Tag Archives: groceries

Meals to Make When You Have No Money for Groceries

Do you need to feed your family this week but have nothing to buy groceries with? What can you do? You might be tempted to use that credit card for food, but that can put your finances in even more danger. If you just need to get through the week, try some of the following tips. You can also use these tips to save the $100-$200 you might normally spend on food and apply that money elsewhere, such as to pay down debt or put toward a needed purchase. First, take an inventory of your items. You might be surprised … Continue reading →

Preparing for the Warehouse Grocery Store

We have been planning a trip to our local warehouse grocery store for next weekend. There is a lot of preparation this time around, in order to maximize our savings and stockpile and minimize our food waste (food waste is a big part of lost money for many food budgets! The mega trip is planned to hit the time right before school and before the cold weather of winter sets in. With both school and winter, the time and opportunity to go out shopping decreases. With winter, especially, there are days when we might get snowed in, when we might … Continue reading →

How to Save on Soap

I like to examine different items on our grocery list to see if there are ways that we can reduce the cost of them. With enough things on the list costing less, the overall bill can really go down. One of the things that we seem to go through a lot of is soap. That makes sense. With three children who get into everything, cooking from scratch at home, and trying to keep the illness away during winter, it isn’t surprising that we use a lot of soap. So, with a little thinking, I’ve come up with some ways that … Continue reading →

Saving Money on Dairy Products

Milk, eggs and yogurt are all what I consider staples in my house. Unfortunately, they are also food items that have seen huge price increases in the last two years. So, how can we save on dairy items without doing without? Here is a round up on some ideas. Milk Keep a close eye on milk prices at your local stores. You may find a big difference in price. Our local Trader Joes sells organic milk for the cheapest price around, plus it tends to have a much longer shelf life than the milk at the other grocery stores. Consider … Continue reading →

The Cost of Chocolate Candy is Rising Again

Those sweet treats are going to be costing you just a bit more very soon. I know that I am paying attention to this one, since my family has a “wicked” sweet tooth for Dove dark chocolate. We stock up on the stuff when we have coupons and there are sales, but the little wrapped squares tend to go very quickly unless we conserve and dole them out carefully. After recent announcements by some chocolate candy manufacturers, we may just have to do with less or without. Mars, the maker of Dove chocolate, as well as Snickers and M&Ms has … Continue reading →

Six Reasons to Grocery Shop in the Morning 2

The next time you get ready for your grocery shopping, also plan on getting up early, throwing on some clothes, grab a quick bite to eat and head out. Getting to the grocery store early can really save you some money on your food. We’ve already covered two ways this is true, now let’s explore some more. The early bird gets the best deals! 3. When you shop early in the morning, you don’t have to fight your way through the crowds. You won’t have to wait on a long line or say excuse me twenty times just to get … Continue reading →

Tax Rebate Gift Cards

You may have seen some retail stores advertising bonus money or services when you purchase a store gift card using your tax rebate or stimulus rebate check. Is it worth it to take advantage of these offers? Let’s take a look. How do these deals work? It can vary according to the store, or it really helps to know upfront what exactly each deal is all about. The basic premise is that if you use your tax rebate or stimulus rebate money to buy a gift card or if you spend that money in the store, you will be given … Continue reading →

Emergency Meal Stretching 2

We are talking about some techniques for stretching meals in an emergency, from hosting unexpected company to having to make due with the food resources that you have. If you missed part one, click here: Emergency Meal Stretching. Vegetables are a good choice when you don’t have time to really cook extra food. Canned or frozen, and even fresh, they are generally easy to prepare. You can have large helpings as a side dish or make the vegetable the main ingredient. And here is a trick to make it seem as though your meal is larger than it is. Offer … Continue reading →

Adjusting Your Price Book with Escalating Grocery Costs

In the previous article, Our Changing Grocery Prices, I talked about how we’ve been having to adjust what we are willing to pay for some grocery items, in the wake of rising food prices. I shared some concrete examples of items from my mental price books and how I have had to adjust them, such as cereal, apples and eggs. Making these adjustments can be tough. Since prices aren’t steady, it is hard to know what the lowest price on something is or will be. Milk at $4 a gallon seems outrageous, until it rises to $4.50 on average. I … Continue reading →

Not Reading Labels Cost Me Money

We try to provide a healthy but frugal diet for our family. I am constantly reading coupon websites, grocery store flyers and unit pricing signs to make sure that we get the most food for our money. We stay away (mostly) from expensive junk foods, such as soda, candy, sugary cereal and packaged convenience foods that are loaded with chemicals. But, I recently found that I haven’t been doing enough label reading, and that fact has cost me some money. How? Here is my story. Let’s start with some salad dressing. We try to make salads several times a week … Continue reading →