Groceries, Savings, Healthy Eating

At the very bottom of this post there is a list of about 80 items that I have been "tracking" for lowest prices. Even though I took out some of the hard work for you, it will take time to really save money on your grocery bill.

What you will need:
A notebook of whatever size. Mine is smaller about 4 x 5 so that I can carry it in my purse if I need to, calculator, pen and any Grocery adds, coupons, and any grocery receipts.

Every week, grocery stores send out adds via mail or e-mail (some stores, such as target, walgreens, etc. have coupons online or adds online to view). What the stores don't want to tell you is that even though it is in an add, doesn't mean it's their lowest price. This is the challenging part, the tracking.

In your notebook, write down any thing that comes from the add or that you buy for the week. You will want to write down the price AND the size. Size is important because sometimes it's cheaper to buy in bulk, sometimes it's not.

For about the first month or two you will just be getting your normal groceries or looking at adds. You will write down the sales price. Then, you can see what rotates and when it rotates. Like I know that in the summer grapes, strawberries are cheaper so I don't tend to buy those off season.

You can copy my list (of what I have been tracking for several years) to help you get started.

THE KEY TO SAVINGS:
After you have found the lowest price, then you have to wait for it to be that low. Canned vegetables for example can be as low as 38 cents. One week a store might advertise cans for . 48 and you think this is great! You might need to buy one or two for you weekly dinners.. but the week after that, or maybe two weeks after the cans then will drop to .38 cents. So it's best to check your list and wait for the price to drop even more!

Don't be overwhelmed:
First, start with only watching your 10-15 most common items. The fact that you have my list below to help you, will save you a lot of heartache and headache. But don't be overwhelmed with whatever you do.

Then find when the best to buy is. When the item is at it's lowest, is when you want to buy the most... have a cabinet empty to hold all of your spare non-perishables. If you it is an item (like fresh vegetables or fruit) that will go bad, when the item is at its cheapest is when you use it in all of your meals. Making a weekly menu based off of what you are buying for the week will save money.

Once you feel comfortable with finding the lowest price is when you can start adding in coupons. I have personally not yet mastered coupons for usually I can find the price to be lower with just waiting. Some stores will double coupons, some stores match adds you will just have to find what works for you.

Don't be afraid to ask questions at your grocery store. And don't be afraid to google for answers. www.couponmom.com is a site that collects coupons that you can print from your computer. It is free, as far as I can tell and what I have used. Only print the coupons you need... don't waste your ink! =]

My personal goal this weeks is not to eat out AT ALL for an entire week, seven days. I will try to update on here with what we ate and how much my grocery bill was.

Hope this helps! And her is my list:

The left side is my most common items, followed by baking items. The right side is not as common items and items that you can find at the dollar tree.

Also, I just listed the item... I am a person that is NOT afraid to buy generic. It all taste the same for us, and when we cook, you can't even tell if it's the store brand or a name brand. But just watch for adds... the store brand is not always the best buy!

Grocery