This article by Heather from QueenBee Coupons is excellent:
When I think about one of the biggest ways that my family has saved money in our grocery bill the last few years, I think about all the times we did NOT buy an item because it just wasn’t a good enough deal. We simply do without. Sounds drastic and depressing. But I don’t see it that way. Let me explain. . .
You only have a certain budget for food for the month. As a consumer you get to decide how that gets spent. Just as with anything when there is a limited supply (time, money, energy) you have to prioritize how to use or spend it, right? This is a personal decision, the priorities will be different in every family.
When I decided to stay home with my kids, it meant cutting our income by 60%. That’s right, 60 percent. Take $100 and throw $60 of it out the window. What was once $100, is now $40 at the grocery store. I wouldn’t change it for a second. I wouldn’t trade anything for those extra 60 dollars, but I will be picky in how I spend what I have left.
For us, this means – if it’s not on sale and/or we don’t have a coupon – we generally don’t buy it. It’s that simple. If it’s not a loss leader in the grocery ad (one of the best of the best deals), we will generally wait, and do without, until it does go on super sale.
Rebecca says
I’ve always been good about looking for the best deals, but when I was working, sometimes it was just easier to spend the extra few dollars rather than going to a different store, or fighting with my kids over why they couldn’t have something. Now that I’m a stay at home mom, we have all learned to go without if its not on sale. And a good sale at that. My kids now know that even though there’s a sale tag, it still may not be a very good deal. My son at 12 knows to check the price per ounce to see what the better price is. I’ve also started making a lot of things from scratch – bread, sauces, laundry soap. It’s like a game to me to see how much $ I can save.
Kathy says
I have been trying to find a way to cut my grocery bill and a large part of it (1/8 to 1/4) is Lactose Free Milk. I have used double coupons and stock up when it’s on sale and even make the trek to Walmart (far from my house) once a month to get it a little cheaper. Any suggestions? I have a 2 year old who will not drink soy or non dairy forms of milk. She only wants the real deal and is lactose intollerant. She can’t swallow pills either like those over the counter ones. She loves milk and will only drink Milk, Water and Plum Juice!
Catherine says
Food coloring – makes anything seem way cooler to a kid. I’ve put it in my bread dough, milk, oatmeal, etc. Just for kicks sometimes and my kids (2&4) love it. Worth a shot.
Dawn says
My husband is lactose intolerant too, so you have my sympathies!! Have you seen this link on how to make your own lactose free milk: http://tammysrecipes.com/how_to_make_lactose_free_milk (I haven’t done it, but MSM featured it this last month or two). We have recently found that my husband can do dairy from a local milk producer because they process the milk less and it’s fresher. If you have a local dairy close, you might try that? Even if you buy a half gallon to see if it’s ok. I think I read somewhere that the higher the fat, the easier it’s digested and most lactose intolerant people can handle 1 c. of milk a day before it’s too hard on their systems. I also know that the lady in “Tightwad Gazette” wouldn’t let her kids have sweet drinks until they drank water – since your daughter likes water – you might try that too… water before milk?!
Dominique says
Lactose-free milk can be very pricey.
I’m lactose intolerant, too, so I drink soy, almond & coconut milk, depending on which type of Silk I have coupons for that week! LOL
When I first discovered my lactose intolerance, I read a health book that suggested adding chocolate syrup to regular dairy milk. I know, it sounds like a chocoholic’s dream, but it’s true – there’s an enzyme in chocolate that helps to counteract the lactose, making it easier to digest.
And making your own chocolate syrup is way easy – you can find all kinds of recipes on the internet for it, and you can control what goes in it.
Good luck.
Dominique says
Forgot to mention that I’ve actually tried the chocolate milk trick, and it definitely works. I can’t even tolerate a single cup of milk without the lactose reaction, so for someone like me to be able to drink chocolate milk – well, it was amazing!
Stephanie says
A reduction of 60% in income does not technically tie out to a 60% reduction in the grocery budget, unless you’ve made equal cuts to other expenses in your budget. We had a 60% reduction in income as well when I quit my job last year, and food was just one of many areas where we had to make cuts. Things we cut back on that I now consider luxuries: eating out at restaurants, cable tv, multiple cell phones, new car every 5 years, vacations, etc. Don’t miss them as my life is all the richer being able to spend it at home with my daughter.
crystal B. says
You’re right that it isn’t necessarily 60% cut evenly across the board. Kudos to you for making it work!!! Maybe you can throw your own tips into the mix :)…We are furtunate in that I was a grad student making a VERY part-time income as a GA prior to getting pregnant, so we have pretty much always lived on a single income, although of course now there are more of us to support on that single income! lol I really admire those of you who have gone from luxury to sacrifice because I think that is even more difficult than just always living frugally.
Kristine says
We have not actually saved money on our grocery bill because we made the decision to incorporate more organic food, but not buy as much food. Organic meat is expensive so we stopped eating a lot of meat. It was basically an even trade. A lot of cheap meat vs. a little organic meat. I cook 4 times a week and I make 2 of those meals vegetarian. I can honestly say meat is not something we miss. We also eat a lot more fruits and vegetables because organic produce is expensive. I put our budget towards those rather than junk food and our family does not want to see anything go to waste. I do buy a couple “junk” food items each week, but those vary because I only get a sale, coupon item, or loss leader. Also, we are not brand loyal. I think that is a huge budget killer. I am loyal to buying organic, though.
Kristine says
Also, I might mention, that me nor my husband or children have been sick in 2 years since doing this. Not kidding! That saves you money too.
Erin says
We have recently started buying a lot more organic foods too, such as chicken, turkey, dairy, and produce (we aren’t big red meat eaters). We feel that it’s worth the extra money as an investment in our heath and we try to cut out other luxuries or junk food items that we used to like. It’s still hard for me to pay $5-$6 for a pound of ground turkey but I just keep trying to remember the value of knowing what is going into my food versus wondering what kinds of chemicals/hormones we are feeding ourselves.
Kristine says
I completely agree. I would rather cut out some other foods so I can afford organic. You don’t miss it after you start to feel good and I feel it also supports local farmers in some ways.
Food on the Table says
What a refreshing perspective! Living in America, where all food is available at everyone’s convenience, it’s getting harder to differentiate between needs and luxuries. Off-season fruits? Luxuries. In-season, locally grown produce that gives you more bang for your buck? Now that’s a smart buy.
Thanks for sharing this, Crystal. More of us needed to hear it!
Melinda says
Wow, what a great article. I used to be a missionary in the Ukraine and I constantly did without lots of things. I never even considered not buying something if it wasn’t on sale an option unless it’s ridiculously expensive. I am going to try to follow your lead. Our grocery bill seems to be growing larger and larger!
Brooke says
Thanks for the link to such a great article! I needed this encouragement this week!!!
Kelly says
This is exactly how I grocery shop as well! Unfortunately, with the rising costs of grocery items, my bill is inching back up, even though I *know* I’m still shopping the right way. It’s frustrating to have seen how low it went and now watch it creeping back up just because they are simply not putting milk or lettuce or whatever on sale. One thing I’m going to focus on this year is preserving more foods like berries and summer veggies for the fall/winter months. I just got into that last Fall with apples and haven’t had to buy applesauce yet!
RachaelP says
We’re still enjoying the freezer jam I made last year along with the veggies canned from last year’s garden! I just pulled some pumpkin puree out of the freezer to make pancakes tomorrow. It’s definitely worth the work.
crystal B. says
We have a garden and we put up a TON of things…also, even if you don’t have much land you’d be surprised at what you can grow! I got that book, The Backyard Homestead, and I love it!
Chris J. says
Oh, if ONLY I could get my dear husband on board with this concept!! I have everything else about our grocery budget mastered except for his cooperation with certain items. If we start to run out of an item like cheese, instead of slowing down his use of it until I can stockpile again, he’ll continue on his ‘2 grilled cheese a day’ kick and insist we MUST get more NOW. I’ve at least managed to compromise somewhat with him on the steaks. Whenever we go to the Commissary he checks the reduced meat section for his beloved Porterhouses and T-Bones. The only battle there is getting him to agree on only buying a couple instead of half the clearance freezer! 🙂 It’s very hard to train my boys in delay of gratification and making do with what’s available when their father has such a hard time with it. 🙁
anonymous says
Would it work to shop without him? I find that when my husband and I shop together we spend so much more!! He likes to just throw whatever he wants into the cart. So we end up spending the allotted grocery budget money on the junk food he likes, and I end up having to still buy the stuff we need. It is so much easier just to do the grocery shopping when he is at work.
anonymous says
Forgot to mention I have the same issues with trying to teach my children to make do with what they have, to be grateful with what they have, and delay gratification. I don’t know that there’s any easy way to solve that one.
Ashley P says
Hubby and I used to have The Steak Battle, but last time we went to Sam’s I talked him into looking at whole chunks of beef, which are pound for pound cheaper than pre-cut steaks. Fortunately for me, he worked through high school in the meat department of the grocery store so is pretty knowledgeable about how to cut his own steaks. We’re going to try it and see if we wind up saving. My husband knows how important the budget is, but that won’t change the fact that he’s a red-meat man and always will be. 😉
crystal B. says
My hubby’s the tough one too. He grew up in a middle class family, where they went to the store and got everything they wanted at any given trip. Not necessarily in major excess, but just never had to wonder about money for that CD or toy, treat, or food item…just put it in the cart and pay. It’s hard to get him to be on board with the whole frugal living thing, even though he’s resigned to it since he realizes that we don’t really have an option, I wish he were more enthusiastic about it….
speaking of that….CRYSTAL, that is my reader-question for you or your readers–any tips on getting the hubby excited about it? He knows all about the money we save/how we can stretch our meager budget to be enough and all that good stuff, but he still isn’t very enthusiastic about the process.
Crystal says
Do you all have some specific small financial goals (aside from surviving, as I know you’re on a really tight budget right now)? Setting goals and breaking them down into bite-sized pieces and then reviewing those goals very often is what helps my husband stay focused and excited about living simply and on a budget.
Another thing, when we were first married, he tracked all the money I “saved” (it’s inflated, because most of us would never buy stuff at some of the retail prices listed for many of the items!). He always got so thrilled about it when he’d see that I saved $xyz in a month by using coupons, etc. I think that really helped him when he was tired of eating yet another PB & Jelly for his sack lunch!
I’m sure some other readers here have some great ideas.
crystal B. says
We do have financial goals…it’s just hard for me to get him to OWN them instead of just following with my goals, if that makes sense.
PS…I just wanted to say that I all-capped your name in hopes of getting your attention, not because I was yelling 🙂
Erin says
I agree with Crystal, try to get him to be a part of the process and see how much you are saving with coupons and smart choices. Praise him when he makes a smart choice too. For instance, my husband’s family uses paper towels like they are going out of style so it was really hard when we first got married for him to realize that he did not need to dry his hands on a paper towel – that’s what a regular towel is for! But each time he did it right I would make sure to praise him and now he is proud of the fact that we can go so much longer without buying them. It’s the little things that really do make a difference.
Brooke says
I agree! My husband had a hard time with restricting purchases until we really started to work on financial goals together! It means a lot more to him to pass up a bag of beef jerky if he knows it helps us save $ towards our next car, family vacation, or even for the gas bill during the winter. He needs something concrete to save for.
However, even though this really helps, I do still try to do almost all of the shopping without him. It’s still hard to get him out of Costco without beef jerky!! 🙂
Chris J. says
Wow, I left my comment before leaving for work….I come back home and see from all the replies that at least I have a lot of company in this particular challenge! 🙂 I had to laugh when I was reading some of your responses. If you leave out the word “husband” in our posts, you would think we’re talking about our children. (praise him, don’t take him with you, help him with concrete examples, etc.) Any of you husbands out there reading this?? Hey, I just had a thought Crystal. Maybe your wonderful husband should address this particular topic on one of his guest posts from a male perspective! 🙂
Kristine says
We have a similar issue with cheese. I’m very conservative with it, but my husband uses a lot more cheese than I would prefer, so sometimes we run out of it before I have a chance to use it for what I had planned. Actually, we have that problem with a few things that I would like to keep on hand to use for my menu plan. Of course, my husband is seven feet tall and eats more than most people. 😀
Anitra says
I understand. My husband will decide he wants to bring the same thing for lunch everyday, and if we run out, will simply go and buy more at the grocery store near his work. It has busted our grocery budget a few times. What has worked for me:
1) Set aside a small portion of the budget for the lunch supplies he “must” have. I let him buy them himself unless I see an awesome deal.
2) Try to have leftovers around so that if he runs out of lunches, he doesn’t immediately have to go buy more.
3) If there is something in the stockpile that I am intending to use for a specific meal, I tell him and ask him not to eat it.
4) Sometimes, when buying the things that are our “must-haves” (PB, cheese, bread), I stock up on a good-but-not-great price. Better to have it around than to run out and buy more at an inflated price.
Sandy B says
This was a very good article, and I find that is pretty much what we do already. It’s also interesting to see what more we can do when we think we are doing all we can. My daughter is planning to take a short term missions trip to Ukraine (where she will eventually serve full-time) and she decided to give up her coffee creamer and a couple of other items I normally purchase, so we can put that money toward the trip. A friend gave us some of her farm eggs, so I put the money we saved by not buying them into an envelope for the trip, as well. We are looking at different foods items to see what we can do without so we can be a part of sending her to the country God has placed in her heart! It’s a fun challenge!
crystal B. says
Wow…how neat to hear about your daughter doing this! Will be interesting to see how much you have saved for the trip when all is said and done. An inspiring story on saving money and how every little bit adds up 🙂
Sandy B says
Thanks for the encouragement! That’s what helps all of us stay on track 😀
CJ says
I’m fortunate to be able to spend whatever I what on groceries and health and cleaning items but I still shop the sales, use coupons, buy whatever is the best deal that week, etc. Where I save my money is on bigger things – I kept my old car for 12 years til it finally fell apart. I make due with my old couch in all of it’s ugliness. I struggle with a old computer and dial up connection instead of spending more on a new one and high speed internet. Most of my furniture is hand me downs that I’ve had my whole life. I only buy clothes when I really new ones. I’d rather save on these kinds of things and not have to worry and count every penny at the grocery, drug stores and gas stations.
Lee Ann says
We do this as well. There are a lot of good bargains out there, but Target is quite a ways from my house–so unless we absolutely NEED it, I do not go. Walgreens is near my house, but again, unless we HAVE to have it, I prefer to not purchase things. Even getting started with Register Rewards costs $ up front, and they seem to expire before we NEED something again to use them up. I work full-time and have 4 kids–I would prefer spending my free time with my children rather than going from store to store to find deals that we dont NEED. Obviously, we do not have a stockpile either.
Andrea says
Thank you so much for the reminder. I have been wondering why our bills have been so high. I have forgotten that we don’t have to have somethings.
Rachel says
I came to a hard realization for our family this year; we were actually spending MORE at Meijer with sales and coupons than when we were shopping at Aldi. We were getting the “nice to haves” with coupons and not sticking to only the necessities.
We just don’t have the self-control right now to shop at Meijer with coupons, so we headed back to only shopping at Aldi. We are spending less there without using coupons. But I recognize this is not the norm and I hope we can venture back to Meijer once things have settled down in our lives.
RachaelP says
How funny, I just looked at your name and it’s also Rachael (minus the extra ‘a’). We’ve had sooo many big things happen in the past 1.5 years (economy-driven job loss, having a baby and another one still in diapers, another job loss, etc. etc.) I just couldn’t keep up with all the coupons and sales. I started ordering once a month from Angel Food Ministries mainly for the meats and then shopping at Aldi. I’ve been able to still spend about $40-45/week which is still good without coupons. Now my stockpile when I did coupons like crazy is starting to dwindle and I just hate paying for deodorant even if it’s only $0.97 so I’m getting back into using coupons again. I hope you’re able to find the balance for you guys.
Kristine says
I order from Angel Food every month, too–usually just the produce box because we seldom eat meat–and I do most of my shopping the rest of the month at Aldi. 🙂
Sabrina says
Thanks for sharing this! I just bought 8 lbs of lean ground beef for a great price yesterday, after going about 6 months without beef, because we’re on a strict budget! I also starting finding alternative cleaning supplies so that I don’t pay full retail, and can use more natural ingredients. It’s nice to get a reminder that there are so many items (snack food, crackers) that we really don’t need, we can always find some sort of alternative.
Ashley P says
There’s no better glass cleaner than vinegar-water! I get my newspaper for free. (The people that lived in the apartment before us apparently got our local paper in Spanish. If the newspaper keeps wanting to deliver it to their door, I won’t stop them!) I cut out the coupons I’m going to use and then use the paper and a vinegar-water solution on my sliding glass doors and bathroom mirrors. It doesn’t leave any streaks, and a gallon jug of vinegar makes for over a years worth of cleaner if you dilute it properly!
Spendwisemom says
I find that I prioritize and put the fresh produce first if I am on a limited budget. It isn’t worth it to buy junk food if it takes the place of something healthy. I can always make treats at home if we want to have something sweet. This principle can also be used when buying anything. I used to think of the great deals I got buying clothes, etc. on sale and then I realized one day that if I just skipped buying a lot of those things, I would save much more money. If you don’t need it, it just isn’t worth spending the money no matter how good of a deal it is!
Esther says
Awesome article! I was struggling to get our grocery bill down and couldn’t figure out how to do it. I use coupons, match them with a sale and yet still struggled. It wasn’t until I figured out (major duh moment) that I spent lots of money on buying items that we wanted or felt like we needed, but weren’t necessary that was driving our grocery spending way up. Now that I buy what we need to complete the menu, and do without the regular add ons, our grocery budget is much more managable. It took a while to get there, but I’m extrememly happy we did!
Mandy says
I’m glad to see this posted! A while back, I quit buying the disposable plastic cups from Sam’s Club. My husband loved them for their convenience, but now he just takes one of our “regular” plastic cups with him each morning for his commute to work, and brings it home to wash each night. And I bought a set of cheap plastic cups at Target for the kids that work great for them. I don’t think I will ever be able to do without paper towels 🙂 but my next goal is to quit buying paper plates and see if anyone misses them.
Ashley P says
Mandy, my family was full of paperplate-a-holics! When dad lost his job, and then grandma subsequently died, we decided that to save money (and to make the place look nice) I’d invest in a few Corel plates. They look almost as good as china, and, fortunately for families with kiddies (or an extremely clumsy brother and a cat, as the case may be) they’re darn near indestructible. Simple to wash, lightweight and portable, and relatively cheap, they’re the best thing I’ve found to replace paper!
Mandy says
Thanks for the tip! I have a great set plates and bowls (that were 75% off at Target after Christmas a few years ago!) that I love to use, but they can’t go in the microwave (a gold band around the edge) and are too heavy for the kids to put in the sink or on the counter after dinner. I will definitely have to request a set of Corel – maybe for Mother’s Day!
Andrea Q says
In the long run, it is probably a lot cheaper to buy a second set of dishes at a thrift store than to buy paper plates.
Ashley P says
http://www.corelle.com/index.asp?pageId=34
You can view the various styles and benefits of Corelleware. They sell them at Wal-mart, but you can probably find them in thrift stores if you look hard enough. Maybe even eBay or Amazon, though I’ve never tried. Once I bought a set, I never had to look for them again, and that was 3 years ago.
Heather says
Corel does have a point in its life where it starts to shatter rather easily. Like after 30 years or so. So if you get it used, keep that in mind.
jenny says
Yes, and when is shatters, it is into a million tiny itsy bitsy pieces! I had a bowl break, and it was horrible. Other than that though, I love Corelware!
tara says
Love my correll but I love paper plates too. I just started couponing about 2 months ago and was able to snag 270 paper plates from rite aid for $1.82. Before couponing i would buy the big bag of paper plates from Sams for around $15 for 250 plates.
Kathy says
We use paper plates very sparingly … I learned a long time ago from a financial seminar … video … at our church (Larry Burkett) that it was cheaper to wash plates then it was to purchase and use paper plates. That was over 22 yrs. ago …
crystal B. says
We DO NOT use:
-disposable plates, cups, napkins, towels. We use only real utensils, plates, cups, etc. and cloth napkins and kitchen towels.
The exceptions are that I get a roll of paper towels (wait till it’s free from drugstore game) for draining things of grease, like hamburger. And, for a birthday party/Christmas celebrations, etc. I will use some of my free dixie plates that I get all the time at RA….just because I don’t see it as practical in those situations.
Otherwise, nothing disposable in our house and we don’t even miss it except when my in laws come and complain that there aren’t any paper plates 🙂
Ashley P says
We use plastic cups. But we wash them after every use. They come in especially handy at our weekly cookout. No worries about glass cups shattering on the pool deck. And we use plastic plates that I took with me to college.
My motto is: Just cuz something says “disposable” doesn’t mean it has to be! 😉
Crystal says
Great motto! We also re-use and re-use and re-use our plastic “disposable” cups. 🙂
crystal B. says
Okay, so we aren’t fancy people..for our semi-disposable stuff that we use for cook outs, kiddos, etc. we have those hard plastic cups that you get either at ballgames when you get the large size, or sometimes around here stores will give them out as advertising at parades, etc. And my MIL works at a minor-league baseball team as an usher so she always brings home and washes the hard plastic miners cups. So, those are our in-between kind of things…they aren’t really disposable, but still not our glasses, kwim?
ksenia says
I know this comment may get me in trouble… but most disposable-type plastics are not supposed to be washed because they leach a plethora of nasty chemicals into the food/drink. There was just a new study to confirm this reported on NPR a couple of weeks ago (they said it was true of all plastics, but especially the thin, disposable stuff).
vicki says
yep, i heard this too. especially the plastic water bottles (like the 24 pack ones). if you refill them, it supposedly releases chemicals into the water.. idk how true it is..
Joy says
Okay, so I’m bad. We use paper plates for snacks and breakfast (Pop-Tarts, frozen waffles without syrup, etc.) or sandwiches. We use regular dishes for everything else.
Honestly, with three boys who eat all day long when they aren’t in school, I would be doing dishes all day long if we didn’t use paper plates for those specific times. LOL. Plus, we have to pay for water so to me using paper plates is cheaper in the long run.
We also use napkins and paper towels. The extra time I save not doing dishes all day long and extra laundry is spent on quality time with my family. And to me that’s more important.
Yes, I know it’s bad for environment. But using all that water is also bad for environment. We use paper plates, napkins and paper towels made from recycled paper though. 🙂
Ashley P says
@ Joy, back when we lived at the old house with my dad, I couldn’t get him to give up paper plates. But whenever they had small things like sandwiches or poptarts, if they didn’t get anything “messy” on there like mustard or jelly I would brush the crumbs off and use them again. No one ever knew. Maybe try that?
crystal B. says
I’m not saying anyone is “bad” who uses paper products. We all have to make our choices based on what we feel is best for our own family. And, they just don’t fit into our family’s budget or environmental values. Trust me, I know WAY more people who use paper products than don’t, and that’s fine. But, I do want to say that we have to pay for our water as well, and we haven’t noticed any increase in our water bill from our switch–either in washing dishes or throwing a few extra towels/napkins into a load of other towels, etc. Also, while I do wash a lot of dishes, sometimes–since we’re all here for breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday–I wouldn’t say that I am sacrificing time with my family to do so…throwing a load of kitchen towels/napkins into the wash or washing some dishes really doesn’t take up that much of my time, especially since my kiddos are still young enough to want to “help.” Apparently playing in dishwater suds is fun for a 3 and 1 year old 🙂
There are other budget/environment choices that I make, both good and bad. It’s all about priorities and owning your choices. There is no need to feel guilty either way.
Kelly says
Had to laugh at the comment about your in-laws. My Mom can’t stand that I don’t use paper plates. When she comes to my house, she brings her own – LOL!!!
crystal B. says
My in-laws do the same thing! They live out of state and every time they come to visit they bring their own paper plates/napkins. Too funny.
Charissa says
LOVE THIS!!
Ashley P says
Hubby and I have done without lunch meat for so long, we’ve almost forgotten what it tastes like! We’re stuck on PB&J, unless it’s cold outside, then we eat Ramen. We only get lunch meat if we come in under budget at the end of the month.
There’s a lot of thing we’ve learned to live without. Like cable. We realized we didn’t have time to watch it during the week, and even then, we only watch a few shows. So we got rid of it and got Netflix.
If we run out of dishwasher packets before the budget rolls over, we do them by hand. (Water is included in the rent of our apartment, so we’re not paying any difference there.)
And in a radical maneuver (at least for my family) we have learned to live without applesauce! My family used to eat Musselman’s chunky Applesauce like it was going out of style. It was served at practically every meal, and I don’t remember our cupboard ever being without it.
But when my dad lost his job, we were forced to do without it to make ends meets. And apparently, they’ve stopped making it because I’ve looked and haven’t been able to find it anywhere. (I despise the smooth mushy applesauce! Makes me feel like I’m in kindergarten, or else an old folk’s home!)
So, while it may not be a big sacrifice for you guys, it’s a big deal in our family. I haven’t had it in at least 3 years. Do I miss it? Boy, do I! But I’m still alive. And that’s enough for me.
Amy says
My Grandma always used to make her own chunky applesauce. Yummy!
Jen says
I love your comment about the applesauce. My husband asks for it on “special” occasions (mainly when we have pork chops), but I do a majority of my shopping at Super Target and they don’t carry it, so one less thing to buy, and save on!
However, my mother-in-law does have it occasionally at her house, so he and the kids can get their fix there!
Chandler says
I quit buying lunch meat when I realized that if you figure the per pound of the prepackaged lunch meat (without a coupon or sale) you are paying about $5+ per pound, which is horrible! I decided if I can’t match it with an awesome sale I will either get fresh out of our deli or do without.
crystal B. says
Yeah, we always have meat, but never lunch meat unless I can get it for super cheap w/ sale and coupon.
ksenia says
Lunch meat is also loaded with a whole lot of additives that are not good for us. I avoid it because it’s expensive, and not great health-wise. Also, after a while of not eating it, I had it and realized that it really didn’t taste good to me anymore.
heather says
Hi!
I don’t know where you live, but you may want to look into apple picking in the fall or super sales and make your own apple sauce.
I have been making it a few years now and having young children, its a great activity for us to do together and lasts a long time.
Ashley P says
Unfortunately, there isn’t much opportunity for apple picking in South Florida. My uncle in Spokane sent me a whole box of apples once, but that was ages ago. He’s not as young as he used to be, and what with shipping rates… well, you know. It just isn’t feasible.
I’ve survived this long without applesauce. I have no doubt I’ll survive for years to come. If the price ever comes down enough, I’ll start getting it again (if I can ever find the chunky variety!) We used to get it so much because when I was a kid, and my dad was injured, we were on food stamps and all we could afford was applesauce, hamburger, and mashed potatoes. So we’d have Shepherd’s pie and applesauce 2 or 3 times a month. With leftover-nights, I figure I ate that at least 15 nights out of a month. Every now and then grandma would let me heat up my applesauce and sprinkle cinnamon on top. 🙂
Courtney says
We never buy applesauce anymore, either – we make our own. It’s super-easy to make in the crockpot.
Sandra Lee says
I feel so blessed that I am able to afford whatever it is we need. I do utilize coupons, shop the sales and stock up on everything we use. It’s a real blessing to be able to buy as much as I want to stock up when there is a sale on something I use. I also purchase coupon clipping services so I can max out on a sale with a coupon. I have 15 bottles of Coffeemate Creamer in my freezer….all were free because of double coupon days at my grocer.
Emily says
I didn’t realize you can freeze Coffeemate Creamer. How does it taste when you thaw it?
Also, what clipping services do you use?
Sandra Lee says
It tastes just fine. No different than a freshly purchased one. I only freeze the refridgerated bottles. I’ve never done the individual servings that don’t normally require refridgeration or the powder form.
I always use eBay for coupons. If you look ahead in the sale ads you can see the items you want a good 2 weeks in advance. I then go to eBay to get the coupons I want before they hike the price, especially on the Register Reward items from Walgreen’s. I bought 20 $6/2 Motrin coupons for $1.44 and when the sale at Walgreen’s hit I had 40 bottles of 20-count Motrin for the price of tax (6% in WI) and I got $60 in Register Rewards in return. I had to do 20 separate transactions of 2 bottles in each transaction but, I think it’s worth it. I happen to need the Motrin myself for a recent injury, but if I personally can not use a product I would normally donate it to someone I know who is in need or our church food pantry.
grace says
couponsthingsbydede.com is also really good.
Louisa says
Sandra, How do you “look ahead in the sale ads”? I didn’t know that was possible. Louisa
grace says
completely agreed! (not about the coffee mate but everything else 🙂 )
misty says
This happened to me yesterday. We were shopping and saving so much cash my husband says, “we are saving so much, let’s get something yummy that we normally can’t afford….like steak”! I laughed and said that would defeat the whole reason I clip coupons..lol! So needless to say we did NOT get any steak.
Wendi S says
I agree with your point. But we also need to splurge on the hubby sometimes, in my opinion. Otherwise he sometimes gets tired of the frugality and goes and blows a lot more than the steak would have cost. Speaking from experience here. 🙂 It’s all a balancing act, and we as a husband and wife decide the balance for our family. That’s just my opinion. 🙂
crystal B. says
Yep, I indulge my hubby as well for the same reasons. Although, sometimes it will just be a little “surprise” brought home from the grocery store if there is a good price/sale on something that he enjoys, and he knows that he usually needs to just throw a request out there and hope for a sale in the next few weeks instead of saying, “can you get me this tomorrow.”
Dominique says
I totally agree with the ‘splurge on the hubby’ thinking! He calls me a coupon queen (and I’m so not – I’m a rank amateur in comparison to some of you savers out there!), but he’s a HUGE fan of Rockstar energy drinks. And they’re not that cheap, but when they go on sale or I find a store/manufacturer coupon, I buy as many as I can, so he can have his Rockstars.
It’s not that big a splurge, and it keeps us happy.
… and he gets steak regularly – I check the reduced section of the meat department, and when I see a nice steak or two for a great price, I grab ’em. If he doesn’t want one right away (yeah, right!), they go into the freezer for later.
But it sure is a balancing act!
Jessica says
Yep. And even if something is a good sale or I have a coupon, if we don’t need it this week, and I’m sufficiently stocked up, then I still don’t buy it. As my grandmother tells the cashiers at Kohls when they say, “You saved $–.00, she says, “No, I spent $–.00.” My 14m son loves fresh fruits & veggies, but even with those I watch sales & price match, freeze some, and switch up the fruit veggies… some weeks, we have grapes. Other weeks, we don’t… and that week he gets apples and bananas!
Esther says
The comment about Kohl’s is funny! I think the same way as your grandmother–and I’m only in my 30s! It made me laugh, which was needed on this Monday afternoon. Thank you!
anonymous says
The only thing I would disagree on is that growing children need fresh fruits/veggies. Sometimes they are expensive however in that case you might choose the least expensive of the options. Otherwise. I agree. I never buy meat/chicken/etc that isn’t on a loss leader sale. Same with cereal. That’s where stocking up comes in!
crystal B. says
In the full article the author mentions purchasing those things…she even says that although they prefer apples sometimes they get bananas instead, so I don’t think she’s talking about depriving your family of the nutrition they NEED, just the extras or brands that we want/prefer.
Heather says
Crystal, I can’t thank you enough for the link-up to my article. 🙂
Heather
Crystal says
Thank you for such a fabulous article!
sy says
Totally agree!!
Sarah says
Amen!!
crystal B. says
I TOTALLY agree! This is what our family does. No soda. No cookies/candy (except when I can get those types of treats through the drugstore game)…there are a TON of things that we “do without” but it’s so worth it to stay home w/ my babies and not have credit card debt.
Janet says
Heather,
I totally agree we do without as well ! However like most of you ladies it really does not feel like we are doing without because I almost always have something at home to substitute with until the sale comes around again! I think if you stock up when the sales are on wisely for your family use the drug store game and do without until the next sale you are the winner in life!
Also if we all do this then we as consumers are saying a package of cookies is not worth $4.00 or more or a jug of milk is not worth $6.00
Now I don’t deprive my family of anything but I will put off taco night if meat and cheese for tacos are not available at a decent price. Instead I will fix a chicken meal. Life is about choices let us all make wise choices together and the louder our voices get the more that business has to listen to us ! Ladies we are one voice together .
Woman of the world unite ! There is nothing we can not accomplish together!
Kathy says
So nice to see the younger generation choosing wisely and that old fashioned values are still being used … our society has gotten spoiled on instant everything … if you want it you go and buy it … whether you have the money to do it or not … but it is so much nicer not to have to worry about how to pay for it … and many times you can just make do with what you already have … or make it yourself if you don’t. I am a Grandma now and I did without so I could raise my family … went back to work … and stopped again to help raise my granddaughter (her mom is single) … no regrets … people are more important than material things … the blessings I have enjoyed can never be bought and something no one can take away.