Shopping the sales and stuff....

After talking with a friend of a friend a month ago, I was inspired to try to save on our grocery bill. She told me about a blog called "The Fairhope Foodie". She told me she checks it everyday and she posts information on coupons and makes her meals according to what Publix has on sale for that week. So I started following her on blogger and I actually have her website "button" on my blog. I believe it is to the right and it says, The Fairhope Foodie. If you click on it, it takes you to her website. She will post all the good coupons and sales for the month/week and great recipes!

I've been trying to shop the sales and I still felt like my grocery bill was the same or higher. Wal-mart's prices are definitely lower than any place but I'm not sure about the quality of produce and meat. Everything else I think is great! But, I have lowered our grocery bill lately by comparing all the prices of the sale items for the week from all our local grocery stores. Also, I noticed that on The Fairhope Foodie's latest Publix trip, which she saved a lot, didn't consist of our normal stuff I always have to buy every week. So I asked her what she did about her meat and veggies she cooks with and she told me she will see who has a good price on the meats they eat often, chicken mainly and a little ground beef she said, and will stock up when they are priced well. So now I have figured out how all the people save so much on there grocery bills! Instead of just waiting until you run out of something or just buying groceries from week to week, you need to shop for things if you see the brand you use on sale (Publix puts a lot of name brand stuff B1G1, take advantage). So that is what I have done in the past two weeks and we did save more on our last two grocery runs. I wait until I get the sale paper for the week, which usually comes out on Wednesday or sometimes here we get a "savings" paper on Tuesdays with all the local grocery store sales (or look on there websites). Like I said before, we have always shopped at Wal-mart but there produce and meat, to me personally, are not that great. The produce does not last long at all! Half the time my berries are already molded in some spots when I take them out to wash them! So that is why I have been trying to shop at other stores. And if you stick to the sales at Publix, Piggly Wiggly, Bruno's, or Target you can save. I've tried getting into the coupons but not a lot of the things we buy ever have a coupon. But, I'm still new at all this and I will tell you it is harder than you think! I thought oh this is easy just print the coupons and use them or buy this or that. But, you have to be very organized and plan ahead...

One thing we have been bad about is being wasteful. I would let fresh veggies just sit in our fridge and mold or use too much meat or something else because I thought we can just buy more. Then after I started buying so many fresh veggies I realized hey this stuff is not cheap! No wonder our grocery bill went up! So now when I buy fresh veggies for meals I either make sure to use another meal that week to use the left over veggies or I freeze the remainder. A lot of our meals call for onion, bell peppers, and tomatoes. Most of the time it says one cup, etc. So now I buy them by size according to our menu for the week or if they are having a good sale that week on them then I will buy more and cut them up, place in a zip bag (freezer friendly), label it with name and date, and then toss in freezer. **Plus this is a time saver technique I use too**

This week Piggly Wiggly has there ground beef on special for $1.99/lb. So I will be stocking up on it! I have not seen any good chicken deals but I have not looked at Target's weekly ad yet. So let me know if you find any good deals and if these techniques work for you! I will post more tips as I read them. Like I said I am just getting into this coupon world and apparently I have a lot to learn! People are saving by shopping at Publix and other places. I've just got to master how they do it! Also, another good place for coupons and deals is the "I heart Publix" website. I have that "button" on my page as well.

Have a great week and happy savings!!!