Shopping Wisely

Shopping Wisely and Saving Money

Spending Less Time Shopping

There is no reason that you have to go to the store every week. By careful shopping of sales, you can save money on gas in trips to the store. You can save the time you would have spent standing in line and driving to the store and back.

Can you use a couple of extra hours a week?

Try going to the store only once or twice a month, when the sales are at their lowest, and stock up then. Fill your car.

If your pantry is well-stocked, you won't run out of things.

A trip once every month or even every couple of months can fill your shelves,

if you fill your car when you go each of those times.

To get yourself in the habit of going less often, try buying 2 weeks of milk (watch the expiration dates), eggs, etc. Get some fresh fruits and vegetables for the first week, and some that will be good for both weeks--things like apples, carrots and potatoes. The second week, eat canned and frozen fruits and vegetables (along with whatever other fresh things you have left). If you have a garden, it can help fill in the gaps.

Eventually, try lengthening the amount of time between shopping trips.

What do you do when you don't have money to go to the store anymore?

Read our story:

Living on Our Food Storage

Seasonal Sales

Some things are the best buys at certain times of year. If you can stock up at those times, it will save you a lot of money over a long period of time.

Easter:

Ham, Turkey, Eggs

Memorial Day and

Fourth of July:

Ground Beef, Chicken, Ketchup

Thanksgiving:

Celery, Canned Soups, Cranberry Sauce, Turkey, Ham, Canned Vegetables, Potatoes, Spices, Sugar, Flour

Christmas:

Butter, Flour, Sugar, Cream Cheese, Nuts, Ham

Shopping Tips

Make a price book. Only buy food when it is at its absolute lowest.

Shop with a calculator. The biggest isn't always the cheapest, but sometimes it is. Compare the difference.

Compare the price per pound on food. If potatoes are .20 a pound, and meat is $1.69 a pound, how much more food can you eat for less? Buy the foods that cost less per pound.

I don't buy any meat over $2.00 a pound--period. In fact, my preferred price is less than $1 a pound.

I only buy fruit when it's on sale, and a great sale at that. Again, compare the price per pound. If peaches are .49 a pound and apples are 1.49 a pound, you'll have a lot more to eat if you buy more peaches.

When eggs are on sale, buy lots of eggs.

They are a great source of protein for very little.

They also make a few more meals possible when you are living on your food storage.

In case you're wondering . . .

How Long Do Eggs Stay Fresh?

According to the

American Egg Board:
"The oil coating which seals the shell's pores helps to prevent bacteria from entering the egg and reduces moisture loss from the egg. RAW SHELL EGGS REFRIGERATED IN THEIR CARTONS WILL KEEP FOR ABOUT 4 TO 5 WEEKS BEYOND THE PACK DATE WITHOUT SIGNIFICANT QUALITY LOSS."

"Properly handled and stored, eggs rarely "spoil". If you keep them long enough, they are more likely to simply dry up! But, don't leave eggs out at room temperature. They'll age more in 1 day at room temperature than they will in 1 week in the refrigerator. Room temperature is also an ideal temperature for bacterial growth."

Need to shop online for something?

If you sign up for either Ebates or Shop at Home, you'll get $5 credit for signing up, plus a percentage of your purchase back for each purchase you make. Just shop your regular stores through their link for the percentage back. Plus, they have coupon codes for many stores, which can save you even more!

Ebates

Serious Ways to Save Money

If it's not food, clothing, or shelter, it's discretionary money. And food, clothing, and shelter can be modest.

1. Be a one-car family.

2. Get rid of your cell phone. Don't just lower your plan--get rid of your phone altogether. Don't buy phones for your children.

3. For your home phone, cut call waiting, long distance, caller id. These are not needs.

4. Get rid of your cable/satellite tv. This will also save you electricity and give you 15 or more hours a week to get more done!

If you really miss tv, try watching shows for free on Hulu. The added bonues: you can watch them when you want to, and there are only about 2 minutes of commercials.

5. Stop eating out. Take lunch to work with you.

6. Cook from scratch.

7. Drink water.

8. Grow as much food as possible on your property.

9. Buy used clothing. Use hand-me downs. Make clothes over.

10. Mend your clothes.

11. Stop shopping. Only go to the store when absolutely neccessary. Try to limit your shopping to once every two weeks, or once a month. Buy enough so that you don't have to go more than that. Don't ever run to the store for just one thing.

12. Buy generic. Get the store brand. You might even find that you like it better!

13. Use coupons. Sometimes the name brand can be cheaper this way.

14. Eat less expensive foods: potatoes, beans, rice, soups

15. Turn your thermostat to 79º in the summer, and to 65º (or less) in the winter. Where I live, it doesn't come on at 65º except at night.

16. Learn to make things instead of buying them.

17. Learn how to do your own repairs.

18. Get rid of your pets, unless they are a food source (chickens, goats, pigs, cows).

19. Cut hair at home. For the price of some clippers and some good scissors, you will have paid for your clippers in two or three haircuts. I have

20. Turn off your computer at night, and ceiling fans when you're not in the room.

21. Use the real thing instead of disposable: towels, napkins, plates, glasses, diapers.

22. Plan your meals around the sales, instead of planning your meals and then shopping. Better yet, stock your pantry around the sales, and then make whatever you want!

23. Remember--if you can't afford it, it doesn't matter how good of a deal it is!

Links on Saving Money and Frugal Living

Ideas for making the most of your dollar:

Low-cost meals:

Good (& Cheap) Eats

See the menus and recipes on this site for lots of inexpensive meals!

Gluten-Free meals on a budget:

Frugal Abundance

Smaller Ways to Save Money

1. When the soles on your shoes wear through, have them resoled rather than buying new shoes.

2. Get books and movies from the library.

3. Look at your insurance rates and see if they can be lowered by changing to another company.

4. Make your own bread.

5. Unplug appliances when you're not using them--the toaster, the blender, the tv, ceiling fans, the computer, etc. Though I have heard that keeping the computer on is better, I found that when I turned it off at night, and changed nothing else, my electric bill dropped $50 the next month.

6. Turn off the lights and open the curtains during the day!

7. Take shorter showers.

8. Eat soup

once a day as your main course.

9. Don't buy battery operated toys.

10. Wash clothes in cold water.

11. If you have central a/c and heat: Change your air filters regularly.

12. Don't buy dryer sheets. Clothes get static because they dry too long. Use the timed dry setting on your dryer instead. Figure out how long it takes for each load to dry, and set the dial accordingly. Most of my loads are dry in 60 minutes (I dry everything on low). Towels take 80 minutes.

When You Don't Have

Health Insurance

Barter for services. Growing up, my mother traded merchandise from her retail store for our dental cleanings.

Ask for the uninsured or cash-pay discount. Hospitals and doctors sometimes offer discounts to those who are paying it themselves. With the hospital, you will have to ask it for each bill: the emergency room, the hospital itself, and each doctor who sends you a bill.

If it's not an emergency, go to the doctor and not to the hospital. Hospital bills are much larger than doctor's office bills.

Learn how to treat common illnesses and injuries at home.

For immunizations, you can go to your county health department. Shots can be as low as $10, compared to an office visit of $80 plus $35 - $110 for the shot (and that's per shot).