can we all just take note of the fact that with this post i am attacking "resolutions" number 1, 2 and 4. that's right, let's start this new year off right!
today i went grocery shopping. the big trip. the one where you load up the cart with E.V.E.R.Y. possible food that you could imagine consuming in a week in the hopes that you do N.O.T. have to return to the store again that week, but you know that you inevitably will because you will either forget something in this trip or the store will not have that one vital ingredient for tuesday night's dinner. please tell me you have this kind of grocery store drama as well.
anyways, with resolution #2 before me (be a better steward of our money), i attacked this trip a little differently than usual. here's what i did:
1. i looked through all the local grocery store adds and made my grocery list (and dinner list) based on what was for sale this week. i did not go to any extremes in this, i just recognized ingredients that were on sale that are also a part of recipes i know.
2. i typed up this list, listing each food, it's size and price under the grocery store where it is on sale.
3. left during naptime (THIS IS KEY... NO KIDS ALLOWED ON THE BIG GROCERY TRIP!!!!)
4. i took my time, walking the isles, comparing my "sale" prices to the walmart prices. i tried to keep the "price adjustment" foods in a different part of the cart than the "regular" price foods.
5. found the line with the nice checkout lady.
6. was prepared to show her the ads, but apparently i looked trustworthy today, so she let me tell her the price as she rang up each item (this was where having them separate in the cart came in extremely helpful).
7. paid... and wondered if i really saved.
upon returning home the math major in me got a little giddy as i calculated the "savings." here's what i found:
1. of the 19 items to be price matched, 6 of them were actually cheaper in walmart.
2. of the 13 items i did price match, their original cost would have been $30.79. with the price match they cost $21.81. savings: $8.98.
IS.IT.WORTH.IT??????
yeah, an extra $40 or so a month results in $480 a year. not bad. assuming i have the same kind of savings each week. that's a big assumption.
but this trip was only possible because 1) the hubs was home to watch the kids, 2) i had the time and energy to examine the store ads, 3) i wasn't in a hurry in the store, 4) my printer was working :)
none of this may be interesting to any of you. that's fine. this post is probably just for me as i work through what saving money for my family can and should look like. this is one option. but is it worth it? jury's still out. i'll give it at least a month before i make any judgements.
and yes, i was very nice to the cashier today!
*** QUESTION: i usually buy campbell's healthy request cream of ------- soup. those cost $1.32. today i bought the great value low sodium kind for $0.59. i don't mind buying store brand, but i want to try and be as healthy as possible. is this generic brand filled with stuff that the campbell's healthy request is not, or are their contents pretty comparable? ***
*** PLEASE, if you have any great money saving tips i'd love to hear your ideas! ***
Coupons. Not of the extreme variety. But I find I save at least $10 every time I go...often more. Especially on the household items like toilet paper, detergent, etc. I also think that "brand name" is sometimes something you shouldn't sweat saving a few cents over. Some things, not a big deal. Others, you will regret going generic. And if you use coupons, you almost always have to buy brand name, but if you use the coupon while the item is also on sale, the final price will often be the same as the generic variety. Clearly I have thought about this too much :-)
ReplyDeletethanks for the idea! i've "experimented" with coupons, but generally have found that the generic brand is still cheaper than the namebrand, even with coupons. i only buy generic when i don't think that the taste or quality is totally compromised. i don't get the newspaper so finding coupons is a little bit more work, but it is still probably something i should try for a little longer before i completely abandon the idea. thanks again! p.s.... who is this?!?!
ReplyDeletei heart coupons. i heart saving.
ReplyDeleteonline coupons are amazing.
you can make your own cream of anything for super cheap and it's all natural. google it. so easy too.