Today’s question is from Dani:
I live in a very small rural town in Nebraska — only 2,800 people. We only have 2 locally-owned grocery stores (Alco and Dollar General) and lots of small businesses. We don’t have a Sunday newspaper with coupons and I am 3 hours from the nearest Aldi, Walmart, or bulk food store.
I see the articles about how people can save thousands of dollars by shopping at Aldi or use coupons and I want to cry. Is there anyone else in my situation that has found a way to save money on groceries? -Dani
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Each area has their own resources. We lived in a similar situation in South Dakota. We made our first foray into gardening and canning there. We were open to excess produce gifts from neighbors. “Thanks for the zuchinni!” We skimped on meat and filled up on cheap vegetables, rice and pasta. I tried new recipes and wasted NOTHING. After joining a food coop and getting great deals on flour and yeast, I started baking bread. We could get oatmeal, peanut butter and rice in bulk as well. We bought our milk from a local farm. We purchased other seasonal or cheap fruits and vegetables and on sale meats from the grocery. I switched out presliced lunch meats and cheeses for solid and bought a slicer at a yard sale. All those things made a difference. We’re in a much better situation now, with a more efficient raised bed garden, better canning skills, better salary, and a large chest freezer. Now we get our eggs cheaply from a local farm and frequent a discount “bump and dent” grocer in town. Ask around where you are, you may find your neigbors have ideas.
I have some friends who use Amazon to order their nonperishables. You can get a discount from eBates from them sometimes too I think.
I am in rural SoDak in the same size town with only one grocery store like you. I’ve never stepped foot in an Aldi, Whole Foods, or most of the other stores talked about on this site so I feel your pain!
I do have a Walmart 1 hour (at 70 mph!) away and find myself in that town with my coupons in hand at least once a month. That’s where I get dog food, laundry soap, etc. I do most of my shopping at our local grocery store but plan meals ahead of time so I’m not buying anything prepackaged as that’s expensive in a small town grocery store. One benefit we have out here is ample hunting and fishing and plenty of friends with livestock so our freezer is always stocked with fresh SoDak beef and pork! Not to mention the duck, pheasant and walleye people drive/fly from all over the country to shoot/catch from the fields and lakes in my backdoor.
We also have a garden and put up lots of salsa, tomato sauce and corn all winter long. There are benefits to rural living: a movie at the local theatre is $5 for a ticket ($4 for youth) and my commute to work is 5 blocks up the street. I think it’s all a wash in the end, really. What we make up for in housing (Everyone thinks we “get ahead” because our housing is cheap) we pay extra for in gas. (Our family gas budget is $500/month.)
It’s just a matter of making what you have work for you!
My grandparents lived in a small rural community smaller than yours. Once a month they made the trip to the larger city that had major retailers, major grocery chains etc. They planned in advance for the items that they needed to buy. They purchased extras of items on sale that they used often. My grandparents subscribed to the daily paper from the larger city and it was delivered by mail. My grandmother would have all the ads marked with what she wanted at which stores and any coupons attached. They also brought several coolers to put any frozen or refrigerated foods in to make sure they got home without spoilage. They often went with my great aunt and uncle and shared the cost of gas. Hope this helps!
Except, in rural Nebraska, where I live, the closest city with different chain grocery stores or or major retailers is 3 hours away. Not cost effective even for a once a month trip. I don’t think people understand how rural Nebraska can be:).
I don’t necessarily have anything to add except to say that this post, and the comments, were extremely encouraging to me! We, too, live in a small, rural town of less than 1,800 and we are in EXACTLY the same situation in terms of what’s available here locally. We have only a small IGA (with lousy, lousy produce and meats that seem to be declining in quality) and a Dollar General store; all other stores of any size are about 40-plus minutes away. EVERYTHING we need is usually a long drive to somewhere, and it discourages me greatly. I cannot imagine what it would be like to have a good range of stores closer. I really, REALLY appreciate the comments on this particular post, and they have given me some ideas of things that I can do to make my own life easier. I would be thrilled if Money Saving Mom did a series of articles on how those of us who are living in rural, isolated places can save money and make our lives a little easier, financially.
I understand completely, I am from a town with less than 2,000 with no Dollar General or Alco. Fortunately I do live within 30 minutes of them both. I feed my family of 3 (soon to be 4) on about $300 a month (without eating junk). We save money by …
1) Meal planning. I plan meals as I look through the sales flyers and compare with what I would find it for at the dollar store. If it cost too much, we eat something different. When things go on sale for decent, we stock up.
2) Buying half a pig every couple years. We don’t use much pork so it lasts a long time. But it does save money on meats… and it makes the most amazing bacon! If you’re like me, and you don’t care so much for the taste of sausage you can mix it with ground beef in things like tacos and such. I mix 1 part pork 2 parts beef, it’s a win – win… covers the taste of pork AND makes the beef go farther.
3) Buying half a cow every year or so. We eat a decent amount of beef, but buying it this way makes it so much cheaper and it tastes so much better!
4) Ordering our baby needs from walmart.com since there is free shipping on orders over like $45. We get our months’ supply all at once.
5) We have a Sam’s membership and plan trips with another couple to save on gas expenses, and stock up for a few months.
6) Budgeting. If you don’t have a goal, you’ll likely spend more than necessary.
7) Make as many things homemade as possible (Yay Pinterest!). I make all my breads, hamburger buns, cake mixes, condensed soups (and whatever else I can figure out) at home. It really helps save on food costs, it is so much better for you, and it tastes better, too!
8) Buying the off-brands. Nobody will ever know if you buy the off-brands unless you tell them.
9) Gardening. Nothing crazy, but enough to gives us our veggies!
I hope that you can find something that works for you!
You can find coupons online. I print a lot of mine off of http://www.coupons.com. Also, if you are ever in a city with Target, they always have great coupons on their website.
Thank you everyone for your suggestions. This has been very helpful. I loved the support from current and former Nebraskans. I’ve only lived in NE for 5 years but there are some really great people. Come and check out Valentine sometime! Its gorgeous.
We live 20 miles out of a town of 800 with 1 locally owned grocery store..the nearest Walmart etc is a 2 hour drive. I personally found that while our local store can be terrible for certain items…(double to triple the price of chain stores!) They do still run a sale ad every week with some great loss leaders especially on their generic brands…after a couple years of price tracking and learning how to stock up on rock bottom prices I have often found that they often beat the big box store. Every couple months we head out of town for a stock up on items that I just can’t get here. It takes a while to get good at making the best of a limited situation but no one gets great at anything overnight. Keep at it and soon you ‘ll look back and see all the progress you ‘ve made!
My husband and I live in a rural area and have made things work well by bartering. Recent job changes for both of us have made us realize we need to get a bit more creative with our finances! Bartering works great, not just for groceries but for savings for things like services as well. Thing about goods/services you might be able to offer to someone (sewing, babysitting, cleaning, proofreading/editing, etc).
For example, recently:
– my husband cleared a grove (he is in the tree/landscaping business) for a farmer who paid us with 1/4 beef. We paid for only the processing at the butcher shop.
– a local single guy with a big garden supplied us with sweet corn, muskmelon and cucumbers because he has too many for himself. We will bake him some holiday cookies for his family get-together this winter.
– we owe money to the local weekly newspaper for some advertising for my husband’s business. The owner recently said, “don’t worry about it, I have a landscaping project in mind and you can just take it off my bill.”
Finally, I just want to share that I think it’s critical to support your local, small town businesses whenever possible. In the last 2 months, we have seen our hardware store and grocery store close due to people heading out of town to the big box stores. I personally did that for groceries to save a few dollars and now I regret it. Talk with your local business owners and see what they will do to negotiate and keep your business! You might be surprised :).
I agree: keeping things local does help to assure that you will have that local business available to you down the road! Sometimes paying a little more is worthwhile for the state of your town!
I am a huge fan of buying local and supporting your local farmers. Check out http://www.localharvest.org for a listing of farmers in your area and the different types of meat/produce available. Also, stocking up on pantry items to cook from scratch, maybe once a quarter, on a trip. You can keep flour and such in your freezer to keep it fresh. If you don’t have a deep freeze, I would highly recommend one. You’ll make your $ back in the long run. Sounds like your getting plenty of helpful info to put together a good plan:) Hope this helps!
Be thankful you have a local store before Walmart comes and gobbles it up. Subscribe to a large city paper by mail for coupons. Every two to three months make the trip to city and being cooler for perishables. Get as much as you can at aldi, Then pick up the rest at kroger or whatever store is there. I agree $ave up $$$ for the trip.
Another Nebraskan here, but not rural like you. 🙂 I actually get quite a few groceries, health, home items through iherb.com. Lots of natural, organic, gluten free items for those great paleo recipes on Pinterest. 🙂 There is free shipping after $40 sometimes $20, and free samples and trial pricing. You’ll quickly become a VIP and always get at least 5% off each order and a chance to earn rewards off future orders. I have been shopping through there for a couple of years and have always been impressed.
Good luck!
Many people have suggested a monthly trip into a bigger town and supplement throughout the month. However, you can freeze milk and eggs are good for a LONG time, so as long as you have adequate fridge and freezer space, you should be able to get a lot of what you need for the month. I recommend Azure Standard for bulk item such as oats and popcorn, spices, etc. Their apples are a good price too.
Talk to your store owners and see if they’d be willing to set up a price match policy…especially in a place where there are no other options, and you WANT to help locals.
Otherwise many people have made it work to do once a month shopping…would it work to make the drive once a month, and make it count with every price match and printable coupon possible.
I also live rural…about 700! We are 3 hours from chain. Once a month (or two, depending on the season and weather conditions) we travel down for bulk. Doing it in bulk is worth the gas for what we save. It’s fun for out family and we do special treats like Starbucks! But I do buy things that are compareable in price locally. And fresh produce. Keep in mind when you support the local economy, it comes back to you! I’m excited to read the other ideas!
I’ve seen a lot of posts this week of “Comparison is the Thief of Joy” variety. I know it’s tempting to feel upset when you read stories of other people using coupons to save more than you can (we live in a small town on the East coast where prices tend to be higher, milk is regulated and never goes on sale -$3.69 a gallon right now!, and none of our stores doubles coupons.) It can be very frustrating to feel like you’re missing out.
One thing I’ve tried is to stop worrying about what I can’t do, and to practice an attitude of thankfulness for the ways I am able to be a good steward. One encouragement I have for all of you who live in very rural areas, is that while you might not get some of the good deals available to the city-dwellers, you might already be saving way more than they ever could by living in an area with lower property taxes. It’s a trade off to be sure, but there are benefits and challenges to each living arrangement.
You’re right Christie. Thank you. I needed to hear that I think.
I have enough stores close by, but an hour from me is a city with great stores: publix, save-a-lot, Aldi, Sam’s, target, etc. When I do go there, we check ads and stock up. Last year, I planned a trip around Sam’s Open House and bought cheap, bulk staples, went to publix, target, and save-a-lot. I spent around $200 and had some staples last a year.
Most of my coupon savings come from household items. As someone else mentioned, P&G offers coupon booklets on their website quarterly that they mail to you (and they have been offering more on coupons.com than they used to). “Like” the brands you like on facebook and check regularly for coupons.
Check out drugstores’ websites. While the deals won’t be as great as in store, you can still earn and use CVS extrabucks online.
Be proud of any savings you get! Remember that you live where you do for a reason. It may have its drawbacks, like no coupons, but focus on the positives and blessings that you do have. Contentment is worth more than any % saved at the bottom of a receipt. Best wishes to you!
I just don’t think you should feel guilty at all about not couponing!!! I, too, used to feel that way. Boy, what a silly thing to beat myself up over! Let me tell you something. I used to have Stacks of coupons and Stacks of newspapers. My husband and I argued about the clutter, I wasted too much time in the store, bought stuff I didn’t need, threw out way more expired food than I ever wanted too… It was a waste of God-given time and money. I listened to my husband and cancelled our newspaper subscription. I wish I had listened to him the first time he asked! It’s so freeing. I still coupon a little but mostly just the ones I get mailed to me from the grocery store chain right around the corner. I used to feel like I was supposed to keep this big stockpile… But now I start feeling panicky when my pantry or fridge starts getting too full.
While watching others get deals you can’t get CAN be frustrating, you are actually in a unique situation to save money that many others aren’t. My family and I lived 3 hours from a Walmart, etc, for awhile with only Kroger, Safeway, and Alco available (and two of those were still a half hour away).
The thing that we didn’t realize is that while we paid slightly higher prices, we were also limited in what we could buy. We didn’t buy all sorts of fancy/specialty items–because no one sold them. We seldom ate out, because the nearest restaurant was quite a drive from us. We didn’t spend money on activities because there was nothing to do… though we could and did spend hours outside.
When we moved down into the city (well–I say into; we are still 20 minutes outside of town), the grocery bill–and eating out bill and entertainment bill–immediately increased by quite a bit. My mom still complains that she spends a few hundred more each month here than we ever did living hours from anything.
So perhaps it can be an encouragement to think about all the things you don’t spend money on… I hope the thought helps, anyway! 🙂
Thank you Brittany. That is very encouraging!
Oh, I’m glad! 🙂
We too live in a rural area, what we did was take one weekend a month along with our coolers, and travel to these places. We would stock up on our bargains, the produce I would buy locally. You can freeze milk, cheese, bread, most everything. Raising 6 children, who would ALWAYS have friends over we saved thousands.
I have lived in a rural area in North Dakota before, but only and hr. and 15min. from a larger town. I would make a once a month trip and buy all the staples and meat on sale I could for the entire month- at the time I had small children/babies, so I would get all the diapers-wipes-food- etc. Once a month may be a lot of gas nowadays– is there anyone else that would like to go with you- you could swap months and carpool- or buy for two months at a time. I would buy milk, bread, etc from the local store. Most stores have their ads online- so you can look and make a list ahead of your shopping trip- and print any coupons from couponbug.com /kelloggs/betty crocker/ smart source/ buy enough fruit at aldis when you do make a trip and freeze for smoothies or pies. I sat down and made a list of how many of each item I could think of that we regularly used for a month and buy that way. Hope this gives you some ideas…
You can get cut coupons on e bay for cheap.
I’ve lived rural and I’ve also lived in a major city where prices were just sky high all the time. Both times, I swear by Amazon. Find the subscribe and save items you use, and if you have Amazon Mom with Prime you can get 20% off when you order 5 items in the same month. I just ordered items today including: razors, toothpaste, oatmeal & rice.
Prime is also our only tv, it’s been more reliable then Netflix in both areas. Well worth every penny.
I grew up on a farm in rural Nebraska, population 650. My mom spent a TON on groceries. We lived an hour from Walmart. My dad raised cattle and corn, so we always had beef and frozen corn in the freezer. We would go to Walmart once a month and there was a Hy-Vee in Norfolk. Is that an option for you to stock up once a month at stores like that? Hy-Vee should have similar deals to Lincoln and you could always price-match at Walmart. Even an hour or 2 trip to a big store once a month may be worth it. Do freezer meals with that and stock a big freezer. Otherwise, perhaps you could garden or swap with a friend for garden produce. Buy beef, pork, or chicken from a farmer in the area. Try going to a butcher and get ting recommendations.
I live in a rural area in New England. The nearest Walmart Supercenter is 1 hour away. I do one stock up grocery shopping trip a month and make the hour drive to Walmart. I have a comparison spreadsheet set up where I compare Walmart prices to our 1 local grocery store. When I go to Walmart I only purchase the items that save me money. I shop our local fruit stand for fruits and veggies because I want the freshest and at the end of every week the owner auctions off the last of his stock before restocking. I am just looking into purchasing my milk from a local dairy. Check your local farms; sometimes if you bring your own jug they will fill it for less than grocery store prices… and its much fresher. Also check your local farms for fresh meat. If you have a freezer purchasing half a cow or pig will save a bundle. If you are not sure where to find farms that sell direct to customers, start at your local farmers market and ask around.
I live several miles from a grocery store and order a lot from Walmart. Shipping is free for orders over $47. Of course, they don’t ship fresh produce or other foods that would spoil in transit but canned goods, cleaning supplies and baking supplies are great when delivered to my door. No gas or extra time expended.
So a couple of ideas… first is buy on sale to last til next sale… if you like heinz and it is on a good sale, buy 6.. I hate buying anything at full price…use amazon subscribe and save ( if you buy more than 5 items the prices all go down 15%) I buy toilet paper, dish washer soap, etc…. I would do a major shop once or twice a year for staples (flour, sugar, spices, etc ) at an aldi or other big discount store… good luck
If you wanted coupons, couldn’t you subscribe to the Omaha World Herald? I feel like when I grew up in rural, Nebraska we were able to get the Omaha World Herald delivered to us on Sundays. And my small home town was about 3 1/2 hours west of Omaha. And we didn’t have a chain grocery store in our town but I feel like they would accept coupons. And oh my gosh I would kill to pay 1.89 for a gallon of milk like the person in Pheonix. I live in a suburb of Chiago, walking distance of many chain grocery stores and I am just looking at my sales circular where a gallon of organic milk is on sale for 7.49. Yes it organic, but just trying to say here that there isn’t always a cost savings to living in a big city. Like the others have said, don’t try to compare yourselves to others. I am happy when I am able to utilize sales and coupons and see about 25 – 30% savings on my receipt.
Susan, I don’t think you can just get the Sunday OWH anymore, you have to get all week. Plus they don’t deliver – it comes a day later in the mail… and it’s been forever since i looked into it, but I’m even thinking that it comes without inserts or ads to save on postage, so no coupons!
You are correct with all of that Lenetta….the OWH is useless to me.
What about buying coupons on ebay so when you do make a big trip into town you’ll be able to really get some deals? Or if you have friends or family in other towns that have newspapers could you have them mail you coupon sections from their newspaper?
Without the name of the town…Probably not. I could understand being rural but there is definitely a walmart closer than 3 hours away.
There isn’t definitely a Walmart within 3 hrs of her town.
Valentine NE. Closest Walmart- North Platte NE. Approx 2.75 hours away………..
Just had to say I live in O’Neill, NE. My husband has relatives in and around Valentine. 🙂
I spent the majority of my childhood in a very small town in Florida and they to only had the one grocery store; they don’t even have that now. And I don’t think it’s so much advice I’m trying to give here, but more maybe to get across that my dream is to be where you’re at now. I would love nothing better than to be in the middle if nowhere , hours from town and to go to the grocery store a few times a year. This is my dream and even though I’m pretty far away from obtaining it, its still there. I’d love to have several freezers, a huge pantry so I could can to hearts content, solar power and a pot belly stove. Lol. Some people think I’m nutty wanting to live like that but I’d take that any day over city life.
Diamond,
I’m right there with you! We are in the process of building our dream house in the country, although we are still just outside a decent sized city. I’m still looking forward to having a huge garden and canning and freezing a ton of food and not having to rely on going to the grocery store so much. We’re also going to have chickens so we have a good supply of eggs. We want to be as self sufficient as we can!
AMEN Sister!! I currently live in a semi-urban area outside of Detroit. My daughter and SIL are stubborn urban dwellers. I have a grandson that I watch while they are working. I like being near them but hate the urban area. I want fresh air and neighbors that I can’t clearly see or hear out my windows. No regulations on chickens or small animals, and if I want goats to maintain my yard rather than a lawn mower that’s my business! Some natural farmy type smells wouldn’t bother me either.
I also live in the sticks. Here are my tips.
*We use Amazon a lot. I love subscribe and save.
* You might try to get Alco and Dollar General on savingstar.com or another of the e-coupon mobile device apps. I have earned around $30 cash back on savingstar and that is from shopping at Brookshires, not the big name grocery stores. It would be more than $30 but I got lazy and quit looking at the savingstar coupons.
* If enough people keep asking, sooner or later the smaller grocery stores will get on board with mobile coupons and e-deals. Even Brookshires has weekly e-deals that you have to show your phone for.
* I went to the alco website to see – they do not currently offer mobile coupons but keep asking for them. They do have an e-mail newsletter with deals though.
* Also don’t forget ebates. Drugstore.com is on there and so is soap.com. I didn’t find that soap.com offered very good deals but drugstore.com does have decent sales and closeouts.
Do you use Dollar General’s app? I use it on my iPhone every time I go to the store. It has the latest flyer, so you know what’s on sale, plus it gives you access to in-store coupons!
I’ve used walmart a few times to send groceries to my sister.. they have a good selection of dry good and canned. they have “home free” shipping on orders over $45 most of the time,, pet food is also included in that and some cleaning stuff. I’ve never had a problem with the shipments.
I also container garden lettuce, green beans and tomatoes if you have a little space.
good luck
If you have space and time plant a garden and learn to freeze and can. My 2 large tomato plants have produced enough this summer for lots of soup and sauce. And 1 zucchini plant has given me 4 ziplocks full waiting to be bread. I could go on and on and my garden is only the size of a sandbox!
Also google angel food ministries and find out if there’s a location somewhat near you, it’s soooo worth the try!
I believe Angel Food Ministry no longer operates. There was some abuse of funds and a big investigation. Too bad, my family used it before I discovered coupons.
Maybe try to do some of the good grocery deals on Amazon for h/ba and staples. You can use some of your swag bucks to help pay for them.
Have you tried printing coupons from websites like coupons.com or Swag bucks? If you do make a quarterly or biannual trip to Walmart, you could use coupons there. Dollar General takes printed coupons as well to my knowledge.
Have you thought of making a monthly trip to the Target/Walmart three hours away? You can just plan on stocking up with everything that you need. You can even pack some coolers in the back and throw in some good deals to make it home. Granted you can’t get all of your milk, eggs, cold stuff, etc. in one trip, so you’ll just have to plan for those things in your home area. Also, do you have land? You can always plant a garden. Seeds are extremely cheap and with some time, things will grow. Even my first year of gardening, I grew a ton of food. Also, get in tune with your local stores. There are some advantages to those types of places. Ask if you can get some deals if you buy in bulk…say if your family eats a lot of eggs, ask if they will give you a discount if you buy 10 dozen or so (granted you have the space!). I used to live in a rural area in Oregon but now I live in a huge city. Yes, it’s different but both sides have the good and bad. Find the good in yours and stick with it!
Dani,
Living in a rural area, you’re overhead expenses are already probably extremely low. Being that far from stores like Target, etc. probably helps with your weekly budget too 😉
Support your local businesses, join a CSA, and/or supplement with growing your own garden. Enjoy the simple life.
Unfortunately I have no advice since I’m stuck in Phoenix, but I will say the commenters who suggest the cost of housing, etc should make up the difference aren’t thinking that through. The reason a very rural area might seem more affordable is because the kinds of jobs available prevent higher prices. In an urban area, housing will be higher because there is a demand on space AND the wages are higher. The sheer number of competing grocery chains in most urban areas drive prices down (very true here in Phoenix–I pay 1.89 for a gallon of milk). SO, rural housing and other things might be less but I can assure you, the percentage of income spent on food in a rural area is much higher than an urban area, in general. I notice this every time I visit family in northwest Iowa or Missouri.
In other words, consider that housing (local market) will still likely be 20-30% of your income (lower cost housing in lower income areas), but food would be a much higher percentage in a rural area because 1. less competition and 2. food is a national/global market.
I hear what you are saying, but I think sometimes we “freak out” about the cost of groceries when they truly do not represent a huge part of a budget. Sure housing might be the same percentage rurally, but what about entertainment? What about clothing budgets? What about the “keeping up with the jones'” so rampant in suburbia?
Are there other areas of the budget that we could get to move more easily than that pesky line item called “food” if you truly don’t have access to food deals?
There are disadvangtages to living rurally and there are advantages.
Thank you Meredith thought that was a little much people do care about what they ware and some do have the fancy phones and tempted??? Wish I could grow a garden we are on a water meter JUST WATER $68 a month we tried a garden over $100 we can buy are veggies fresh at fruit stand or in trade from friends THANKS
Agree, I live in a small town in Arkansas and frequently travel back to Arizona and am always astonished at how reasonable food prices are. Milk there is sometimes 2 gallons for $3 while here it is just above $4/gallon. The suggestions on here are great. I also buy things off Amazon because it will be less expensive and there are more choices than I have locally AND I can receive my items sooner than I would waiting for local store (even the big box store) to restock shelves (use Amazon Prime membership). Farmer’s markets are wonderful for fresh produce and sometimes seafood. I have learned how to plan meals around what is on sale, especially meat, and buy ahead when certain non perishables are on sale so later all I have to do is add meat to what I already have on hand.
I live in a suburban neighborhood (in Orange County, CA – about as suburban as you can get with a postage-stamp sized yard). Some things I have done to supplement and keep our food budget reduced is we raise backyard chickens (eggs are a good, cheap source of protein), home garden for veggies & fruit trees (can & freeze what we don’t eat fresh). My next plan is to install a rain gutter on one side of the house leading to a rain barrel I can use to water the landscape & garden.
At the local grocery store I buy meat & bread from the “day old” section (and either cook or freeze immediately), shop the store sales and plan meals around what I can buy on sale/good value. I usually buy the staples and make things from scratch. Most food coupons are for processed/ready-made/not as nutritious food anyway.
One thing that I’ve found to be helpful is to find out if and when certain items are marked down as manager’s specials. If an item is about to expire (milk, meat, yogurt), I’ll ask to speak to a manager and see if I can get a discount for it. I buy nearly all of our meat this way and save a lot of money! I keep a stockpile of meat in the freezer and menu plan around them. Milk also freezes well.
OH ,and I meant to add I get a lot of stuff through Amazon. Their subscribe and save is awesome, you can choose how often you get it and even skip a delivery if you are out of something. They are cheaper a lot of times than our buyers club or grocery store!
We live in a rural area and both work full time. We plan 1 time a month trip to Aldi that is about 1.5 hours away and stock up. We belong to a CSA and plant a small garden for veggies and produce. Occasionally we’ll go the BIG farmers market and get some things that did not come in the weekly CSA box. We stop at the local store for the occasional item that Aldi does not carry. We also cook from scratch and use everything, including leftovers. It takes a little planning. But I would not change a thing we both love where we live. Good luck!
I live in a very rural area and have the same problem. Here’s how I have saved on our grocery bill:
*I set up a buyers club (through Associated Buyers) in my area that delivers once a month. I have a group of home school moms who join in and we always meet the minimum and score some great deals! We split bulk orders so we get the bulk price but don’t have to store all of one item or pay out full price for it.
*I travel 1.5 hours one way once a month to Market Basket. It saves me about $200-400/month, so it’s worth the trip
*Rural areas may not have an Aldi but chances are you have some local farmers. Check out their farms and prices. Currently we get our eggs, beef and chicken as well as a lot of produce right now from local farms.
There are lots of great suggestions here. One thing you might want to do is partner up with a friend or neighbor and plan the 3 hour trip together to the larger stores a few times a year. That way you have good company for the drive and you can split the expense of gas. Like others have said, stock up while your there. If you don’t get coupons you can plan your trip and order some online, I’ve never done this but I’ve read about others who have.
I am in a slightly larger town with a few more options, but sometimes I consider the other ways I’m saving money, when I can’t double coupons or use reward programs. Our house is much cheaper than other areas, we save on gas by only having a 5 minute drive to our Walmart … I think the general cost of living in my small town is so much lower than friends who live in bigger cities and we can benefit from lower budget categories besides just food.
You could grow your own food! We have a very small city lot but we’ve still managed to grow quite a bit of food in our yard! I’ve canned and frozen quite a bit of food for the coming winter. It’s exciting to me, to not have to buy pickles, tomato products, canned green beans, etc.
I don’t have an Aldi’s within 1000 miles of me so I feel some of your pain, but I do have access to a big box store so I’m fortunate in that regard. I’m not going to get the steals that other people are getting, but I live here because I love it and can find other ways to save money.
Very rural Nebraska makes me think there must be some fresh local produce. When my family lived in a rural, farming area, the farmers opened their fields up after the mechanical harvesters went through and the locals were allowed to glean the fields. There was nothing wrong with the corn and potatoes, the machines just couldn’t reach the corners.
Other places I lived there were wild berries everywhere. My mother often collected fruit from people’s trees when they had gotten all they needed.
Have you inquired in your church or community about such free finds? What about a CSA opportunity?
In order to support my local store, I have started making special orders on dry goods. They give me a discount on purchasing a whole case/25 lb bag and it isn’t a big deal for them to add one or two bags to their weekly order. The price is better than azure standard and the shipping is free.
As others have said, making things from scratch is another big cost saver for groceries.
One thing to remember – where you live probably has a lower cost of living than other areas of the country. Your “overhead” is probably lower than many of the rest of us. Do what you can with the groceries but realize it’s not a competition.
i love the idea of supporting your local resources.
i know crystal has posted on this topic before, don’t compare yourself to anyone else. instead of trying to copy what everyone else is doing, may i suggest instead to take some of those great concepts and think about how to work the ideas into your own situation.
asking the local grocer for a bulk purchase, no product is untouchable. maybe that kind of strategy would even beat the bulk amazon purchasing. looking into community supported agriculture, produce or animal products.
it can’t hurt to bring your grocer a home baked item and ask to pick their brain about all your options. if you can gather a bunch of church ladies, school families, to make similar kinds of purchases (hey, 10 people each buying their own flat of canned tomatoes?) that may help a lot too. i would think the grocer would appreciate the support.
i also like someone’;s posted thought about asking incoming visitors to swing by their aldi or wal-mart before heading out, like spices or powdered milk instead of the ready to drink kind for baking.
Try to take comfort in the fact that you are probably saving way more on housing costs than people in the big cities are saving on food.
SO TRUE. I do find comfort in just being home. Keeping a clean house, cooking a good meal, and enjoy a nice quiet time with my husband we are in our 40’s-50’s. Not to say we are old but have enjoyed so much being out and about it is nice not to have that need. We go out when we want because we want not because we feel we must keep up.
Comfort in lots of things actually. I found that living in a more populated area, we spent more in the long run. Sure… it is frustrating to have to pay more for groceries and convenience items. But in a small town people don’t care what clothes you wear and you are not as tempted by tech gadgets, etc. There are few car lots to drive my and wish you could get something newer… Out of sight –out of mind!
I grew up in western Nebraska (on a ranch an hour away from a town of 40). My mom and a group of local women went in together to start a buying club. The company that does it now is UNFI. Back then, the big truck pulled into Arthur, Nebraska, once a month and we unloaded our bulk groceries, did splits on items people wanted to split, etc. It’s not just dry goods; they have cold items and frozen items, too, as well as personal care products. I still belong to a bulk buying group in Kansas and we get great deals. The monthly specials are always really good. This month gluten-free frozen bread by the case is ridiculously cheap. You can buy organic and natural foods for the same or less cost than if you went to a grocery store. Also, our buying club does Frontier and Azure Standard. Good luck!
Nice to see another person who grew up in Arthur on Money Saving Mom!
Ogallala native here, hi ladies! 🙂
I would be interested in what your buying group in KS is….I live in KS.
For many years my parents did a big stock up on nonperishable food at Aldi when they came to visit me. They now have Aldi in their own area but those stock ups saved them tons of money so if you can do it when you are near an Aldi it would really pay off. littlehouseliving.com is a blog that comes from South Dakota and she lives in a rural area and deals with the same issues as you. She may be of help if you look back through the archives.
Plan, plan, plan! I hear you and am also in central, rural Nebraska. One monthly trip to a bigger town is our grocery haul. I menu plan a month ahead and supplement through the month with milk and produce. Also, if you can garden, every little bit helps! I have had such a haul this year that I am set on canned produce for the winter. The weekly email from DG also comes in handy for the extra milk, toiletries and such. With the bigger stores being so far from your area I would maybe even stretch it to a two-month plan!
My suggestion is when you do go to the “big” city stop at Sam’s or Costco’s and STOCK up on the staple items. Save and save for that big trip. You can make a lot of food from those staple items. (I bought 48 oz box of cream cheese. I froze it in 8 oz blocks. I probably won’t buy another block until Christmas time) And when you do make that trip, search online for weekly ads and printable coupons. Buy what’s on sale that week and stock up as much as you can.
It might be easier said than done but that’s what I do. I only have a Walmart and Piggly Wiggly. Sam’s, Target, and Kroger are over an hour away.
I agree about Sam’s/Costco. Some people avoid those stores since they charge membership, but in our case, the membership was paid for the first trip in savings. People with many other options in a city may not frequent them enough but for those that live a distance and plan their “big shop” on a scheduled basis, I certainly think it is worth it.
DG is good about coupons her as is the local grocery and gas stations. i will not spend the money for Sam’s, because i would not get there often enough for it to be worth it. and it is just my husband and i. But i have a friend and when she goes to the city, i go with her as a guest.
While not currently in that situation I do know the type of area you are talking about I was in the same boat some years ago with my only options being IGA and a gas station.
A big thing is a meal plan so you cut down on impulse buys but I always buy 1 or 2 extra easy meals to keep on hand (well not always I’d be stock piling food then but rather I make sure to keep a couple extra in the house) for those unexpected occations that can pop up.
Also DG does take coupons you’ll have to see what their policy is so you can find out if they will take printed coupons. Do the same with your other store. Try not to be shy about it You can also contact companies directly about coupons! You’d bee surprised on how many of them are more than willing to send you some. Also, look for mail coupons like P&G they come out with a coupon booklet a couple times a year.
Getting the great deals is hard for a lot of areas so don’t feel alone!
I can somewhat relate we have 1 RA and 1 local over priced grocery store. All other stores are 30 minute drive each way then add the shop time. Only 2 in my family we both have full time jobs $12-$13 a hour changing work days and hours every week never the same and get our schedules on fri for sun. It’s hard to find the time to get out of town to shop more than 2 x a month plus add gas.We cook mostly from scratch don’t eat out or have extras it is hard to save much but we manage.I scour the ads and plan from the computer but I can only imagine how exciting it would be to have ALL the stores local and score deals almost everyday. We try but would love ideas on how to get along better and farther.
I have been in the same situation. Try to use Amazon for certain things when you can. I also garden and preserve whatever I can. If you know of a neighbor you can buy eggs from, that is helpful also. In the past, I have also planned a quarterly trip to a larger area where I could stock up on sale items. I took some time to really plan that trip well with stacking coupons and viewing ads online, etc. If you can find someone to carpool with our share the cost of gas, it can be work it. Also, your neighbors are in the same situation, so they may be very willing to split up bulk items with you (if you order them) and save cost as well. Good luck!
I, too, live in a very rural area but am fortunate to have an Aldi within 30 miles of me but that still isn’t something I want to go to weekly unless I am driving there for something else. I will try to share things that we do to save…perhaps there will be something helpful.
1. Meal Plan….including all leftovers becoming something planned for another meal or frozen for later. If there are a few vegetables, they go into a jar in the freezer and more are added each time until the jar is full and are the base for an interesting vegetable soup. The same is done with bits of cookies, cake,etc and that becomes a pie crust or crumb topping for pudding. The same is done with meat broth, etc. I think you get the idea.
2. We do buy a half a beef yearly from a neighbor. Saves us money, buying local and helps our neighbor.
3. We raise a very large garden and have a small orchard. We can, freeze, dry and make jams and jellies. Nothing like having your own. I buy jar lids from the dollar store when they first come out and have had no problems. The jellies and jams also make nice holiday gifts.
4. I try to make as much possible from scratch….it is so much healthier, tastes better and really lowers our food bill.
Hope some of these things help or make you think of other ways to save.
I have never thought to check the dollar store for canning jar lids. Thanks
I have found them to be the cheapest where we are. They are cheaper than Walmart, our local IGA and even the local grocery salvage store. It is also not where I normally would think to look for the best deal, but I’m always willing to be wrong in cases like this. 🙂
I am in a similar situation in rural Alabama. I use Walmart.com and Amazon. Walmart offers free shipping on orders over $50 and I use shop and earn through Swagbucks. I earn 2 swagbucks for every dollar spent which helps earn gifts cards to use on Amazon orders.
Try Amazon for things you use all the time and you know you will eat. We buy mainly snacks from there – granola bars, popcorn, fruit snacks. Amazon is good for diapers too. I would do a cost analysis and see of it would be worth the drive once every few months to go to Walmart or somewhere like that and stock up on meat and pantry staples. Then you would just need to buy produce and dairy items from your local store.
My first question would be have you signed up for Dollar General emails? Each week they send out a $5 off a $25 purchase. It is after coupons but still it helps. Also I would check out online sources as well, even Walmart has groceries online although I don’t know what they would charge for shipping so you would have to factor that in. I don’t know how often you make the 3 hr trip to the bigger city (I am guessing not often) but when you do I would do some research of what is on sale at the stores in that town, that week , that beat your local sources and stock up as much as you can.
Amazon, especially subscribe and save, may help for some products. If it’s a great deal, I buy multiples and then cancel the subscription after the item arrives.
I feel for you! I’m currently posted overseas so in the same boat. Here’s what I rely on:
1) Meal planning – it means no food goes to waste. None! 🙂
2) Amazon. I use them for ingredients I can’t find here (Panama) and for things that are much cheaper online.
3) Simple, healthy meals – beans and brown rice, veggie stir-fry over whole wheat noodles, etc.
In the end, though, I will not compromise morals or health for money – we’re mostly vegan and I will not stop buying fresh fruits and veggies for my boys. We are lucky to have great produce here but remembering that the goal here is healthy, happy kids is really helpful. Pretend you’re paying for vitamins when you pay for those expensive fresh (or frozen) fruits and veggies – they’re great for our family! Good luck to you!
That has to be frustrating! What about amazon? azure standard? I like to shop local to support my “neighbors” but many of the stores where I live don’t even carry the things my family eats. Do your local stores ever off super discounts, like once or twice a year or once a month. One of local stores has bulk stuff an extra 10percent off every quarter and I used to buy then and stock up. What about buying a large quantity of meat like a, cow, and splitting with friends?