Saving money and frugal living
Living frugally doesn’t mean eating beans every night and only going to matinee movies while sneaking in your favorite snacks (although I do stash a candy bar in my purse!). Living frugally is a way to stretch your budget and improve your quality of life while spending less.
Saving money and living frugally can seem a bit daunting if you haven’t done it, but once you start… You’ll wonder why you ever paid full price for ANYTHING!!
Lesson 1: Saving money: Start in your kitchen
Lesson 2: The shopping list and beyond
Lesson 3: Saving money beyond the grocery store
Lesson 1: So you’ve decided to save some money. Where should you start?
Answer: In your kitchen. A few months back there was a radio campaign that spoke about bringing your lunch from home-They were selling cold cuts- but it ad campaign raised a valuable message- We spend a lot of money on lunches and dinners out! The average lunch out, even at McDo’s is running about $8.00 per person these days!
$8.00x5 days/week=$40! That’s only for one person. Say you and spouse work outside the home, that $80/week or $320/month. OY! When you bring your lunch from home the cost can be as low as $3-$4. That’s half the cost of a greasy bag from a drive thru window.
Now dinners out can run a bit on the high side too. The average meal at a casual sit down place runs $15 per person, plus tip and tax. $30 (dinner for two) can feed you and the spouse for a week of dinners if you cooked at home (and you don’t have to tip anyone!).
Ok, I’m standing in my kitchen, now what?
Start by opening your cupboard. If you are like most people, you peer in there and say to yourself, “There’s NOTHING to eat!!” While there might not be any ready to eat snacks, there is plenty of ingredients that would make a meal.
• Clean out the cupboard. Get rid of all the expired food. All it’s doing is taking up space. Got a jar of peanut butter that is rancid? Pitch it! Stale Cereal? Feed it to the birds! The second phase of cleaning out the cupboard is getting rid of the food in the cupboard that you will never eat. Bought 4 cans of devilled ham on sale, only to find out after 2 bites youhate it? Start a bag (or box) of food that the family won’t eat. Donate it to a food bank, post it on freecycle, or give it to a friend or co-worker that you know might need some help (1 in 8 Americans goes hungry each day). Repeat these steps with the fridge and freezer. All cleaned out, all ready to start anew!
• Make a list of foods that you and the family like to eat that you cook at home. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. After you’ve made the list, make a separate list of the ingredients of each of those recipes- you may need to break out the cookbooks or recipe cards! If you want to try some new recipes write out what is in each of those.
• Take your list into the kitchen and “shop”. Cross items off that list that are already in your cupboard or fridge/freezer. What’s left is your shopping list. You may not want to make EVERYTHING on your list right away, but if you only make one big trip to the grocery store a month like we do, you’ll want to stock up the on canned and freezer goods from your list.
• Try to bring your lunch from home 3-4 times a week. Leftovers, sandwiches, salads, even the occasional frozen lunch will in the long run save you more than nipping out to McDo’s daily. If you find yourself stopping at Starbucks or getting the urge to drive thru for a quick breakfast, stock up on quick handy breakfast items you can eat on the drive in and keep a box of instant oatmeal packets in your desk. Drink coffee at work- bring in a bottle of fancy flavored creamer. Coffeemate.com always has printable coupons!
Lesson 2- The shopping list and beyond
• Pull out your coupon wallet. You don’t have one? Well, let’s get you started. Buy a Sunday paper (or two- I flip through the paper before I buy it, check out the coupons and see if I want to buy an extra 1 or 2. There are also websites that give coupon previews). Clip out all the coupons for items you know you will buy. Save the rest. You can trade them with co workers or friends for more coupons that you want. Coupons.com is another good source for printable coupons (FYI-Wal*mart does not take printable coupons). Google “Printable Grocery coupons” and you will find tons of “printables”. Most sites limit you to 2 per printer. Put your coupons, arranged in whatever order you like in an envelope or a coupon sorter (available at target or Wal*mart or most dollar stores).
• Now that you have your coupon wallet assembled, pull out the coupons that correspond to the items on your list. Don’t worry if at first you don’t have a lot of coupons. That will change!
• When the junk mail comes, pull out the circulars for a couple stores. Most of us frequent one store over another for a variety of reasons (clean store, good selection, close to our home/office), but take a look at another stores circulars to see what other stores offer. You might be surprised and try a new store next week. Usually the junk mail comes on Tuesdays in our neighborhood. Sales for grocery stores run Weds. To Weds., so the stores put out the upcoming circulars a few days in advance so shoppers have time to prepare their lists and compare the sales with the coupons they have to get the best value. Select your store for the week. Take the circular with you when you shop, along with your list and all of your coupons.
• When shopping- don’t be brand loyal. If you have a coupon for brand X, but brand Y is cheaper without a coupon, don’t hesitate to buy brand Y. Using a coupon for the sake of using it isn’t wise unless the deal is good!
• Don’t shop hungry. You’ve heard this a million times and it’s true. You’ll end up buying stuff you don’t need.
• Shop alone or with a like-minded couponing friend. Don’t bring the kids or significant other. They will whine and/or ask for items that aren’t on the shopping list. Stick to the list and buy items that are on sale and that you have coupons for.
• Don’t get frazzled. Take your time when shopping with coupons. It seems like a hard process, but it’s easy after you’ve done it a couple times.
• Get a store card! I preach the glory of the store savings club card! You will save money without clipping coupons. If you shop at Vons or any of those family of stores, you can hook up your club card to a United Airlines frequent Flyer miles account and use the points for cheaper flights or to buy items at a discount for holidays.
• Pick up coupons- the little machines in the store- take 2 or 3 of each coupon. If it’s something you won’t use, you can trade them. Likewise if there are coupons that you won’t use that you have brought with you to the store or that have a short expiration date., leave them on the shelf next to the item- the coupon fairy is a great way to spread savings!
• When you are torn between two of the same item, check the unit price. On the shelf tag it will list the price for the item, and then the cost per ounce/unit (if the item isn’t food- like toilet paper, the price per roll/unit), check that against the generic or another brand if you are considering several brands. The cost per ounce may surprise you- buying in bulk is not always the best deal!!
• Don’t be afraid to stock up when there is a good deal! A few months ago there was a sale where our favorite oatmeal was buy one, get one free (BOGO), and there were coupons in the shelf dispenser machine for $2.00 off each box. Vons allows use of the $2.00 coupon on the free item. So, instead of paying $5 per box, we paid .50 per box. We bought 20 boxes. We eat oatmeal 4-5 times a week, so for us that was a great deal.
Lesson 3- Saving money beyond the grocery store
1. Do not buy toiletries (sometimes called HBA or Health and Beauty Aids) at the grocery store. The mark up is crazy! Stick to mass merchandisers like Target or the drugstore. They accept coupons and their prices are generally lower than the grocery store. Make you list, check the circulars and armed with coupons, list and circular- go and buy shampoo! Try not to be brand loyal on toiletries. Most of the time with coupons and store sales you can buy shampoo, razors, shaving cream and body wash for pennies on the dollar. Most drugstores and mass merchandisers (like Target) have in store coupons too. You can combine the in store coupon with the manufacturers coupon for more savings. Here is an example -I don’t need to buy shampoo for a year!
Walgreens had Granier Fructis on sale for $2.99. There was a store coupon in the Walgreens circular for $2 off and coupons in the Sunday paper for $1.00 off- making the shampoo free!! I traded my unwanted coupons for Garnier Fructis coupons and stocked my cupboard with shampoos and conditioner to last for a year.
*WARNING* Even if something is free, that does not mean you have to take it home. If it’s yucky or won’t get eaten or used, don’t bother. It will only take up space!
2. Eating out: Everyone loves to get outand have someone else slave over a hot stove for them. Here are some great ways to save money when you eat out.
• Make eating out something special. Don’t do it every day. Go someplace for dinner where you have to be served.
• Keep your eyes open for deals- buy one get one, reduced price happy hours, kids eat free, etc. Happy hours are great because often times meals are reduced in price in addition to the appetizers.
• Look online or in the junk mail for coupons. Black Angus coupons come in the junk mail about once a month. Many new restaurants advertise with the junk mail and offer coupons.
• Consider splitting the cost of a Entertainment book with a friend. After using only 3 coupons, I had saved the cost of the book! Not only are their food coupons, but some locations have grocery store coupons, Dave and Buster coupons, movie house coupons (adult for a childs price) and coupons and deals for vacations!
• Sign up for you favorite restaurants e-newsletter. Many eateries have a newsletter or a birthday club you can join! Do it! They will email you coupons monthly or every few months. There are lots of kids’ clubs too (Baskin Robbins has one and you kid gets a free b-day cone!)
• Add the misc. restaurant coupons to your coupon wallet and stash it in your purse. You never know when the urge to save will hit you.
3. Other places to save
Check your mail for circulars and coupons for places besides grocery stores and drugstores. Bed Bath and beyond puts of 20% off coupons all the time- sometimes they even have them on their website (just print and go!). You can use up to 6 per transaction.
The Bottom Line: Don’t be embarrassed to use coupons, shop sales or save money. Coupons and sales are put out by companies, stores, and manufacturers to entice people to shop in their stores.
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