Preparation is Key!!

When it comes time for grocery shopping (whether you are using coupons or not, but ESPECIALLY if you are using coupons) preparation (ie: planning) is the KEY to a good (ie: lots of savings) shopping trip!

The way I prepare for my shopping trips is by following 3 rules!  Budget, Meal Plan and List, and Sales

First Budget:
Set your budget before ever making your grocery list for the week.  If you do a monthly budget already this should be easy, however if you do not do a monthly budget and are unsure of how much you typically spend on groceries then I suggest you sit down and give this some good thought.  If you don't typically set a budget decide early on whether you want to shop for 1 week of groceries, 2 weeks, 3 or even 4.  (For myself I have found that shopping for just 1 week of groceries at a time I can save the most money since the sales are new each week.  By shopping just once per week I'm able to get the things I need and usually have a little extra for those stock up items when they go on sale-ex:noodles, sauce, sugar).  When I first started couponing we were spending about $170-$200 every two weeks on groceries (and toiletries, household, diapers) which adds up to $400 a month!!  (WAY WAY WAY too much in my opinion).  I'v now been able to drop my grocery spending to about $70 a week (including toiletries, household, diapers) which is only $280 a month (a savings of $120 a month).  My current goal is to drop that down to only $50 a week.

Second Meal Plan and Make a list:
Make your meal plan for the week (or however long you'll go between shopping trips) by looking at the sale ads. I repeat MAKE YOUR MEAL PLAN BY LOOKING AT THE SALE ADS.  The most expensive part of your bill will be meat, so watch for meat sales and base your weekly dinner around what is on sale.  From there ad on your sides, snacks, and anything else you'll need to EAT that week.  Make your grocery list from you meal plan list and check your coupon binder or folder to see what you coupons you have for sale items that week.

Finally Sales:
This kind of goes with the steps above but I want to reiterate how important sales are.  As I said above meat is expensive, if you can cut down the meat price by buying the sale items then do it!  Another way to save on meat/meals is if you can buy sale meat in bulk to put in your freezer and do multiple meals ex: HH had hamburger patties last week for $5.99 for 10, that made about 3 meals for my family at only $0.89 per burger!!  It's quick, easy, and CHEAP)

So I've got a little challenge for you!!  If you haven't started couponing or saving much money on your groceries yet then I am challenging you to spend at least $15.00 less this week (or in the next two weeks, whenever you'll be shopping) on your groceries (this means food items only, not toiletries, household, or diapers).
If you have been couponing and following the above steps for a while and have already cut down your bill then I challenge you to find a way to cut $5.00 more dollars off of it!  IF you just don't think you can cut down the $5.00 then add $5.00 TO your budget and spend $10.00 on food you can donate to the local food pantry or local church!

I bet you can do it by watching the sale ads alone!!  Good luck and Happy shopping-and yes, I'll expect feed back :)