I remember it like it was yesterday. Nearly 10 years ago, I heard a still small voice in the depths of my heart beckoning me to walk away from a full time RN income for the sole purpose of being a stay at home wife and mom. This was a tremendous step of faith for both my husband and I. You see, when we had married 7 years earlier, he had lovingly referred to me as “his meal ticket”—yes, I was the main bread winner of our family, in fact, I made nearly twice as much as my precious husband and it was truly not an issue in our marriage…well, not until God showed up and started drawing us down a different path.
Although the past 10 years have been some of the happiest of my life, to say that they have been stress free would be a lie. God has brought us on an amazing journey in the past 10 years, one of great joy and yes, one of great sacrifices and struggle. However, the most valuable lesson I have learned is this---It is possible, very possible, to live in the 21st century on one income!! It just requires some creative thinking! Creative ways to save money at the grocery store, creative ways to celebrate holidays and birthdays and creative ways to bring in a few extra dollars—whether to give a little more “wiggle room” in the budget or for some “fun money”—having a few extra dollars available often gives an extra measure of peace to our home.
For part one of Living on One Income, I want to focus on creativity at the grocery store.
Most of us are aware of the value of coupon shopping; however, did you know that most retailers will double coupons up to a $1. Some retailers even offer special “Triple Coupon” days! Be sure to check your local ads and even ask at your local store. Many retailers offer online coupons, which will be applied to your shopper’s card, saving you the hassle of clipping and sorting coupons!
Creativity at the grocery store will also often involve a bit of bending and reaching! Did you know that most retailers will place the higher price items at eye level? The best deals are often found on the top shelf and the bottom 2 shelves. Being willing to do a little more work (bending and reaching) can save you hundreds of dollars a year!
Another creative approach to grocery shopping is known as CHERRY PICKING! This is a term used to describe an “ad shopper”. What exactly is an “ad shopper”? An ad shopper (or cherry picker) is used to describe 2 types of shoppers. The first one shop at numerous stores buying only what is on sale at each store or a cherry picker may be one who will shop one store and purchase the sale/reduced items only. This is the category I tend to be since we live in the country. Each week I will take my local store ads, find the one with the best sales and will plan my menus and grocery shopping around the sale items. It is actually quite easy to create various menus from only sale items. Most stores will offer more than one type of meat, and vegetable item in their ads, which allows you freedom to create wonderful meals, all using sale items!
When doing your grocery planning, you must never assume that the big name discounter stores have the best prices. For our family, we have found that often times, the big name discounter is frequently more expensive on the fresh fruits/vegetables and other staple items we purchase. On a regular basis, we find our family’s favorites less expensive in the grocery store ads.
Finally, if there are any warehouse stores in your area, check into joining them. Not all warehouse stores will be a financial benefit to all families. In our area, the Sam’s Club store will offer one day free entrance passes several times a year. Be sure to take advantage of these opportunities (or find a friend who is a member and ask to tag along) to do price comparisons. Make a list of your typically purchased items and check the prices against the store you normally shop at and the warehouse store. We have found that some of the items we purchase are a tremendous bargain at the warehouse store and some are not. It always an excellent idea to price compare before spending the money to join a warehouse club that may not be worth the expense to your family budget.
These are just a few of the grocery savings tips we have learned over the year (often the hard way!) We will be adding sharing more tips as time permits. Be sure to visit frequently or sign up for our RSS feed updates.
Also be sure to check out our previous post on monthly cooking--guaranteed to save you money at the grocery store!
No comments:
Post a Comment