Anybody know sites or have tips that can help me. It's only my sister my I and we find ourselves spending $150+ monthly for food and we just think that's outrageous for 2 people, but food is so HIGH!!!! I clip coupons but I find myself rarely using them and Wal-mart has ALMOST ran every store in my area bankrupt AND as yall know they don't double coupons/bogo. We do have a Bruno's, Food World, and Publix nearby & I don't know if they double coupons. If so, I am going to take my business elsewhere! Right now, I've signed up with Couponmom, Eversave, Coolsavings, mygrocerydeals.com (if anyone doesn't have it!), and I'm trying to see if anyone has SITES OR TIPS.

We don't have many stores in our area either. I have signed up on the mailing lists for ads from Meijer, Biggs, etc. Then get their ads and Walmart will price match. Also, might be worth stocking up on staples/canned foods once every other month or so at a really discount place like Aldi if you have one very close.

I feed a family of 6 on 350-400 a month at the max by coupons and price matching... price match and coupon together equals awesome deal. I usually save more than I spend. And say Biggs has "pork chops" for 1.59 per pound. If they don't specify "bone-in" but they might be there, then you can do boneless at Walmart.

Editing to add that my family of 6 includes 3 VERY hungry growing boys, 1 teenager, and at least a two day visit by our granddaughter each week. :-)

jbdinos,

Thanks for all the info. Does WM pricematch from stores that aren't in your area because neither of those stores are?

Thks again!

Check your private messages.

I too find that groceries are getting so outrageous:eek: I now get the Sunday paper
for the coupons but most all of them are X.00 off when you buy 2 or more. I don't
generally need to buy 2 or 3 of the same item. We have a small place and no storage
space or pantry. I went to buy OJ the other day and it was almost $4.00 for a 1/2 gallon
bottle, so I ended up buying the frozen concentrate for $1.79.

Between gas and food and rent every month we struggle more and more.

If anybody has any advice on how to save...I AM LISTENING :p

I too find that groceries are getting so outrageous:eek: I now get the Sunday paper
for the coupons but most all of them are X.00 off when you buy 2 or more. I don't
generally need to buy 2 or 3 of the same item. We have a small place and no storage
space or pantry. I went to buy OJ the other day and it was almost $4.00 for a 1/2 gallon
bottle, so I ended up buying the frozen concentrate for $1.79.

Between gas and food and rent every month we struggle more and more.

If anybody has any advice on how to save...I AM LISTENING :p

I know this doesnt help much, but you would be amazed at where people can stash extra stuff :) I live in a doublewide, with 5 people living here. Its me, hubby, & our 3 kids. We have VERY limited space, but I make it work. I know I could be more organized & stretch my space farther, but I am too lazy for all that :P

jbdinos,

Thanks for all the info. Does WM pricematch from stores that aren't in your area because neither of those stores are?

Thks again!

My walmart price matches anyone, the only condition is that stores like Kroger that run different ads in different areas, is that it is supposed to the closest of those stores ads. So I have a local Kroger and they are suppposed to make sure that is the ad I am showing them, but they don't ever check to see. I have no Meijer or Biggs close to me and they price match them all the time. Once Biggs ran the snack size candy bars that have 10 in a pack and you can get them for 1.00-1.29 most places for 9 cents each.... I honestly think they misprinted the ad because 9 cents is extremely cheap. I got tons of them to put in my freezer for when the kids need snacks for school and sports teams and they didn't even question the ad then although the lady had the CSM check to be sure it was 9 cents per 10 pack and not 9 cents per bar inside the 10 pack... lol... then she asked me if she could have my ad if I was done with it and the CSM told her no.... I almost snuck it back into her but she said never mind..... At that point I figured they would say "there is not one for over a 2 hour drive" but they didn't.... Most of the cashiers won't even look at my ads, they just take my word for it. I think it's easier than looking it all up and some of them are just lazy.

If you save a certain dollar figure on price matching (our store is 75 but I was in another once that was 50) then a CSM comes up to override the purchase but no biggie, just a small wait for substantial savings.

And I agree with FairyDustChristie... you'd be amazed at where you can store things with a little imagination. I remember once I overstocked on an awesome deal and it doesn't hurt your bedroom a bit if you slide tray style boxes under the bed with canned goods in them.... or even soft drinks. :D

But we just bought a new house less than 6 months ago and one of the "has to have" things was a large enough kitchen to get all my groceries in the kitchen and not under beds or in the basement..... lol And I am still amazed that I cannot seem to fill up my pantry cabinet.... I LOVE IT!!!!!

How exactly does price matching work with Meat? I have always wondered about that. There usually are not specific brands on a roast or pork chops. Thanks for your above postings everybody. I learn something new everyday!

Here they will not price match Kroger/Highlander because you have a shoppers card there and they won't price match any store that you need a card to get the sale price, they won't pm CVS either. And here they check every ad if you pm, they check the date to make sure that it is this weeks ad and see if there is any fine print and make sure that you get the exact item.

Always keep your coupons with you and have some sort of organization system so you can find them easily and you will find yourself using them more often.

You do need to spend a little bit of time, but it is well worth it. Read the grocery store ads every week. Look through your coupons & pull ones that are for items that the grocery store has on sale that week. Also go to a coupon site and see if they have any coupons for any of the items that are on sale (items that you would use), or you could google "crest coupon" and see if anything comes up if crest was on sale and you use it. An item that is on sale or clearance at a store that doubles coupons is usually the best deal & you can get things for close to nothing.

You can do this for a couple of grocery stores every week. Don't forget about Walgreens, Target and CVS which also sell some grocery items and let you use their store coupons with a manufacturers coupon (for example: Target had Ravioli for .99 and had .50 off coupons on their website and there was a manuf. coupon for $1 off 5 cans, so I got 5 cans for $1.45 - that comes to .29 a can, and we use it in our house for when the lunch is at school is something the kids don't like).

Everyone has such great suggestions!

We are a family of 4. I was spending $175 a week at Giant. It was crazy, and that didn't include diapers or the formula I was buying at the time. Plus, by the end of the week, we'd be completely out of food!

Now I go to Aldi's primarily and then pick up other things as they are on sale at the grocery, discount or drug stores, and I have coupons for them. I find Aldi's to be the same or less than the other stores, and their food tastes the same to me. If we find something we don't like their brand in, I make a note so I don't buy it again.

I used to have a lot more time for chasing down sales and coupons, but since little ds was born, I don't. So this works for us now. I spend about $100/wk now and always have stuff stocked in the pantry.

This has helped my family drop about $75 dollars off our bill: Make a menu. We as a family get together and make a menu of what we want to eat for the week. This helps us buy what we need and know whats for dinner. We also have a list rule we have a list that we keep in the kitchen that if we need anything during the week we write it down on. If it doesn't make it on the list then we don't need it. I find that you can never go in to Wal-mart and come out with the one thing that you need. So we try not to make extra trips there. I hope that this helps!

Coupons, coupons, coupons ! Also stocking up is key. If pork chops are on sale buy an extra package or two and freeze them for later. Home cooking and being creative also helps. I bought mission tortillas which were free after coupon. I baked them in the oven and made tortilla chips. Free sure beats the cost of a bag of them from the chip aisle. I already had canned diced tomatoes at home that I bought for next to nothing after coupon, I made salsa and packed it for the kids lunches. You really just have to watch the sales and go where the deals are. It is work but worth the effort. I haven't paid for shampoo, conditioner, razors, shaving cream, ziploc bags, cat food, toothbrushes, toothpaste, or cleaning products in ages thanks to coupons. I have a family of 7 so you can imagine how much that helps. I spend less than $350/ month being careful and hitting the sales. I'm not really buying junk food either. The girls and DH all take salads and fruit just about every day and if there are leftovers from dinner DH will take that for lunch instead which saves me more. Good luck. You can do it!

for those of you with small families or small homes (no storage) talk to your neighbors. Form a group. Potatoes are on sale Buy 5 lb get 5 lb? Only need 2 lb? split it with the neighbors. Split it with friends. Buy in bulk and save (often). Take a friend/neighbor shopping with you. You will have companionship, they can do their shopping, you can decide on things to split, and you can save gas.

don't wait until you are out of something to buy it. At that point, you will be willing to pay whatever to have the needed item. Instead - start looking for a good deal when you are starting to get low.

Make a list of the staple products you use, so you can check your stock easily.

As stated above, be creative in storage.

i dont know if this has already been said but i call the manufacturers and they send me coupons.My daughter has celiac disease so my grocery bills are always high buying her special foods-but i call all of the phone numbers on the labels and just start asking for coupons you would be surprised how many of them are happy to mail you out coupons-amys is really good about it!

I have just started really menu planning and it is saving me some $$$$. I love coupons, but I found I was buying stuff I didn't really need just because it was a good deal for that item. I've been doing coupons for a long time, so I know when things are at their rock bottom prices and stock up. If you go to your local library, they may have a coupon box where you can drop in coupons you don't want and take ones you need. I feed a family of five and I have an extra freezer for storing meats and sale frozen foods. Track what your are buying, actually using, etc to see if htere's anything you can cut back on. Hope that helps!

Hello all,
To save on groceries, when I make my grocery list, I match up my coupons, I stick to what is on the list, and if something is out of stock, I ask for a raincheck. On great sales, I will make it in the first or second day of the sale to get a few of the items, then I will go back in on the last day, and 9 times out of 10, the item will be out of stock, and I will get a rain check. (For example, Albertsons a few months back had Quaker Oats Breakfast Cookies 10/$10.00. I took every box I could get because dh eats one on his way to work. I had coupons $1.00 off one box (www.thecouponclippers.com) to get these free). I went in on the last day of the sale and got a rain check. I cashed in the rain check when it came close to the experation date of the coupons and my stock was running low.)
Menus work! Like other posters have said, make a menu. Not only does it save you in the $$$ department, it saves you time and less aggrivation trying to think up what is for dinner. I am in the habit of making 2 of something, or a big pot of something and eating one that night, and freezing the other for later in the month. Same with brownies, etc. Freeze cookie dough in logs like the ones in the store, or make individual scoops of doughs.
Linda

Another thing I do, and it may not work for everyone. Every once in a while, I will not buy ANYTHING and simply live off what we have stockpiled. You would be amazed to see what you have in there, that you simply forget about!

Another thing I do, and it may not work for everyone. Every once in a while, I will not buy ANYTHING and simply live off what we have stockpiled. You would be amazed to see what you have in there, that you simply forget about!

I've done that. I'm doing it now. It is not a strategy so much as the lack of time to go shopping :D

Anybody know sites or have tips that can help me. It's only my sister my I and we find ourselves spending $150+ monthly for food and we just think that's outrageous for 2 people, but food is so HIGH!!!! I clip coupons but I find myself rarely using them and Wal-mart has ALMOST ran every store in my area bankrupt AND as yall know they don't double coupons/bogo. We do have a Bruno's, Food World, and Publix nearby & I don't know if they double coupons. If so, I am going to take my business elsewhere! Right now, I've signed up with Couponmom, Eversave, Coolsavings, mygrocerydeals.com (if anyone doesn't have it!), and I'm trying to see if anyone has SITES OR TIPS.

I wouldn't exactly call $150/month for two people "outrageous". That breaks down to $37.50/week for the two of you, which is only $18.75/week per person. Sounds pretty darn cheap to me! :confused:

I wouldn't exactly call $150/month for two people "outrageous". That breaks down to $37.50/week for the two of you, which is only $18.75/week per person. Sounds pretty darn cheap to me! :confused:

I think so too. We have 3 (me, DH and a son 5 yrs old), but we spend about $400/month for food. I clip the coupons too (my DH calls me "coupons queen"), but I guess there are plenty of room to save more. Since my DH just wants to stick with some specific brands, I can't take advantage of whatever on sale.

Try www.thegrocerygame.com. The first 4 weeks are only $1. It basicly shows you what sales at your grocery store are at rock bottom prices, with the coupon that is out circulating. I can't even begin to tell you how much I've saved in the year I've been using it. The key is to stock up when prices are dirt cheap so you never pay full retail again. Check it out. I've cut my grocery bill down from $75 per week to around $20.