Shop at Home First: Menu Planning & Discount Cards

Shop at Home First: Menu Planning & Discount Cards

In this segment we're going to talk about meal planning, discount cards and preparing to head to the grocery store. The best way to save money is to plan ahead, and this is where your Household Management System comes into play. By being prepared and organized you cannot only save money, but precious time. So, remember my golden rule - before ever entering a grocery store, go through your pantry, freezer, and fridge to see what you have on hand; then plan your meals accordingly.

We all know that money is tight everywhere. Household budgets that used to be large, have been reduced to half in the last year, yet prices haven't gone down to match that shrinking budget. My current budget for the house is $400 which must be spread thin on food, cleaning and paper products, plus stocking up for emergencies. Oh and that budget covers breakfast, lunch and dinner for four people. Yup you got that right, each person is allotted $100 per week to cover everything. Can't be done you say? Oh but it can. Here's how I do it.

The last week of every month, I sit down and plan out the menus for the next month. This not only helps me maintain the household, be creative with gourmet meals, but it also helps me free up precious time to stay focused on the important things - my writing. Each of us have a hectic life, but if we truly want to save money and become more frugal, we must become organized.

Menu Planning:

When planning out your menu schedule, think strategically. Strategic meal planning is an art that is filled with creativity to enhance your feeding needs. In order to set up a menu planner, you must look at everything, your family schedule, the weather and what you have on hand in the pantry. When I start planning out menus, I first look at the inventory list to see what I have on hand in the freezer for meats. Then I look at the dried goods, then canned goods, etc. Check your recipes to see what ingredients you will need for each meal, then consult your inventory - do you have everything? If not, put it on the grocery list.

For example, if you're planning to make spaghetti and meatballs with salad and garlic bread on Tuesday night? Check your inventory list to see if you already have a box of spaghetti, makings for sauce, or a bottle of sauce. In the freezer section of your inventory list, do you have a loaf of sliced Italian bread? In the fridge, what ingredients do you have to make a salad? Are you planning to make homemade Chili and Cornbread to enjoy during that game? Check to see if you have dried or canned red kidney beans? Do you have sausage and ground round? (I buy large packages of both sausage and ground round, then separate into meal packages based on dinner plans).  Canned tomatoes, chopped or whole? Do you have onions? Peppers? Getting the idea? I knew you'd catch on quickly. By checking your inventory when planning out your meals, you will save money, plus you will rotate your supplies accordingly . Once you get into the habit of doing it this way, you'll be doing it like a pro. You'll also begin planning out meals for the following month in advance, which will save even more time and money. According to your menu planning schedule, begin to make up your grocery list of ingredients you will need to make a gourmet meal on a budget.  Don't forget to check your recipe books, it's time to start experimenting and being adventurous in your meal planning. Consider trying out a new recipe each week, then note what you like, or didn't like about the recipe.  

Discount Cards:

Depending on your grocery store, many of them now offer discount bonus club card programs. These programs offer the consumer a discount on various items in the store.  If you do not have a bonus card for your grocery store, get one. These cards can save you anywhere from a few dollars at the checkout, to $75 dollars on your grocery bill.  In my area, there are three different grocery stores, Giant, Safeway and Shoppers Food. While I shop at all three grocery stores, only two, Giant and Safeway offer savings cards; so you know where I usually shop. Both of these stores also offer gas rewards points to help save on the gas each month; Giant has the best program for gas rewards. No more coupons needed, because the beautiful part about using bonus savings cards is you can go online, check to see the sale paper, click a button and the savings amount is on your card. Safeway offers returning customers an option to save even more based on your shopping history, so be sure to check into these options in order to help save a ton of money. Both stores allow you to print off a final grocery list of sale items you've put on your card for easy shopping. Only Safeway allows you to add items to the list for even more convenience. The keys to shopping is 1) never enter a grocery store hungry, 2) always follow your list 3) be on the lookout for bargains or sales.  I always leave at least $20 per shopping experience to possible sale items. If I don't use it, it gets saved until the next time.

Do's and Don'ts of shopping in a Grocery store:

Grocery store owners are going to hate me because of what I'm about to tell you. Never buy your cleaning supplies, or your paper products at the grocery store - they're way too expensive. Coupons don't cut down the costs enough for me to buy these products at the grocery store. Instead, I keep track of the normal price and sale prices at my local store, then compared it to Family Dollar, DollarTree or Walmart. For example, Angel Soft toilet paper (12 double rolls) is usually $7-8.99 in the grocery store. While I believe in shopping locally to help the local economic infrastructure, I'm sorry, but Walmart sells the same product for $5.97 all the time; so why would I spend three dollars more for the same product? The idea is to save money on items you use all the time, right?  Here is another example:  I alternate my shopping habits month to month. One month I stock up on meats, while buying the normal stuff. Then the next month, I will stock up on paper goods such as toilet paper (5 packages will last in our house four months, plus a backup. Average one package per month per bathroom), and paper towels (8 rolls per package for $5.97, should last the average household three months depending on usage). On alternating months, I will stock up on dishwasher soap, laundry soap, etc. (check Rite-Aid and CVS for their specials first on laundry soup, sometimes they have great deals then check Family Dollar and Walmart). Dishwasher soap and dish soap, buy that at the DollarTree, one box of dishwasher soap should last one month. Regular dish soap should last about 2-3 months depending on usage. Also buy your condiments - mustard, relish, pickles, olives, steak sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and even the dog treats at the DollarTree to help save money, they're the same as the name brand items.  The following month I will stock up on canned goods, bottle water (never spend more than $3.00 per case of water - 24 bottles), other dried goods. By saving money here and there, I am able to capitalize on those unexpected sales to ensure I have enough on hand without breaking the budget.  Note: Only use coupons for those items you know you will use, like toilet paper. Angel Soft usually does a coupon every other month in the paper, buy two get $1.00 off, so you can save even more money.

Don't think you have to buy name brands in order to save with that fifty-cent coupon you grabbed out of the paper. All you're doing is buying the name, with an inflated price, and there is no saving value in that transaction. Here is a hidden secret your grocery store manager will never tell you. Every name brand item in their store has a store brand item next to it. Guess what? The chain has made a deal with the brand name, you want us to carry your product, you give us so many items with our label on it in exchange. Majority of the time the store brand is cheaper by pennies or even a dollar per item. True one of their store brand items to compare the taste, you'll be in shock. I learned this from the Campbell Soup marketing director years ago, tested it out and he was correct.

On some items it is cheaper to buy in bulk, such as Jasmine or Brown Rice. Consider buying in bulk on some items, or just buying the equivalent at the DollarTree.  As a former high maintenance female who thought it was better to buy name branded items for taste and value, and who spent wayyyyyyy too much money as a result, trust me when I say that the products in the DollarTree are packaged in a different box, with a different name, and do the same cleaning job as the name branded items - they just cost less.   If you have never walked into a DollarTree, try it you might like it.

As you can see, in order to save money each month, you must learn to shop strategically. You must also become a bargain hunter, sniffing out those sale items you use every month, then go in and fill up those shopping bags. Personally, it is a challenge to see how much I save on the final bill. Each time I see that savings amount, I feel as though I've won the game of life. It's very rewarding to know you are saving so much, yet still maintaining your quality of life. Remember to put away those savings into a savings account for that special item you want to buy, or just use it to fully stock up the pantry for an emergency.

Next: Emergency Preparedness Program Part 1: