Grocery Savings - Your Kitchen is a Goldmine!

Your food budget is the most flexible area of your household budget. Grocery savings will free up a significant amount of money if you need to balance the budget, or fund your savings accounts.

If you haven't figured it out already, your kitchen is a Goldmine. There are numerous ways to reduce the grocery budget and free up funds to use in other areas.

How much should you be spending on groceries?

The USDA Food Plans at the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion suggests that a family of four is currently spending about $100 to $116 per week based on the "Thrifty Plan", depending on the age of children. Anyone trying to reduce the food budget should follow the guidelines for the "thrifty plan."

This should give you at least some idea what the average family spends. I recommend you shoot for something less than that figure if at all possible by implementing as many of these grocery saving tips as possible!

• Eliminate eating out! Period! - O.K. if you're family is screaming mad at you then take them out at least once a month. Make it an occasion. Most of us get caught up in fast paced living and eat out at least one or two times per week. It's just an insane waste of money.

  Your family will appreciate a dinner out much more when it's not such a regular event. Consider it "quality time out". And, remember to look for coupons good at local restaurants for additional savings.

• Minimize the use of convenience foods. - You can make it yourself for a fraction of the cost, try it! Many of us are so accustomed to convenience foods that we forget we can make it ourselves.

  If you already love to cook from scratch then congrats! For the rest, I know this is a scary thought. It's hard to go back into the kitchen and actually get your hands dirty. However, I must insist you try this. There's gold in them there hands! Use 'em.

  If you don't have a lot of time, don't worry there are literally hundreds of recipe books for the busy lifestyle. There are many that promote frugal living as well.

  You'll find substitute recipes for everything from baking mixes to shake and bake and salad dressing. All it takes is a little extra time. Even if you had to pay yourself for doing the cooking you would come out ahead.

• Do your homework! - Know what's on sale and plan your menu around the weekly sales flyers. Investing a little extra time in planning will help maximize grocery savings and reduce the food budget!

  I make it a rule to never buy meat over $2 a pound. Although I allow myself $2, I usually only spend on average 39 cents to $1.69. Occasionally, (rarely) I indulge in something special if it's a good value.

• Eat meatless meals at least twice a week. - Beans and rice are a good example. Egg dishes are a nice change in routine for dinner. Try a vegetable stir fry or casserole.
• Don't use packaged mixes. - Cake, breads, muffins, pastry, pizza dough, pancake, and waffles all come in a variety of pre-packaged mixes. Make your own for not much more effort and a lot less money!
• Know what your local stores offer. - Which ones have the lowest prices? Start carrying a little memo book to record prices of items you buy regularly. You can organize trips to save time and money when planning your grocery shopping.

  Who accepts coupons and do they double? Do they have a rebate program? Do they have a clearance or bargain area? Which grocery stores accept additional discount programs like ValuPage?

• Build your coupon file! - It seems coupons are available everywhere now. Your newspaper is a great starting point. Pay careful attention when looking through magazines. These are easy to miss. I often find coupons in home, ladies, or cooking magazines.

  Check out the free grocery coupons on-line. Be sure to do your research, many stores do not accept computer generated coupons due to the high incidence of fraud. Be sure not to waste your valuable time on this one if you don't have a local store that accepts them.

Be an informed consumer. I can't stress this enough!
Informed consumer = More grocery savings!

Once you know where to shop, use all your resources. Combine rebates, sales, and coupons whenever possible for maximum grocery savings. This takes a bit more dedication but, you can literally get paid to purchase items if you're willing to invest the time.

Grocery savings aren't just for the grocery store. many drugstores now have food sections where you can save on groceries.

Here's a great tip:

Always check your cash register receipt. Many stores offer a refund of full price policy for items that do not register the correct sale price. I have cashed in on this one many times. Remember, these price adjustments are usually entered by humans. Human error is always a possibility, so cash in on it!

Because of a simple mistake, you have increased your grocery savings!

If you....

Plan ahead - Use your sale flyers to plan weekly meals.

Use what you have on hand first - Plan meals based on foods you have in your fridge, freezer, and cabinets already

Utilize your savings tips - Get more for your money using a combination of resources listed above

Make it yourself whenever possible

....You will be able to tap into that Goldmine hiding in your very own kitchen!

Cheryl Johnson is a mother of four helping herself and others become and remain debt free. Publisher of Simple Debt Free Living at http://www.simpledebtfreeliving.com - A self-help plan, ideas, and resources for debt management, household budget planning, frugal and debt free living, and extra income opportunities. Money saving tips for groceries, clothing, home decorating, and much more, maximize savings everyday.

---

Google News Updated : Sun, 12 Oct 2008 11:51:06 GMT Theatrical Review of Body of Lies - DVDTOWN.com Theatrical Review of Body of Lies DVDTOWN.com - 11 hours ago By Jason P. Vargo "Body of Lies" is a certain type of movie designed for a certain type of moviegoer. I think the tagline describes the movie perfectly, actually. Will 'Chihuahua' take a bite out of 'Body of Lies'? Los Angeles Times Body of Lies Entertainment Weekly E! Online - San Francisco Chronicle - Reuters - Washington Post all 1,041 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:19:39 GMT ARM Holders Would Do Well to Shop Around Now - Washington Post Sify ARM Holders Would Do Well to Shop Around Now Washington Post - 4 hours ago By Nancy Trejos The global financial crisis has affected virtually every aspect of personal finance, from mortgages to student loans to credit cards to retirement savings. Finance giants reportedly ordered to buy $40 bln of mortgage bonds ... MarketWatch Fannie, Freddie to Buy $40 Billion a Month of Troubled Assets Bloomberg The Miami Herald - Orlando Sentinel - Sunday Paper - San Jose Mercury News all 227 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 12 Oct 2008 07:07:17 GMT Many homers, and pitches, in Game 2 - MLB.com Los Angeles Times Many homers, and pitches, in Game 2 MLB.com - 2 hours ago By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com ST. PETERSBURG -- Five hours and 27 minutes elapsed during Saturday's American League Championship Series Game 2, bookending the moments when Scott Kazmir threw the game's first pitch over home plate and BJ Upton popped its ... Up, up, and away Boston Globe Mike Timlin shoulders blame Boston Herald Los Angeles Times - Washington Times - Tampa Tribune - ESPN all 495 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 12 Oct 2008 09:22:57 GMT American space tourist blasts off in Soyuz rocket - The Associated Press Washington Post American space tourist blasts off in Soyuz rocket The Associated Press - 39 minutes ago BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (AP) - A Soyuz spacecraft with two Americans and a Russian on board lifted off from Kazakhstan on Sunday for the international space station. Space Toilet Fixed – For Now eFluxMedia Russia launches spacecraft with sixth space tourist China Daily KGAN - MarketWatch - Spaceflight Now - USA Today all 615 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 12 Oct 2008 11:11:37 GMT Japan says will tap FX reserve if IMF steps up bailout - Reuters Voice of America Japan says will tap FX reserve if IMF steps up bailout Reuters - 6 hours ago WASHINGTON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Japan said on Saturday it is ready to offer a part of its $1 trillion foreign reserves to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) if the multi-national lender is to support countries facing economic crisis. Video: IMF: Timing right for G7 ReutersVideo IMF Calls for Aggressive Response to Crisis New York Times Bloomberg - MarketWatch - Financial Times - Voice of America all 2,310 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 12 Oct 2008 05:32:02 GMT McCain campaign's tone likened to George Wallace's - Newsday Malaysia Star McCain campaign's tone likened to George Wallace's Newsday - 2 hours ago WASHINGTON - Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat and veteran of the civil rights movement, says the negative tone of the Republican presidential campaign reminds him of the hateful atmosphere segregationist Gov. McCain in 'hatred' war of words BBC News Obama thanks, jabs at McCain Chicago Tribune New York Times - Los Angeles Times - Reuters - AFP all 404 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 12 Oct 2008 09:27:11 GMT Van driver's work in Mass. aided Nobel winners - Boston Globe Boston Globe Van driver's work in Mass. aided Nobel winners Boston Globe - 7 hours ago HUNTSVILLE, Ala.—When two American scientists won a Nobel Prize this week in chemistry, the driver of a car dealership's courtesy van had reason to take special interest. Video: Nobel Chemistry Prize Goes for Jellyfish Protein AssociatedPress The Daily Yomiuri - The Associated Press - Ars Technica - New York Times all 1,253 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 12 Oct 2008 04:14:18 GMT RSS For Web Pages More Web Site Traffic

PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts, Websites, and more...

Adsense websites

More Money? My Cup Runneth Over...But Im Still Thirsty

Most of us, especially those of us who have debtor's... Read More

Simple Ways to Save Money

Things are so expensive these days. We seem to be... Read More

One Income Source Is Not Enough!

My personal opinion is that in today's new economy, it... Read More

Photo Checks ? A Great Alternative in Checking

It's the little things in life that make it interesting.... Read More

The World is Not Enough - Calling for a More Ethical Approach to Personal Finance

At a time when the entire world's attention is focused... Read More

Budget Planning - Its Elementary My Dear Watson

Does it feel like you have to be Sherlock Holmes... Read More

10 Steps To Improve Your Financial Situation

Here are ten steps you can follow to help improve... Read More

Saving Money - Are You Doing Enough?

It is estimated that we, as consumers, waste an average... Read More

Resources to Help You Learn About and Protect Yourself from Identity Theft

There is a new bill that is being passes, it... Read More

Make or Break Your Retirement!

The Prudential has dubbed those who refuse to leave home... Read More

What is ChexSystems?

Commonly referred to as the first of the three major... Read More

What Are We Teaching our 2005 Graduates about Money?

Now that we are in the month of June I... Read More

Basic Bank Accounts Failing the Basic Needs of Consumers

The lists of bank and savings accounts that are available... Read More

Risky Business: You May Not be as Daring as You Think

I thought I was through with exams when I finished... Read More

If All Things Are Possible, Why Cant I Balance My Checkbook?

For me, the most terrible time of each month is... Read More

How Check 21 Affects You

The Check 21 Law is the new federal law for... Read More

Personal Checks ? Extreme Benefits

Millions of people have a checking account and many people... Read More

How to Save Money in a Grocery Store

Now there are ways to save money in the grocery... Read More

What?s New in Checking ? From Designs to Photos

Just about everyone has a checking account. Checks present easy... Read More

Dramatically Improve Your Stock Trading Success

Get Access to Realistic profitable strategies & discover the mindset... Read More

Credit Card Debt ? Watch Your Credit Report and Your Bill

Most consumers are aware of the importance of their credit... Read More

Should You Borrow From Your 401(k) Account?

If you have a 401(k) account, it can be very... Read More

Reduce College Debt with Scholarships

Six Scholarship judges were sitting around an oval table. Forms... Read More

What is a Traditional IRA?

With a traditional Investment Retirement Account (IRA) you pay taxes... Read More

College Expenses: Seven Ways to Save on an Education

Many people graduate from college owing thousands of dollars in... Read More