News Taffy

If you read my blogs, you may remember that last August I started my own coupon challenge to see how much money I could save in one year. In light of the drought and projected rise in food prices, this topic is of great interest to many. We should buy vegetables, fruits, whole grains and lean protein to be healthy but many feel it is too expensive to do so. I feel I did quite well in my $100 a week challenge (you can look back through this site to find those articles), proving that you can eat healthy and stay in a budget.

But how did I do with couponing? Right away I want to confess that I am a bit disappointed in the amount of money I was able to save just with coupons. I admit there were several times I was too busy to do a thorough job of clipping coupons and using them before they expired. The main problem I encountered was that there just aren’t often coupons for the things I use the most. Sometimes Kroger does offer coupons for meat or the produce department, but most coupons are for processed foods, toiletries, paper goods, etc. There are only so many bottles of shampoo or rolls of paper towels I’m willing to stockpile and we don’t use much processed food. Here are my savings: $314.01 saved with coupons and $1,117.83 in sales items for a total savings of $1,431.84 for the year. As you can see, I did much better by watching the weekly ads and buying things on sale. Not bad, but not at the level the coupon crazy people achieve.

Here are some lessons I learned to cut our food costs:

*Don’t always be brand loyal. Some store brands are just as good or you can switch between brands to get the best price.

*There are often great deals in the meat department - check the items marked down because the sell by date is expiring! This is where a freezer pays off.

*Read the weekly store ads that usually come out on Wednesday and plan your meals around the sales items.

*Stock up when you see a steep discount on items you use the most like canned goods. Last fall, Kroger marked canned vegetables at about 1/2 price then a week later, Target did the same thing. I gathered green beans and corn like a squirrel gathers nuts.

*Use coupons but don’t be tempted into using coupons for things you don’t really need because you are “saving money." You probably don’t need 10 tubes of toothpaste or have the extra storage space!

*Leave the kids at home when shopping. Those little darlings distract you from the task at hand and, even worse, talk you into impulse purchases.

*Plan your meals for several days in advance and make a list. You will make fewer trips to the store and be less likely to forget something. Focusing on a list keeps you from buying impulse items as well. Keep an ongoing list in the kitchen and add things as they are used up.

It is work to shop for groceries and cook but it is certainly worth the effort to look for savings. I remain a firm believer that you can cook at home cheaper than you can eat out and it’s better for your health!