I fully believe in the power of Stockpile. I've kept stockpiles for years, unfortunately lately I haven't been able to add to mine, but hopefully, I will soon!
Here are 10 ways to save money on your groceries and start a stockpile!
1. Coupons. Yes, you all know I'm a huge fan of coupons and here is why. You are able to find discounts of up to 75% off normal prices. Buy the Sunday paper, ask your friends and family that DO buy the Sunday paper if they wouldn't mind giving you the coupons. You can even purchase coupons from coupon sites such as Klip2save. You can also look for coupon machines (these are little red boxes typically in the aisles that spit out coupons!), peelies (a peelie is the coupons that are stuck to products on the shelves) and hang tags (hang tags are attached to a product by a string or rubber band). Here is an example of a way to stockpile.
2. If you follow my blog at all you know about my Coupon Campaign. For 10 days each month I email at least 10 companies my thoughts on their products, I get a lot of coupons and sometimes even FREE PRODUCT COUPONS which is amazing.
3. See Something Say Something. If you buy a product and it's wrong, let the company fix it. If your taco shells are broken, if your detergent is clumpy...if something is wrong don't sit on it. You paid money for that product do not let it go unnoticed. Always reach out to the company via phone or email and attach some photos. Let them fix the issue, you will be surprised by their response. Here is an example. We had some pull up diapers for Tristan from Pampers and I don't know what happened in production but the backs of some of them had sliced holes, we didn't even notice it putting them on him, but you sure notice when that nasty jelly stuff is all over your floor and you can't get it up. I contacted Pampers and they were very gracious and sent us a $25 Visa gift card. You can't beat customer service like that!
4. Grow a vegetable garden! How much of your grocery bill is spent on produce? Quite a bit, I'd say. You can get seeds for as little as .20 and live plants for as little as $1.50. If you don't have a lawn don't worry about it, just get some nice containers and plant away. You will have more veggies then you know what to do with! You can freeze them, can them, meal prep with them...it really just takes a few dollars to feed your family for months. If you have EBT you can even buy seeds and veggie plants on your EBT card! I have a whole list of things you can do with your EBT card here.
5. Don't throw away leftovers. I know people who refuse to eat leftovers. I'm like, Really??! Get some nice meal prep containers at Amazon and prep the leftovers for lunches for work. You can easily freeze these or stick them in the fridge and you are set for a few days. Don't throw leftovers away!!
6. Download these apps and use them religiously: Checkout 51 and Ibotta. What are these apps? They give you cash back on groceries! It's super simple, you either upload a receipt or connect yo ur rewards card and if you buy items on their list then you can get rebates back via PayPal for your purchases. Super easy to use, just follow the instruction and use it on items you purchase anyway.
7. Look for anything that says "20% MORE Free" or "Bonus!". Those are typically the same prices as the smaller version but you are getting more food or a bonus item for free. This makes that savings more valuable and can definitely help you on that budget.
8. Shop the sales! Always, Always check the store paper before you go to the grocery and make a list...and stick to it. Do not overbuy, do not buy items at the register it's a trap. Check the grocery stores online ad and find the sales! I love when Harris Teeter does their buy 2 backs of shredded cheese get 3 free. This makes each pack about $1.25 and you can freeze that. While you are looking at that add, check out Coupons.com to see if there are any corresponding coupons that make that savings even greater. Look for BOGO sales!! I also recommend going to SouthernSavers website. This is one of my favorite coupon matching websites, she also has an amazing Coupon database that lists coupons from product websites, newspapers and so on. I check her every day. Those are maximum savings.
9. Go to each grocery store that you shop at and print out their coupon policy. Know what their policy allows and doesn't allow. Some will give you a limit as to the number of coupons you can actually use, some stores will limit just printable coupons. Even the Dollar Tree takes coupons! Coupons are just paper money. It's a way to pay for items that you are going to buy anyway so why not maximize that savings and use them?
10. Treat shopping like a game. That's what I do. I want to see how much I can buy utilizing all options available to me. It's like a giant game of Monopoly. How far will $20 take me at the grocery store using sales, markdowns, and coupons? I bet if you watch what you buy you will see a pattern. You will see a sale pattern. Every few weeks something will go on sale that you buy quite often, buy it at that time.
And for a bonus...
11. Look for anything on closeout pricing. I just picked up 4 cans of Cream of Chicken for .38 each! That's a great deal. I only bought 4 because that's all they had left. Look for closeouts in meats as well. I've bought chicken for a little as $1.50 for the whole pack. Just look for those little yellow stickers or tags and do the price comparison. I also look for produce that is marked down as well! You will see a lot of great savings!
12. Register all your Store cards on the companies websites and watch your emails. A lot of grocery stores have coupons you can load onto your grocery card and sometimes there are FREEBIES. Food Lion just did one for a free 2-liter soda, Kroger has Freebie Friday where they always have a free product in the form of a clipable coupon and a couple of times a month Harris Teeter gives one or two products that they automatically LOAD onto your card for you!
Good luck and let me know if these tips are helping you out!
Have a beautiful rest of your day!
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