by Ellen Carroll on April 1, 2009 (photo by Princess Theater, available under a CC license)

brand loyalty, Coupons, family meeting, Groceries, Queen of Frugality

Grab your grocery receipts, its time to save some big money! This week we’re continuing our focus on food thriftiness. I know some of you are wondering if we’re seriously doing a financial column where we write about food, but we believe that the little steps towards healthy finances are just as important as the big ones (mortgages, investments, etc.). After all, if your daily finances aren’t in order do you really have any business tackling the big ones? Taking the time to make minor adjustments to your daily life can positively impact your financial happiness! That being said, let’s move on.

Each week, I like to share some of my own financial shame. While this may make you chuckle, I hope that it can motivate you to take your own finances seriously and learn to spend responsibly. There is no better time to make wise financial decisions than now, with crisis looming ever nearer. So, why not learn from my mistakes? On to the shame!

When I first started thinking seriously about my budget, I was quick to cut out all the obvious extras, but didn’t think a thing about my grocery bill. It was just there. I had long accepted the fact that I was just going to have to spend 250-300 dollars every two weeks on groceries.  I had to feed my family, right?

When I had reworked my budget several time and still came up short, I knew I needed help. I called in the Queen of Frugality — my mother. She took a look at my budget and gasped audibly when she saw how much I had allotted for groceries. I tried to explain it away — I had a family, for Pete’s sake! I couldn’t feed my two growing boys, my husband and myself for any less than what I had allotted. My mom just shook her head and offered this advice:

1. Raid your pantry! Reorganizing your pantry is one way to get a real grasp on your grocery habits. Rearrange so that everything is in a good spot and in plain view. Put like items together and categorize your shelves. (Baking goods, canned vegetables, pasta, snacks, etc.) Check expiration dates and make note of any duplicate items. If there’s something that you aren’t going to use, take it to a food bank or other donation drop spot. When you have a clear idea of what you’ve got, it’s easier to decide what you really need.

2. Call a family meeting! This may seem a bit extreme, but talking about food is a great way to learn what items are important to your family. Talk about favorite meals and items that everyone wants and on the flip side, what they can live without. Make a list of wants vs. needs and let your family contribute. This is a great way to discuss health eating habits, too! (I usually put Ding Dongs on the ‘need’ side of the list.) Plan meals together and work on a grocery list that is thoughtful and reasonable.  Getting your family involved is a great way to encourage accountability and ensure your grocery spending doesn’t get out of control.

3. Never never never go shopping without a list. Ever. Shopping without a list is as dangerous as shopping when you’re hungry. You’ll pick up tons of stuff you didn’t plan on buying and will be easily tempted by seemingly great deals. Write your list out several days before you shop, give yourself time to think of everything.  Plan out meals instead of singular items so you don’t just add stuff to your pantry that you won’t use.

4. Pay attention! When you hit the grocery store, pay attention to the aisle markers. If there’s an aisle that doesn’t have anything from your list, skip it! There’s no need to tempt yourself with extras that you don’t really need.

5. Make it quick! Grocery stores are becoming harder and harder to escape from quickly! You’ve seen their crafty ploys — greeting cards, hardware and entertainment aisles. The longer you’re in a store, the more money you spend. (That’s a FACT, people.) Set a time limit on your shopping trips. Stick to your list and get through the store as quickly as possible to avoid temptation.

6. Use coupons wisely! Like every other money-saving mechanism, coupons are a double edged sword. On the one hand, they can save you some serious money. On the other hand- they tempt you to buy things that you normally wouldn’t. Weigh the cost with the usability. Is 30 cents off good enough, if you have to buy two? Will you actually use the item? It’s not a bargain if you won’t use it and it doesn’t fit into your daily needs or meal planning.  Beware of coupons that make you buy other things to get the savings. If it’s not on your list, don’t use it!

7. Watch yourself! Everyone forgets to put one or two things on their grocery lists. Don’t feel bad about adding something that you really do need, even if it’s not on your list. However, if you add something to your cart that’s not on your list, separate it from the items that are. Having a visual on how much extra you have can help you control what you add.

8. Lose the brand loyalty. I know this is hard! I’m a huge fan of Cheerios and I absolutely hate the knock-off brands. Trying store brands can be worthwhile, though. In many cases, store brands are EXACTLY the same as name brands, just in different packaging.  Try the store brand, you may be surprised how similar they are at a much cheaper price.

9. Re-evaluate your cart before you check out! Before you hit the lanes, look over your grocery cart. Remember those extras you added? Double check and be sure that you haven’t gone overboard. Look for duplicates, too. Do you really need 4 cans of corn? 3 bags of chips? Think about what you’ll actually USE before your next trip to the store. Don’t cut out all the treats, but beware the amount. The whole idea behind a ‘treat’ is that it’s not an all the time thing. If you have enough treats to send a kindergarten CLASS on a sugar-high, it’s time to rethink. Put a few things back, there’s no shame in saving money.

10. I see you staring at that impulse rack! When you check out, try not to look around you. Store planners don’t get paid for nothing. In fact, they get paid to put the most tempting items within 2 feet of you at the checkout.  If it’s not on your list, don’t give in! If there’s a magazine you read often, do yourself a favor and become a subscriber! Save 20 bucks and take away the temptation to buy it full price. Instead of looking around, use this time to triple-check your purchases. If you see something you don’t need, don’t hesitate to speak up. Have the cashier remove the item and don’t feel bad about it. The grocery store has people to put away returns!

I hope these small tips can help you make a big difference in your family budgeting. Check back tomorrow on coupon specifics — I’ll show you how to make them really work for you!

We want to know your great shopping tips! Feel free to leave them below and brag about how much money you save!!

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