Tag Archives: grocery shopping

Are Store Brands Second Best?

There are those of us who swear by name brand items and those of us who never buy anything that isn’t a store brand. So who is right? Can you get just the same quality out of a store brand item as you can the name brands? Or are store brands usually second best? Rather than give you a clear cut answer to this one, I am afraid that I have to say the two words you probably dread to hear: It depends. Most of the time, in fact I would say about 90 percent of the time, the store … Continue reading →

The Store that Ruined Christmas Dinner

I am mad. Boy am I mad. Late Christmas morning, after the gifts had been frantically opened, the Toyland town was all around the Christmas Tree and the kids were happily settled in to playing with their new gifts, it was time to get Christmas dinner started. The potatoes were already peeled and in the pot, ready to become our famous mashed potatoes that were so good that a friend is still convinced that we put some sort of addictive substance in the recipe to make him crave them in his sleep. The pumpkin pie was already in the fridge, … Continue reading →

More Ways to Save and Benefits of Living on One Income

Yesterday we looked at some ways to save money while living on one income. Here are some more benefits of living on one income and ways to save money. Buy generic products. This might include pharmaceuticals which are often cheaper than the brand names as well as grocery items. Just a word of caution on this: If you or your spouse is watching your weight, sometimes the generic product has a higher calorie or sugar content, so check labels carefully. It’s really a bit of trial and error. We buy a lot of generic products but on some, I definitely … Continue reading →

The 80/20 Grocery Rule

Okay, so you don’t want to bother clipping coupons, watching sales and hunting down the deals that disappear once you get to the grocery store? You can still save quite a bit of money on your grocery bill if you just follow a simple little rule. Take advantage of the 80/20 rule the next time you are out grocery shopping. Basically, what this means is that you make specific choices for basic food. A full 80 percent of the food in your cart should be of basic form. For example, a bag of carrots would fall into this rule, while … Continue reading →

Supermarket Strategies for Weight Loss

Weight loss often starts at the supermarket. If you make good choices at the store with your groceries, then you are more likely to stick with healthy foods. After all, cookies that don’t exist in your home are hard to eat. (And yes, while it is true that some of us have been known to get out of the house and drive for peanut butter ice cream, the effort is usually not worth it.) I take some of my best frugal living strategies, that is, ways to save money, and apply them somewhat to weight loss strategies, that is, ways … Continue reading →

Eight Rules for Buying Groceries without Coupons

There are two types of grocery shoppers, the coupon cutters and the non coupon cutters. I have fallen into both camps at one time or another. While popular media may tell you that you can’t save money on groceries unless you use coupons, this is not true. The famous tightwad herself, Amy Dacyczyn, author of the newsletter (and now books) called “The Tightwad Gazette” was never a big fan of coupons. If you choose not to use coupons, then follow the following eight rules. And of course, they are good to know even if you do use coupons. Shop with … Continue reading →

How to Cut Items from Your Grocery Bill

Chances are that there are things on your grocery list that you really don’t need. I’ll share some ideas and ways to cut items from your grocery bill that will lower your costs without drastically changing your lifestyle. Some items we tend to purchase for convenience or out of habit when it fact, these items really aren’t adding much to our lives. Sometimes the convenience is a matter of an extra minute to five minutes out of the day. To me, that just isn’t worth a large grocery bill. Here are some examples. Paper towels Purchase reusable handiwipes, absorbent dishtowels … Continue reading →

Where to Buy Food 2

Traditional grocery stores are wonderfully convenient for grocery food shopping, but there are some other alternatives that can save you some money on your food bill. Explore the following options on where to buy food and reduce the cost of feeding your family. If you missed the previous post on this topic, you can click here: Where to Buy Food Bakery Thrift Store This is one of my favorite places to get bread, bagels, crackers, cookies and sometimes frozen foods. Some of the food is past its date, while other offerings are just overages from the grocery stores, when they … Continue reading →

Where to Buy Food

If you are tired of the high prices at your local grocery store, try the following places to by food. You may just find your grocery bill shrinking while your stock pile increases. Dollar Store People tend to be a little hesitant about purchasing groceries at a dollar store. I am not exactly sire why this is the case. After all, you can see the expiration dates on the food and check them. I guess it is just the association of cheap stuff and food. Most of the brands will be generics, but there are also quite a few name … Continue reading →

Beware of the Grocery Store Sales Aisle

Most grocery stores these days feature a sales aisle where you can conveniently shop all of the sales at once. While this seems like it could be so convenient, you just run in and pick up the sales and then go before you are tempted to buy anything else, it can actually sabotage your grocery budget and make you spend more. Her are my reasons to avoid the sales aisle at all costs. Oh the Temptation Hey did you notice that crackers were on sale? You just can’t pass that one up, even though crackers weren’t on your list. The … Continue reading →