trying to evaluate purchases more carefully and determine if they are "have to" purchases or "want to" purchases. There is a distinct difference and I believe I have saved a bunch of money by resisting those "looking around" stops and avoiding those "want to" purchases that might not be totally necessary.

Frugal Friday

This morning I had to wash a load of white clothes and it occurred to me that one of my cardinal rules around here is to only wash a load of clothes when I have a full washer. Day before yesterday I put my white clothes in the washer but it was only half full so I waited until I had a full load today. I also only use cold water unless my husband has a lot of dirty, greasy work clothes. That saves on the energy needed to heat up the water.

And, of course, I am still hanging out my clothes on the clothesline to dry, although this morning it was 46 degrees outside and that was a bit cool--my hands were really cold! However, it is supposed to be in the 80s this afternoon and very low humidity, so things should dry quickly once the sun begins to hit the clothes.

I am the same way with my dishwasher. I do not run it until it is chock full of dishes. I use the sanitizing part of the cycle when one of us is sick or we have had a lot of company, but I keep it turned off when we are well. I do use the dry cycle because our dishes spot if the hard water is left on the dishes and I hate to take things out when they are still wet.

And I have begun reading the grocery ads more thoroughly now to seek out items we need that are on sale and to comparison shop for things that we use on a regular basis. For a long time we only had one grocery store nearby, but now we have two in my regular travel pattern, so that gives me more choice in where I buy my groceries.

It is amazing how this financial crunch has made me so much more aware of ways to save our retirement dollars! And I am appalled at how much money I might have been wasting because I was not paying attention. Guess I needed a wake-up call!