I’ve decided that I am going to start tracking the amount I save at the supermarket each week with coupons and price matches.  In part this is to keep myself motivated that the hours of work involved is worth it.  Additionally, I hope that it serves as motivation for others as well.

For the pantry stockpile I purchased 10 lbs of Barilla pasta and 10 5oz cans of chunk light tuna.  I picked up 5 bottles of Ocean Spray Cranberry juice (3 100% juice, 2 “cocktail”) and 3 64oz. containers of Tropicana punch/ade (2 of which are in the freezer).

For Accolan’s daily smoothies I picked up 8 lbs of oranges, 3 lbs of strawberries, over 2 lbs of bananas, and 2 whole pineapples.  I also decided to try out Silk’s fruit and protein beverage ($1.50 a container after price match and c/o) as a way for me to have a cheater’s smoothie as I dash out the door to work.

The “snack drawer” is the happy recipient of 4 boxes of Entenmann’s treats, 1 package of Chips Deluxe cookies, and 3 boxes of Great Value brand snacks.  I’d like to say these will last a while but blogging is about honesty.

I also brought home 3 8oz blocks of cheddar cheese, 2 bags of packaged salad, 4 16oz bottles of salad dressing, a loaf of white bread, an 18-pk of eggs, a box of no-name Splenda, a lb of Oscar Meyer bologna and 2 16oz bottles of coffee creamer.

I also snagged 2 packages of dental floss and 2 small tubes of hand cream.

We saved $40 in price matches and $24 in manufacturer coupons.  I spent about $65 for $130 worth of groceries.  That’s a 50% savings!!!

Now granted “earning” that $65 savings comes at a cost …

1) It takes hours to find, print and sort the coupons (and then match them to a given week’s sales).

2) I have to buy ink for my printer (printing in grayscale & draft mode helps alleviate this) and purchase the weekly Sunday paper (sometimes multiple copies)

3) It takes time to read each competitor sale flier and list all the sales that intrigue me.

4) I have to then take that list and narrow it down further in order to make sure that whenever possible I am matching a coupon to the sale and that I am adhering to my weekly budget.

And then there is the juggling act that comes from having to keep track (at least mentally) of what I have on hand and what meals I can make out of it.  I personally think it’s worth it.  What are you willing to do to save money on groceries?

Blessings

Jia

In years past our gardening has not done very well.  Most years we used containers – and got very little for our efforts.  Last year my father relented and allowed us to actually break ground and plant an actual (albeit small) garden.  It pretty much failed.  Some of it was due to weather, some of it was due to poor soil quality, but most of it (I think anyway) was due to the allowed spot getting too little sunlight.

This year my dad gave his go-ahead to actual rip up a goodly amount of lawn for raised beds.  We are planning to use the square foot gardening model and are planting much more than we ever have before.   Earlier this year Accolan built the frames for 2 8′x4′ garden beds – which gives us room (according to their plan) for an awful lot of variety.

The first has been in the ground for several weeks now, and this week found me getting my first seedlings and seeds planted.

So far we have planted various culinary herbs, 6 squares of sweet peas (8 plants in each square with tepee frameworks to climb up), 2 squares of mixed lettuce (buttercrunch, romaine, and red leaf), 1 square of spinach, 2 squares of broccoli, 2 squares of cauliflower, and 1 square of purple kale.  I also have 4 squares of bush bean seeds planted as well as 1 box each of radish, beet, and turnip seeds.  There is still room for cucumber and zucchini.

Accolan broke ground on the second bed today.  This is earmarked for primarily nightshade variety veggies (yes yes I know that they are botanically fruit) – eggplant, tomato, and sweet bell peppers.

Not much excites me these days (depression sucks), but, this garden does.

Blessings

Jia

Probably the biggest, and unfortunately the most time consuming, way I save money on groceries each week is by making use of the ad match policy at my local Walmart.  If you’re unfamiliar with it, in simple terms it means that the cashier can lower the prices on the items you’re buying to match ads in local competitor fliers.  And while this policy means matching prices on toys, movies, and electronics, it also means matching prices on groceries.  It must be the exact same item, but this applies not only to brand name items, but to fresh meat and produce as well.

This is what I do:

Over the weekend I read my sale fliers (Acme, Pathmark, Stop & Shop, Top Tomato, Aldi, A&P, Foodtown, Shoprite etc) cover to cover making lists of any item that catches my eye as being a particularly good deal for each store.

I then condense my list into a master shopping list that lists everything I plan to price match and the store I am matching it to.  For example:

• Frozen – Bird’s Eye Steam Fresh Veggies – 10 to 12 oz – Shoprite – .99 each
• Produce – Whole Pineapple – Aldi – .99 each
• Meat – Bone-In Asst’d Pork Chops – Pathmark – 1.49/lb

Shopping involves using two carts – one for items that don’t have a price match and the other for everything I will be asking my cashier to do a price adjustment on.

Checking out takes forever, I won’t lie.  It gets easier as you get to know the cashiers in your local Walmart and learn which ones have a harder time with doing the manual price change.

You can still use manufacturer coupons on top of any ad matches you take advantage of.

This week I was able to save over $50, close to 50% of my total grocery purchase.  This may be a time consuming way to save money on your groceries, but in my opinion is well well worth it.

Blessings

Jia

1) Stock up on staples, even if they are items that do not go on sale.  An example of this in our house is lentils.  They never go on sale, but I buy the store brand so that I spend as little as possible and try to have around 5 lbs on hand at any given time.  Other items that fall into this category are items that I keep on hand at all times (like milk, eggs, onions, garlic, cheese) whether or not I am able to buy them on sale.

2) Stock up on other staples when they ARE on sale.  Some examples of this in our house are things like canned crushed tomatoes, dry pasta, sugar, flour, ketchup, pickles, and frozen (and canned) vegetables.  I buy them when I can find a good price so that I always have them on hand and don’t have to pay full price when I want to make spaghetti sauce or soup.

3) Each week plan your meals around a combination of what you already have on hand and what happens to be on sale at the supermarket.   Before I go food shopping, I always give quick peaks in my freezer/s and pantry for ideas on what I might be able to make.

4) Venture outside of your comfort zone and try new dishes.  When it comes to eating well on very little, you may find that you are using the same ingredients over and over again.  To avoid burn-out it is important to find ways to turn the same staples into new dishes.  It was this very impetus that led our family to try Kushari, and low and behold we found that we loved it.

5) Make larger batches and freeze part.  We all have those days, nights (heck … weeks!) where finding the time and energy to cook is nearly impossible.  By filling your freezer with some meals that simply need to be defrosted and reheated you will find that it is easier to avoid the lure of ordering in take-out (or even worse heading out for fast food).

6) Make friends with side dishes.  Whether it means making vegetables, baking a potato, or  making some elbow noodles and tossing them with butter, side dishes are a great way to help keep the per serving cost of a meal down, while still making sure that everyone is able to eat their fill.

The plan is to eat pretty plain and simple this week. Not only to save money but to make sure that come next weekend my fridge is empty.

Accolan and Reya made a large batch of macaroni and cheese with peas.  A mix of packaged macaroni and cheese, plain pasta, shredded cheddar, milk, butter, and frozen peas.  Since almost everything is purchased at rock bottom prices it comes together quickly and cheaply.

The other dish seeing us through this week is Spicy Oven Fried Chicken.  I started with this recipe and made some tweaks.  I used 3 parts seasoned bread crumbs and 2 parts grated Parmesan cheese with a bit of cayenne pepper for heat.  I made a triple batch so I had enough for Accolan, my dad, and me to each have a taste today and still have plenty to see us through 2 dinners (with frozen veggies and biscuits from a tube on the side).  I am thrilled with how it came out, and I think I have a new favorite way to make chicken.

Friday is Sephoni’s 12th birthday and we will likely be eating out (my Dad treats on birthdays) or ordering food in.

Saturday morning will see the arrival of our friend Casey and the plan is to spend the day at home and make a spread of Indian and/or Thai dishes like:

• Red Beef Curry
• Green Chicken Curry
• Triple Mushroom Saute
• Dal
• Benghan Bartha
• Aloo Matar

While my Dad doesn’t like any of these dishes, the rest of us love them.  And since my Dad doesn’t like them I don’t get to make them very often.  Casey’s visit give me the perfect excuse to put out a feast.  Luckily, I already have the more obscure ingredients (fish sauce, curry paste, coconut milk) and much of the basics (curry powder, jasmine rice, lentils) already on hand so I won’t even have to spend a lot to do it.

More later.

Blessings

Jia