We all know that the cost of everything going up by the day . Every news report says it is only going to get worse . Most people can find at least one or two areas to cut back but how can you rule out food and daily necessities ??? At my home we can't . So I have started keeping track of what lowers my grocery bill the most .
I have stop shopping at the all under one roof stores to start with . If I am going to get food I do not need a place that sells flowers ,garden hoses and clothes. These places have to charge a higher price to make up for items that they take a loss on and they have more cost in getting all that stuff shipped in . Plus they have to pay for more employees to stock and round up carts . I have read a lot of articles that say to buy store brands but you do not save that much . I now look at price per ounce or serving . I know my son eats a ton of rague so instead of getting a few jars at one time I now but it in a big jug and the same with sugar and flour I buy it 25 pounds at a time I pay around 10.00 for each . I use that much in a month or two .Now if you use less it wont save you any money because it may get bugs before you use it all .I do not buy a lot in bulk . Who needs 50 pop tarts or 20 pounds of pasta , not me . So think about how fast you are going to use it or how quickly your family will get tired of it .I also cook a lot from scratch . Box meals are great in a pinch but hard on you pocket . For what you pay for a box meal you can make the same thing for a few pennies .
If I have a lot left over and we aren't in the mood for it again in 1to 2 days I freeze it . Sometimes I even make extra just to pull out in a pinch to avoid the box dinners . If you hate to cook or are in doubt of your ability to cook log on to a few web sights like eversave.com or foodnetwork.com and look for easy meals . I say if you can boil water you can cook .I have a store I do the majority of my shopping at that I dearly love Aldi . I fill the trunk of my car (a neon) and part of my back seat for about 130.00 and that last for a full month. There food is of great quality . I can get things there at a huge savings from other stores. I can get great fudge bars 12 to a box for around a 1.89 and the same for ice cream cones . My son loves this one snack cake ,if I buy it name brand I pay 2.50 to 3.00 a box and that is only 12 cakes there I get 12 for about 1.89 . They have prepackaged cold cuts at a great price too . My husband uses a lot of lunch meat . We have never bought anything that was of bad quality.
So just remember cheaper does not mean bad food . If you are a skeptic check out this type of store and just get 1 or 2 things to try .Another good place to look for deals is your local farmers market or local produce stand . The food is seasonal and picked ripe so it can't set as long as produce that is shipped in . If you get a good deal get a little extra and freeze it . Also try a local butcher for meat and see what the deals are if it is a great price once again buy a little extra and freeze it . Just remember not to go over board because things only last in the freeze for so long and a lot depends the container you freeze it in , get as much air out as you can .Now I will admit I am not much of a coupon clipper , but with all the on line sights that offer free coupons I am willing to give it a shot . My only advice on that is do not buy just because you have a coupon . Make sure it is a deal . Just a few pennies off of some thing that you don't need or you have to buy several of is not a deal. My last tips eat before you go and leave the kids at home
