The post Budget crunching: Grocery costs. Could you manage to save some $$$ appeared first on Updates from Ryder Family Farm.
]]>One of the only ways we can cut back is with our grocery bill. When we started out tackling the grocery budget we were only shopping at one or two stores. It was the super Walmart the other was Sam’s Club. We were spending so much just buying all that we needed in those two places. Sure we were buying food in bulk so we had lots to last us but the priority shifted and having full cupboards no longer became the focus, we needed to just save as much as possible ASAP. This mean spending as little as possible, whenever possible.
I know many families are also in this same boat either because they are now on a limited income or because they too want to cut back on their grocery spending. I’ve found a few ways to help us cut back and save money on the grocery bill:
1. Don’t shop without a grocery list. Your list is your map for navigating the shopping trip. Without it you will stray from what is priority or become blinded by merchandising or sales that tempt you to buy things you don’t necessarily need. Throughout your week keep a list going on the fridge of things you need to shop for.
2. Find out which stores have sales on what you need. Only buying what is cheapest from each store is a great way to save money! Each store runs weekly specials on things, why not take advantage of all those specials and save as much as possible? Sure, this means going from one store to the next seeking out those sale items but all those cents saved sure do add up!
What I do is take all the weekly ads that come in the mail and I flip though each one looking for those items I’ve placed on my shopping list. When I find an item I need on sale at a particular store I note the price and store on my list. After going through the 3-4 store ads I can then plan which stores are offering the best deals on what I need.
Now in my town the super Walmart has a “meet or beat” guarantee so often times they’ll have a better deal than those stores running specials. To be sure we are getting the best deal we visit the Walmart first looking to see if any of their prices are better than those we’ve found advertised at other stores.
We’ll hit one store up for BBQ sauce and rolls, another store for ribs and Pepsi and so on. We only end up buying a few things from each place but it does save us a ton of money. It turns in to an adventure for us too, blitzing all the towns stores, dealing with all sorts of people and trying to find the best deals.
3. Only shop for what you absolutely need. Before heading out on your shopping trip take your list and prioritize things. What do you absolutism need right now and what can wait till next pay day? What things can you go without all together? Mark these items appropriately.
For us this meant cutting much of the comfort items out especially when they were so expensive. Things like my beloved Raisin Nut Bran cereal that runs $4.50 a box was one of the first things to go. Things like meats, milk and other staples are more of a priority than premium cereal right? If you can look at your shopping list and identify these “non priority” items it will help you to cut back on what you spend.
Sure if you have a coupon or can find a non necessity item for way cheap it doesn’t hurt to splurge on it but being able to tell when there is a good deal, when there is not and when it is best to just skip the item is key on those little extras.
4. Clip coupons and use them in conjunction with store sales. The newspaper has coupons and you might even get a coupon mailer at some point during the week. Set these aside and when you have time clip the coupons. Also, there are many great sites that offer printable coupons online such as:
You’ll get the best savings when you use those coupons to buy items that are also on store special. You know double the discounts. They key is clipping and keeping those coupons until the store runs a special on those items.
But don’t be tempted to buy things that you don’t need, having a coupon and being able to save a bit often isn’t worth the money you will save if you just skip buying that one item all together (if you really can do without it).
5. Find ways to get the coupons you need and to get rid of the rest that you don’t need. There is no point in coupon clipping if you can’t find coupons for the things you truly need right?
Well there are a number of ways to either swap, trade or exchange coupons these days and this exchanging makes those unusable coupons of value to you, they become a means for acquiring the ones you truly need. One of the easiest ways to get rid of those useless ones and find the ones you really need is by joining a coupon train.
Since I’ve started clipping coupons (this week) I’ve managed to gather up about $50.00 in coupons I don’t even need. Sure we did find many that we did use and that were super helpful but now I got all these other ones (you can see my list here) that I am desperately trying to get rid of in exchange for some that I can use.
I decided I would try out starting up a coupon train to get rid of those coupons I can’t use and to get my hands on some I’ll benefit from more.
Coupon trains are a great way to trade all those coupons you can’t use for coupons that you need. The person who starts the train gathers up $100 or more worth of coupons that she isn’t going to use, and posts that she is starting a new train, and needs riders. The members who want to join send her a PM with their name, address, and any “wish list” they might have.
The leader types up a sheet with all that info, and mails it to the first person on the list. That person takes out whatever coupons she wants, plus any that have expired or are about to, and replaces them with new ones of equal value. Then she mails it to the next person on list. It continues on until it circles back to the leader, and starts over again.
A good train has members that follow some simple rules:
1. Don’t put in a bunch of coupons nearing their expiration date.
2. Don’t load the train with duplicates.
3. Pay attention to other people wish lists and try to put in coupons that they can use.
4. Be quick about getting the train in the mail to the next person.
Sound like something you might be interested in? Join my train!
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]]>The post Rude people suck!! Black Friday Experiences Shared appeared first on Updates from Ryder Family Farm.
]]>I do not enjoy the crowds and chaos of “black Friday” and I do my best to avoid it at all costs. Last night we had thanksgiving dinner at 11pm because that is when my boyfriend was off work. Eating so late was perfect because it kept us awake and ready for the black Friday deals online that posted at midnight! I wrote a sponsored post about a company that complied all the black Friday deals for many stores, the site is really helpful (http://www.black-friday.net) and I actually used it last night to buy some great gifts at killer prices!
Okay, so back to the black Friday experience… Today I was honked at while driving the over crowded streets, I was in a good mood and was trying to be courteous and spread holiday cheer. I was letting people who were waiting forever to turn left go ahead of me and I was taking care not to block driveways etc.. Some lady hauled off and blared her horn at me, The light was red so we couldn’t go anywhere but I guess she was annoyed with my good cheer or something… Where is the Christmas spirit in that? So when the light turned green I pulled forward and break checked her- my evil side surfaced for a moment…
We headed over to home depot first to get that the sale priced chainsaw with my gift cards. We looked everywhere for it and did not see it so we asked a sales associate about it. Some older man overheard me asking a sales associate about the special and he said “you better beat me there cause I want it”. Then he actually broke in to a sprint towards the chainsaw so he could get to it before I did… I was stunned but brushed it off, I figured I would go to the other home depot in town to get it instead. The customer service rep standing behind the desk witnessed what had happened and offered to call the other store to see it they had any left. She was very helpful and polite. I did end up getting the chainsaw at the other store without having to stoop to the undignified level of many of the other crazies out shopping.
I am just appalled but the way people carry on in while trying to score the great deals. That’s not what the holiday spirit is about… Giving the most expensive gifts does not make you a better person and people actually wont love you more for them. They are just materials guys and if you are trampling others and carrying on like that it defeats the whole point of the season!
I made it a point to have most of my shopping done before black Friday because it’s just easier and less frustrating these days! It’s sad but I can honestly say I have had my fill of being around people today- Some people are just so nasty ans self involved!
Dare I ask how your black Friday experience went?
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]]>I just found a site that I thought was interesting and related to black friday. It’s called Black-Friday.net, the concept of the site is basically that you are emailed the black friday ads so you can buy stuff from the comfort of your own home on black friday. This seems better than waking up before the sun rises just to stand in line, waiting for the stores to open so I am there to get the great deals before they run out.
Some of the stores that I am interested in are: Best Buy specials, Tractor Supply Co. discounts and Buy.com ads. It appears that the ads wont be posted until closer to black friday and you can either enter you email to receive black friday ad alerts or you can check the site closer to black friday. I am always open to new and better ways to do things so I signed up for the email alert! We will see how well it goes! Wish me luck for black friday! bfads
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