"Have you been like me and read a bunch of writings on saving money on food shopping. Catagories like couponing,meal planning,and stock piling . Make a board on Pinterest and pin bunches of pins on the subject? I have!
And I have read them and tried them all to just find myself failing in one area or the other. Why? It is good principles. Certain things have really made things easier for me ; but not saving me money, just time. I'm not complaining!! No not at all. :).
I am only stating here that I think I've found the problem. You can find advice on tips and tricks on any part of this shopping subject. The only thing is that you only get bits and pieces. You know when your mother would say "all in good time and order"? Well that's some good wisdom right there let me tell you. It is all about timing and order! The articles and pins that I read were good and workable; but I was working them out of order. I looked back over all the materials that I have collected and now I am putting them in a proper order. I now don't feel so stressed or feel like I am failing. So I thought that I would share with you my journey of finding the order of this saving money on groceries.
Any reason for someone to be looking into this subject is to save money. In the beginning it's not getting more money but saving the money you have in your hands right now. Which in many cases is not much. So why would I let someone tell me how to spend my little bit and stock up a pantry that would take more than I have. Or listen to someone tell me about coupons getting me to spend money on something I wasn't planning on ; nor did I even really need. You would be surprised to know many people are.
Coupons are great when you use them right. In the beginning when you use them on the stuff that you planned on buying anyway they save you in taxes. Really great when used at a store that doubles . Changing that .50 to $1.00 or used with a store sale as well. I did really good on my mayo . It is normally $3 something. It was on sale for two something and after they doubled my little coupon I was able to buy me Hellmanns mayo for a dollar something. Now that saved me some money that was able to go towards other stuff that I needed.
Well I bet your wondering what's the steps? Hurry up woman!!!
I know I would be saying the same thing. Let's begin!
The first thing you have to do is get to know yourself and family . Ask and answers some of the questions like "how many do you shop for?" You can find that question and more in this link .
http://pinterest.com/pin/220606081723050177/
You need to save all receipts!!! This is to keep record of how much you are actually spending in groceries and non groceries at the end of one month. This helps you to set a grocery budget. This also lets you know at the end of the month if you did better or worse than the last and lets you see where you might need to make adjustments.
You use the receipts to also create what is called a price book. This will help you not to spend more than what you have been spending. Because you will be able to spot when something is on sale and when it is not. Here are some links on creating a price book 👇
Depending on the size of your notebook, you’ll want to designate one page (if the book is small) or half a page (if the book is big) to each particular item you’re going to track.
For each item, you need to record just five small pieces of information: Date, Store, Brand, Total Price per Size and Price per Unit.
- Date: Self-explanatory, but this is the date you bought the item. Many items are seasonal, but not everything is. Knowing the date you bought something could help determine when the best deals might come along.
- Store: The store you bought it at. Be specific and include the location if you shop at the same store in different areas.
- Brand: Tracking this will help you recognize what brands tend to be less expensive than others. This information can also be handy later when the budget is under control and you’re ready to research the quality of the brands you regularly buy.
- Total Price per Size: This is the total of what you paid for the size of the item. For example, $2.50/15oz of organic canned tomatoes.
- Price per Unit: This is the price per unit of the item, as in per ounce, per milliliter, per pound, per bar, etc. For example, 17¢/oz of organic canned tomatoes, or $2.15 per KIND bar.
Another part your receipts will play to save you money is you being able to actually see what you are spending on a recipe. You can record the price of each item you use in your recipe. Noted there are supplies that I stay stocked on in my kitchen that when I go shopping I do not have to purchase but I still record an estimated price. Now when I plan what meals I want to make for the week I kinda know which of my recipes cost me less to buy if I am having a bad week money wise ; because of a bill that decided it need my attention. I also will see how one item can be used for two meals like a bag of onions or carrots. Hit the link under the picture above for more explanation on this subject.
Let me throw a little bit extra info here for you incase you are interested in it the Ibotta app. You can earn some extra money on items you might already be buying. Let me warn you! This was created by people with the same interests as the coupon companies. To get you to buy,buy buy! You must be disciplined or you will defeat the purpose of saving money . https://ibotta.com/r/pdrvgq
Well there you have it ,a way to start you on your way to saving. Now this is not too hard and costs you nothing to put into practice. Stay tuned for more and until than - SAVE THOSE RECEIPTS!!!
