Stop Cutting Coupons and Start Saving! – How It Adds Up
Many of us feel overwhelmed by debt and don’t know how to start climbing out of it. For others it’s a misconception that the more money you earn the easier it is to save. My husband and I paid off $20,000 of credit card debt and medical bills in 5 years when our average income was $22,000 a year.
Here is how you can save over $8,000 in just one year cutting a few things from your grocery bill. They are painless, simple and add up over time. If you don’t think that cutting out one bag of potato chips or one soda will make a difference, look at the numbers at the end of a year. If you’re trying to save so you can stay home with your kids, put a down payment on a house, pay off some credit card debt or just have some emergency money, here are 10 ways to do it without depriving yourself . The total annual savings (at the bottom) will amaze you!
When it comes to saving money in your household budget, the little things really add up. Look how much you would save in a year if you cut out just ONE thing:
|
ITEM
|
PRICE
|
HOW OFTEN
|
COST PER YEAR
|
|
1 bag potato chips
|
$2.00/bag
|
1 week
|
$104.00
|
|
1-6 pack soda
|
$2.00
|
1/week
|
$104.00
|
|
1 liter soda
purchased at convenience store |
$1.00
|
1/day
|
$365.00
|
|
Reduce meat
1.5 lbs. |
$2.50/lb.
|
2 nights/week
|
$390.00/year
|
|
$4.00
|
1/day
|
$1460.00
|
|
|
Eating out
for a family of 4: Dinner |
$40.00
|
1/week
|
$2080.00
|
|
Lunch
|
$7.00/person
|
20 days/month
|
$1680.00
|
|
Pizza delivered plus tip
|
$20.00
|
1/ week
|
$1040.00
|
|
1 cup juice/person (daily)
family of 4 |
$10.00/week
|
1/week
|
$520.00
|
|
Fruit leather (Fruit Roll ups)
|
$2.50
|
1/week
|
$130.00
|
|
1 box granola cereal
|
$4.00
|
1/week
|
$208.00
|
| Total if you cut all these out | $8081.00 |
photo by: notionscapital
My downfall is BOGO, Buy one-Get one. I only buy products that I know I will use, but even at that, it can add up. Especially, if I stop in my local grocery store just to cruise their specials when I don’t have a plan.
I have just started with Living on a Dime to save money tonight (Fri, 27 Aug). Seems like I have only one draw-back so far. I’m an American but I live in Tasmania and we don’t use coupons down here, and don’t have a lot of the coupon products either. I do miss some things really bad from the USA but by sheer will power, LOL, I get buy without. Like BACON. The Aussie’s just don’t have the same kind of bacon we do, that is probably my biggest “missing thing”, oh, and Bisquick. Don’t have that down here either. There is a USA Shop down here but it is on the mainland in Melbourne. And also, items are really, really expensive. Just can’t justify the cost no matter how much I miss something. Hey, enough of my whinging, I know that I will be able to use at least 90% of the tips and ideas from Living on a Dime newsletter. I am a US Air Force veteran so I can adapt anything to do anything – doesn’t always workout but sure is fun trying. I’m SOOOO glad I signed up already – thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! workerbev
http://www.livingonadime.com/baking-mix/
Try our Baking Mix recipe and that might help with missing the Bisquik. We have a lot of missionaries who use Dining On A Dime to make things like the baking mix, graham crackers etc. WE are going to be having an e-book sale on it in a few weeks.
No need for you to miss Bisquick. There are a number of good recipes online – you can make your own & save!
I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoy your site. Someone commented on the BOGO (Buy One, Get One “free”) deals we see so much of nowadays. Every time I see an offer like that I remember Rober Heinlein’s famous TANSTAAFL. There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. Wish I could get more of my friends to believe in that one.
I love coupons but we have a problem in our area now. I live in rural NE and we dont get store ads. I would just go to the computer and print off coupons that I knew I would be needing. The problem is the stores around here are now rejecting computer printed coupons because they are afraid they are fake. I also have a problem with the coupons are usually for processed foods. Any ideas on what to do to save on the GOOD foods?
Susan, one of my pet peeves is people thinking you can only save money if you use coupons. Years ago I use to be one of these “coupon queens” it worked but it was a lot of work and then like you different things happened which made using coupons almost impossible. Believe it or not I haven’t used many coupons for years and most of the suggestions on savings we post has nothing to do with using coupons at all. I have way too many ideas to be able to write them all in this one post so check out the web site if you can because it is full of things to do other then use coupons.
Also I really hate pushing our products but I specifically wrote our Grocery Savings e course with that one purpose in mind – how to show people you don’t need to use coupons or shop at warehouses to save money. Most people save the price of the e course the first week they use it and then some. I go into lots of detail and different ideas so if you can swing it you might read it.
Like I said I have chapter after chapter of ways to save without using coupons and why at times (I didn’t say no one should use them but at times) it’s best not to use them. if you can’t get the course then check the web site out in different places.
I’m in the same boat as Susan. I discussed the online-coupons with customer service managers of a couple of locally-owned stores and they have started doing more in-store coupons instead. It took a little nerve as I’m a bit shy, but they saw the need and filled it.
I make my grocery list of what I need for the week. There are only 2 grocery stores where I live, so it isn’t difficult to go through their ads and see what items on my list are on sale at either store. I then go through my coupons that I have clipped and on-line deals and put them in an envelope I reuse for each store. Combining sales, BOGO’s, and coupons, I often save more at a store than I actually spend. It takes less than an hour a week. I always carry my coupon box with me, because occasionally you do run into an unadvertised special that is even better if you can use a coupon as well.
One of the things I do at the store to save big is buy dry beans and cook them at home.
Typical can of beans at my local store: .69 cents. One can equals roughly 1 to 1.5 cups of beans in any given can, and it can vary from can to can of the same brand.
One pound bag of dry beans is typically .99 cents. One pound of cooked beans yields 6 to 6.5 cups of beans, or less than .10 for each cup. I cool the cooked beans, put them in freezer bags in one cup servings, flatten them out and freeze them. They fit on their sides in the freezer basket like file folders- I always know which kind of beans I have and when to cook more.
I add beans to almost everything- extra protein and fiber, cheap.
I love this idea! Question though – would it be more cost effective to use freezer containers or do you reuse the freezer bags?
It just depends on what you have. I got freezer containers on sale 6 for $.50 and several I get for free with some foods I buy so freezer containers are best for me. My daughter on the other hand uses freezer bags and reuses them. I hate washing out plastic bags so the containers win for me. She doesn’t mind washing them so it is bags for her. The bags are good for some things though because they flatten out and save more room in the freezer.
Lately even I have started vacuum sealing and using glass quart jars. I have them on hand, they don’t pick the the “freezer, plastic” taste as much so those are now what I use. For the greatest cost of all use the containers like cottage cheese, sour cream or glass jars you have washed out that other food has come in and label them well. Years ago people didn’t even buy containers too often they just used these.
Over 20 years ago I knew an older man who was a butcher and he gave me this tip. Wrap what ever you freeze in newspaper. so I mainly use the bags my cheese comes in, price matched of course, then I wrap whatever it is I am freezing in newspaper. You know, that sundaypaper that I get for coupons and do not know what to do with. I do use freezer tape to hold it together. each took is a little expensive in my book but I do not use alot. Then I label it on the paper with a marker. Never expect to remember what it is. Thus no freezer burn. He did this long before vaccination sealing. Works for me.
That is an awesome idea and recycles the paper too! I recycle the coupons I don’t need to send them overseas to the soldiers and their families. They can use them up to six months expired, so we send them a box about every 2-3 months. We have a few in town groups clipping and a few store owners saving the extra flyers… and those who clip take what they need and add to the boxes!
There are some good ideas here. Yes, make your grocery list first, then check through the local sale ads. After that look through your coupons. That way you are not tempted to buy something just because there is a coupon or a sale. I do have 1 suggestion though. You might want to try shopping in the grocery section of your local department store. You might find some good deals there.
Tina, thank you for a great tip!!! My home health aide likes to make up different one dish meals and freeze them. Unfortunately, her “meals” are enough for a small army! This will save me a lot of wasted food….. God bless.
we make up one cup meals and freeze them in small containers. When frozen they fit great in small ziploc bags. We feed a bunch of us for lunch and at least four people take an extra meal precooked home. Each week its different. AND we have taught a few youth how to cook themselves a meal or two.
Here’s a tip to save on clean up. When you are freezing things and then putting them in ziploc bags, place the bag in the container and fold over the top of the container. When they are frozen just pull out the bag and contents and your container is still clean and ready to put away. This may not work for all things but try it when you can.
I am going to be a grammy again & am going to babysit this one! But that means I am giving up my PT job to do it so I am looking forward to all the ways to save money! Keep them coming. Thanks!
Congrats to you Karla. I don’t think there is anything more fun then becoming a grandma even again and again.
I received my Dining on a Dime Cookbook on Friday and have not put it down.. keep going over and over it… I can’t wait to try the new receipes…
Thanks again.
Karen
I have to say that once I started using coupons the right way, my grocery bill went from $350/mth to @ $200 for a family of 6 and that includes a trip to McDonalds every now and then. When it’s BOGO, it rings up half price and when you use a coupon that doubles on that, it is almost free or FREE. I got about 30 boxes of pasta free last wk. and my 5 yr old is takin it to donate at school for their food drive. With couponing, I have been able to feed my family for less and GIVE to others.
I was excited to read this article but disappointed when I saw I am already NOT buying the items on your list! I have five children at home, and my biggest problem is trying to afford the important things like fresh vegetables, fruit, etc. It does seem like the foods that are good for you are much more expensive than poor-nutrition items like boxed macaroni and cheese, etc. (I NEVER feed my children boxed macaroni and cheese, I am just making a point!)
When I was a single mother, we had to rely on the food bank, and while that often provided bizarre combinations of items, my children actually had a better diet nutritionally. Lots and LOTS of fresh vegetables were donated, as well as many frozen turkeys and organic foods.
It seems ironic and wrong that it is cheaper to feed your children junk food (and I am referring to packaged foods, not chips) than healthy foods.
This isn’t totally true. We have been brain washed into believing that food which is good for you is expensive. As far as actually nutrients in the food frozen broccoli is just as good for you as fresh. Probably even better. I saw a thing on fruit smoothies this week and everyone thinks fruit smoothies are so great for you and healthy but you may as well eat 2 bags of m &m’s because the sugar content in m & m’s is the same. One bottle of fruit smoothie has the same calories as a big mac.
I even heard once that 75% of people think that organically grown food either has less calories or no calories in it compared to it’s non organic counter part. The calories are the same. What is scary is people think they are eating healthy so they can eat as much as they want causing them to inhale way more calories then they should so then they can’t figure out why they are always struggling with their weight.
I buy healthy things all the time and my grocery bill is very small compared to most and when I had kids at home it was about 1/4 of what normal people spent.
Also in some ways (although I do eat a lot of fresh stuff) in my mind I prefer frozen. I always think how many people have handle this head of broccoli before it got to me and once fresh is picked it immediately starts losing it’s nutrients. Who knows how long it took to get to the store plus it starts to decay as soon as it is picked. Where frozen go from the field to the factory almost immediately and is frozen and packaged.
One thing I have always wondered is why are people living longer and healthier lives now then they did say 100 years ago like my grandparents and great grandparents. People in my age group and my parents age group who were raised on canned and processed everything because it was new, different and convenient are healthier and living longer then any other generation from years past who lived on nothing but organic before pesticides and factory processed foods were invented. Things have to make sense to me and that doesn’t.
I buy everything I can at Aldi, where you can’t use coupons. I am certain I save at least 30% over Cub Foods. It used to be too hard to get to other stores when my kids were little, but now I’m curious if I might save more using coupons at Cub or Target. There are no double coupon days. Anyone who has an Aldi in town have an
opinion?
Thanks,
MK
We buy 80% of our food at Aldi. Milk and Meat I can find reduced or on sale for cheaper at the grocery store but otherwise that’s it for us.
I believe that peoploe live longer now because of pre natal care saves the lives of many babies that previously lowered the longevity levels. I think immunizations and better disease control and medications add to longgevity as well. Howver as we fatten up as a society and acquire diabeties and heart disease; the age of longevity may decline.
That’s pretty much the way we feel. People now have no idea how bad it really was before they had immunizations and the use of pesticides to have a better food supply. We are so fortunate to be living in this time where we don’t have to worry if bugs are going to destroy all our food or if a horrible disease is going to kill our kids.
Do not laugh when I tell this story, ok you will any. About 15 years ago when I homeschooled my children. We went on a field trip to a local museum. The lady giving the tour was showing us beds from
the 1800′s. She said on the average people were much shorter back then. She said 6ft. Was considered talk for men. She asked if we new what contributed to the increase in height in men and women. This is what she said. Fortified
Cold cereal. Yes that was what she said. So I guess wheaties is really the breakfasts of champions.LOL
Years ago, I used coupons alot! I would buy the sunday paper and sit down and spend hours cutting them out of the paper and magazines. Having 4 boys and a girl I finally realized that I was giving up alot of precious time that I could be spending with my family. The time it takes to cut out those coupons could have been used as an outing to the park, a movie, or just reading to my kids. Seems like alot of time wasted to me now….young parents take my advice….there is no coupon worth the time lost with your children.
We use the time to do math, and reading to make up lists for the groceries needed. Matching games, and dexterity in cutting on the lines- its a family affair. And when I get a bunch of coupons to clip, my Dear Husband is right there clipping while we sort.
just found your website am a grandmother raising 4 kids that are picky eaters and dont really like fruits and veggies.i amliving on a fixed income so any helpful tips on ways to safe on grocies or clothes anything would begreat.
I have tried lots of ways to save money. With 10 children, I am always looking for ways. I have even tried Hillbilly Housewife’s rock bottom menu.I found a way to lower my groceries without coupons and eating only beans. I buy only $25 a day for food and shop at Sav-a-lot. I broke my daily groceries into a gallon of milk,about $3, a dozen eggs about $1, fruit$3 worth of whatever is cheap, Frozen veggies$3, salad stuff about $3 ( a lettuce, a dollar of tomatoes, a cucumber, a pepper), $1 of rice or flour or potatoes, $1 of beans, 1 onion,about $6 of meat, so that is either chicken thighs or 2.5 pounds of ground beef. When I need a gallon of oil, I go meatless that day. Cleaners,
health and beauty aids are bought from CVS when they are free or almost free, and I stock up.That’s it. I can feed the 12 of us on $175 a week. Whew! Talk about squeezing water out of a rock!
I shop at Sav a Lot also. They have gone up on their prices too.Last time I went I search the discount buggies. I just went the outside isles around the store. I get my milk at Weigles when I get gas for the week.I buy from a discount store once a year. They sell in bulk,don’t remove items from boxes. They sale dawn and tide concentrated liq in gallon jugs for $7 ea.I get 2 of each for the year,dog,cat,bird feed. I am proud to say that due to being frugal I am able to help others during their illness. Keep up the good work LIVING ON A DIME…
4
I am so happy to find this website. I am trying to save as much money this year as I can, because I know a lot of the extra money we spend is on food that we don’t necessarily think about buying, but ends up in the cart and is not always the healthiest, or best priced for our budget. I know this website is full of valuable ideas and I look forward to reading all the great advice.
Judy
How does a person know what they should really be spending to feed a family of 3 or 4 a week? we all live in different areas on the country where food prices are different.
You really can’t know. That is why I always say I can’t really tell you exact amounts because things in different areas are different. People keep asking us what we spend on things or how much laundry we do etc. and ours will really be different from others. What I usually try to do is give you what we spend but also try to give a general idea or average. You need to do some work then yourself and figure out for you.
This is also why we give guidelines to follow. Anyone anywhere can easily use those guide lines to help with their grocery bill. For example it doesn’t matter where you are if you start regulating portion control with your food, control leftovers and the food which gets tossed (that 1/2 glass of milk, milk left in the cereal bowl or 1/2 eaten sandwich) the chances are most families can cut their grocery bill in almost 1/2.
This are the kind of thing we give you to use and you need to use not exact amounts. Like I said the only reason Tawra gives what they spend each month is because people just keep asking.
You do what you can- get a notebook, get a bunch of recipes you eat – rotate them through the month(s). These make into your grocery lists- and an inventory of what you need to make them. As you see the stores in your area have sales- there will be a pattern- say of 3-4 weeks- when an item goes on sale. Take advantage of them. Use coupons if you see your items. Take advantage if your store has meat on sale – day of sales just before they cannot sell them- Just freeze them or cook and repackage them! They are still good! Fruits and vegetables that don’t quite look right may be discounted, but make great breads or cut up for salads…
Inventory your pantry will be a shocker- we really don’t know how much food we really have to use… and the yummy stuff is usually hidden in the back to protect it from the rest of our family.
Have fun!
Keep checking out our web site too. We cover everything Laurie mentions in even more detail and explain how to. Also if you are really serious we our Groceries on a Dime e books goes into even greater depth. Most people find they get back what they paid for the books in their first trip to the store after using them. I’m not trying to push the books but if you are serious about saving you need to do something about it and if you think about it the whole set of books cost the same as what many people spend on a new DVD and less then dinner for 2 out.
I don’t know where to cut back, but I certainly need to, as we just received a large salary cut. We already live pretty frugally for a family of 7 and I shop at Aldi. I know that I will be giving up on organics, but I still want at least the fresh fruit and salads. We don’t eat out but once a month or order in pizza. I look forward to the other tips.
I don’t live in yr area, I hail from washington, but I base my families grocery costs on the recommended amount from the usda and food stamps allocations in our area it is 80 per adult. I made it a goal for a family of three to do 240 when I first started, then cut that back out of necessity when hubby lost his job to 160. Was surprised that when I cut things back to necessities and having all meals either at home or from home that we are doing just fine. I buy fresh fruits and vegies every three to four days some organic some not and keep to the staples w hardly an junk food. I am buying mostly bulk foods now in staple form. Use a site called http://www.thesurvivalmom.com she is a survivalist and has good suggestions on a yeara worth of staple supplies. I also went on a lds site where they give you a list of a years supply for how many people you have in yr family. I know this sounds a little severe, but it really puts into perspective what we really need to get by. We have great meals too. Had spaghetti and garlic bread w a salad last night. Night before, pork roast w baked spuds and veggies. Breakfast eggs and spuds…etc. as a matter of fact I have had an abundance of some apples and potatoes so i dehydrating those. 1 more thing: you’re probably asking why 1 yr? Hubby has lost his job on more than one occassion and when that happens we have to beable to live off of what we have until that changes then all we purchase is bread, milk, eggs which is about 10.00 a week in our area.
Yes Laura all of this is true. I have been trying to teach people this for years that it really doesn’t take as much as you think it does to feed your family the basics. At one point I was feeding my family of four on $15 a week and even though that was a few years back it still was not much compared to what others were spending. When things get really really bad a person finds out what is necessary and what isn’t. That is why I say things aren’t as bad for most as what they think and it could be worse because if things were really super bad I wouldn’t be asked how to save on a vacation or how to save on expensive organic food. They wouldn’t even consider a vacation etc.
Lately we’ve been very limited on what we can spend on groceries, and I’ve not been able to do the shopping most times, so it’s been fix what my DH brings home. I’ve found it’s not that hard to come up with a meal if the basics are there. He also doesn’t complain as much about what I fix since he’s chosen what’s there. (He used to be VERY picky.) We don’t even order in pizza any more, he just picks up a store brand frozen pizza of the type he likes. He doesn’t like leftovers, but I like leftovers for breakfast or lunch, so nothing goes to waste. I’m not able to bake as much as I like, but cake mixes on sale are very handy for quick fixes, as are muffins from scratch. Since our kids are now all grown, it’s usually just the two of us. While they were little, though, a favorite hot lunch was a box of mac and cheese prepared with a can of tuna and frozen peas stirred in to cool it for them.
about 15 years ago the gov. cut back on welfare and everyone jumped in saying they couldn’t live on what they got.
Housing was paid for in most cases so after other expences they had about$200 for groceries.
I sat down looking at the flyers from our 2 grocery stores and made up a menu for a month.
There was turkey, pizza, breakfast, lunches to eat at home or take to school and even snacks.
Mind you the turkey was stretched to make up about 10 different meals and there was quite a bit of pasta. But it was a healthy diet with veg. and fruits.
It came in at $150. and that was in a small town with no options but to get groceries at our rather expensive stores.
turkey was made into soup stock, pot pies, stews and soups. the soup stock ended up being gravy for fries and the pot pies.
hamburger about a lb was made into macaroni and beef, put into the tomatoe sauce for spaghetti sauce, and about 1/2 a lb went into shepherds pie.
cabbage was made into coleslaw and one head can do about 3 dishes.
I sent it to the paper and was told it couldn’t be done since all the things were made from scratch and most of the clients using welfare couldn’t cook.
give me a break food banks say the same thing today.
so make them attend a few cooking classes put on for free by either institution and learn.
trying to feed the masses would certainly be helped by the classes and since when is learning to cook demeaning?
food is food and if you can stretch it so much the better.
Yes Grandma this is a true problem. Many food banks and places like that buy our books to give to these people because they don’t know how to cook or stretch their food dollar. We have even been asked to speak to teach about this but I don’t do too much speaking just because it wears me out so bad.
Great job!! yes, most people don’t know how to cook from scratch- that is why we throw away so much too- we don’t know how to use a turkey for many meals as you did!
To have a laugh we know an older gent, now in his 90′s taught himself how to cook- it was either- cook, eat out or starve… He makes his own graham crackers and homemade breads… puts all us female cooks to shame!
If he can- we each can!
Jill or Tawra, when did you make that list with the prices?
pop by the litre here is about $2
dinner out runs into $100. and that is without alcohol and refills are free.
pizza delivery is $40 plus tip.
reg. cereal is about $5. a box and granola is $10.
went out one morning last month for breakfast with a friend. I had a bagel and coffee she had bacon eggs and toast with coffee.
$24 total plus a tip. she paid for the meals but I gave a $5. tip.
needless to say I make pancakes/toast/eggs and tea biscuits not all together at home and save a fortune.
also mine taste better. So why eat out. It takes me 5 min to make toast and eggs and serve my husband.
With hydro bills, water bills, taxes and phone and internet costs eating out is as low as low on my budget.
Canadian prices are a lot higher since we have to import so much of the fruits during the entire year that my prices are probably way more than many of you pay but everyone can save on what they eat. Just use some imagination.
I don’t use coupons and I never make beans from scratch.
Yes I think your prices are a little more Grandma. We can still get a 2 liter of pop on sale for $.89 and even name brand with out a coupon for $2.50 for a large box. If you buy off brand or use a coupon you can get it for cheaper still.
On another note to save time and my back I tried the pancakes in the oven.
made them up while the oven was heating poured it into a lipped pan then tossed some blueberries onto it. Put it in the oven and when it had firmed up I put bacon slices that I had cooked the other day. They heated while the pancake cooked.
It didn’t brown as much as we like so next time I will bake it at a bit higher temp or maybe try the broiler setting.
Don said to mark it as a keeper.
It was so nice to sit down instead of standing there flipping pancakes for 15 min.
Whoever came up with this my back thanks you.
I just found your site and am looking forward to taking a closer look. We have an ALDI the next town over that I shop at every week. For a family of 5 in CT, we spend about $125 on average. My husband is picky but my kids are learning to be more appreciative and frugal. It’s funny, my husband will come home and refuse to eat because he’s “not in the mood” for a certain kind of food, yet I’m trying to stretch this budget as far as I can and it seems he’s just defeating the purpose if he goes out and buys fast food because he doesn’t like what I prepared. Frustrating. I feel bad because he works so hard all day and deserves to have a good meal, but I’m working hard to make him one, it just takes some getting used to. Anyone else have that trouble?
maybe let him do the shopping and cooking to see how how hard it is to stretch that $
I have discovered something at our little grocery store in the past couple of months.
Thursday after 4 in the afternoon which is when I shop the butcher comes out and starts placing discount prices on meat still on the shelf.
Most are for 30% off but some on a good day are 50% off. That is steaks roasts and chicken breasts and thighs.
I usually pick up the steaks and roasts and the chicken thighs.
I don’t buy the cold meats because they go bad so quickly and they are in and out of the cold being sliced and put back that it just isn’t worth the worry.
But if I can get blade steaks which I use for a number of different type meals at that saving I go home happy.
If you can figure out when the butcher does this in your stores it might be worth it to change your grocery day if you can.
All stores are different so go to your store at different times of the day or ask when the butcher marks things down and then try to shop at that time. I also do this with my fruits and veggie department. Mine is best on Thurs. morning but different stores have different times so check yours out. I rarely pay full price for meat but get it for about 50% off.
Oh, I used to clip coupons…then I stopped, because I noticed that I was spending more money on the newspapers to get the coupon circulars, than I was actually saving on product itself..That….and the fact, that most of the stuff I bought (fresh produce, meat etc) never comes with coupons. So I stopped clipping coupons. We make all meals fresh at home and that saves me a lot of money
Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather 
We don’t eat junk food at all and I don’t even buy the boxed cereals at all. We do have ice cream once in awhile like once a month and we certainly don’t drink pop. My husband and I eat out for breakfast once a mo. or so.
I only buy juices for smoothies that we have once in awhile since we don’t drink milk.
My husband drinks coffee from mcD’s and here and he doesn’t buy gourmet coffee. I don’t drink coffee. The girls don’t get fruit leather or anything like this. I do buy Simply Fruit for peanut butter and jelly for good health…no sugar. We spend about 600.00 a mo. on food and it seems it just isn’t enough for our family of 4. This is 150.00 each.Our girls are 15 and 13 and aren’t big eaters. I also cook by scratch. I don’t cook with canned soup, or even canned vegetables and I make my own taco seasoning and make my own salad dressing but I buy ketchup and mayonaise once in awhile. We don’t eat flour very much meaning pancakes, muffins, etc. and only buy Sprouted Whole Wheat Bread. We live in Oregon on the coast about 6 hrs. from some of the best crops in the nation but kind of remote and the food is expensive here. I just don’t see how I can cut anymore….
I have learned to really bargain shop for my groceries. Unfortunately, we are in a situation where we need assistance. Thanks to my neighbor giving me old recipe magazines and my husband bringing some home from work that he found in the trash, I sit down once a month and plan the nest months meals.I then write my shopping list and start in my pantry to see what I do not have to purchase. Some recipes i switch around to what we like (meat wise)and they are just as good. I use fresh as much as possible and watch the carbs and sugars due to my husband being diabetic and having cancer. We are a family of 5 (I’m the only female and our 2 oldest boys are teenagers) and we eat on $250 a month. I do not use coupons because I have to pay .10 per coupon if I do. We also avoid junk food as much as possible, not just because of my husband, but also my 2nd oldest son’s bi-polar/depression issues
Wow Cyndi, I can see how you spend so much, you only eat sprouted whole wheat bread? In my area that only comes in small loaves for about $3.98 a loaf, your husband drinks McD coffee every morning that is what $1 a dollar every morning, Your making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on the sprouted whole wheat bread? Peanut butter is at an all time high because of some issues with peanut’s last year, and Simply Fruit is about one of the pricest “Jellies” you can get, hmmmm if that is an example of how you spend your grocery dollars, I just don’t know how you can cut back either.
I shoot for 100% whole wheat loaves and about every 12 weeks my local store does a promo buy one brand get the store brand free, or $1 off the store brand, I stock up on 8-10 loaves and freeze them. That way I am spending less than a $1 on a loaf all the time and only the 100% whole wheat not the cheap white stuff that sells for a $1 a loaf.
My husband rotates with his coworkers to buy ground coffee and creamer and that way they have good coffee at work, for way less than even McD. My kids won’t eat peanut butter and jelly, or sliced deli meat, or cheap american cheese, yet they have fresh fruit or vegetable or both, cheese and bread, and some sort of treat with lunch every day for between $.50-$1.50
I spend less than $300 in groceries we have meat every night, and we don’t ever eat beans, family of 5, one in cloth diapers, no food stamps, no government aid for any meal.
I’m checking out the site because I always find new tricks and tips or just reminders for things I have let slip.
I’m sorry I should have been kinder, but the whole idea of saying you eat healthy and can’t possible cut back more but listing things like McD and sprouted whole grain bread is a mentality that gets my goat so to speak. to me it is like saying if I eat like the rest of you I’ll be eating junk food and my kids won’t be healthy.
I read all the time that choosing organic is not always a good buy, rethink why you are making some of your choices and be open to triing a different approach.
Wow! Amazing how simple things add up. I am trying to get organized and on a budget. My family of 4 waste soooo much on groceries . Found this site and I am looking forward to getting off to a good start with ideas from livingonadime.
I am a single, disabled adult living on a very limited SSI disability pension. I don’t have a lot of money for groceries. But by subscribing to your post and others like it, I am learning to use coupons and thrifty ways. I eat very well, lots of healthy ground turkey, etc. I have learned to only cut the coupons for things I was going to buy anyway, UNLESS I’m getting something free. Some of the newsletters I subscribe to are freebie sites, and lots of times you can get a sample with a good coupon, so you can try before you buy. Also, since I am only cooking for one, I can subdivide regular packages of things and get two meals out of them. I don’t do juice either, because I’m diabetic and its concentrated sugar and also because of the cost. Much cheaper to get your dailies from veggies – cheap, easy, delicious, and FULL of the best stuff on earth. I also use only powdered milk for cooking. I can make only what I need and store the rest. Get my calcium from foods like cheese. Thanks for your newsletter. Keep up the good work!
for our family, we drink tea instead of soda,& count the slices of bread in your loaves,i find sandwich style gives more slices for the price. learn to use 1000 sheet roll toilet paper, not always the softest, but will last the longest for the $. frozen juice is cheaper than in the bottle for 2 liters you can get the same amt for almost 1/2 the price. A bigest source of savings? cut up veggies – greenbeans & carrots mostly, the smaller the size but you still get the same spoon full frm the pot and and break up spagetti when cooking it instead of whole peices from the box helps too.
I LOVE this website. I have been reading it for over a year & it has helped me save a ton of money. I am a single mom with a 12 year old son, and I am proud to say that, using the advice found on this & a couple of other sites, I was able to create a $10,000.00 emergency fund in only 1 year! I have never felt so able to sleep well at night knowing that if anything happens to my job I can still pay the bills. Learning not to waste food/portion control/buying groceries at the right price was key to this lifestyle change because my food budget was the only place I had room to cut. You CAN absolutely make huge inroads in debt and be happier by listening to these fab ladies!
Thank you Terri for that great testimony. Boy it sounds like you really have it together. When readers like you write in it really encourages others to do the same and to know that the things we teach really are doable especially for single moms who sometimes thinks those goals are impossible. Keep up the good work. Thanks again.
Oh, BTW, Aldi totally rocks!
Jill, I was desperate. I had just gotten a 50% pay cut at work. I had to do something. Then I got started reading your blog, I realized I wasn’t alone, and I really believed that, no matter what all my co-workers were saying about how awful our lives now were & how poorly we were being valued, I could make things work for me. I read you faithfully, I get inspiration from you all the time. I still have a job & that is a blessing. But with no child support & it’s just me, I told my son, “honey, we have got to make some cuts.” But a year later, I asked him yesterday if he felt the pinch,and he said he hadn’t. That’s how I know I’m still a good mom… I provided for us, (dog & cat, too!) and sill got to where I wanted to be, thanks in no small part to you, and my son never noticed we were economizing. I love you guys!!
It just goes to show that it isn’t how much money you have and things that you can give your kids that are the most important in being a good mom.
I heard something recently that rings true, groceries shouldn’t stack so neatly in your cart. That is, real food, (veggies, fruit, meat, legumes, grains) doesn’t come in nice little cubes. And real food costs a fraction of what prepared stuff does. Real food rarely has coupons, because there isn’t the huge profit margin on real food, from which to pay out on a huge coupon campaign.
Our family’s diet is heavy in the fruits and vegetables that we can grow ourselves. To these we add purchased dairy, grains, legumes and meat when very inexpensive (for example, in November every year I buy several turkeys — this year 4 –and keep frozen to cook up later in the year. I paid about 30 cents a pound for the turkeys, and each one feeds the 5 of us for a dozen meals.)
I like to bake, which is a help. I bake all our bread, buns, desserts, and tortillas. And we never feel deprived. If I’m just too tired to cook a big meal, instead of getting takeout or prepared convenience food, we just do something really simple, like oatmeal. The family understands that Mom cooks everyday and sometimes needs an easy meal to prepare.
Just got back from a week at the beach with family and decided not to go to the grocery as soon as I got back. It has been very hot and humid here in VA so we stopped at the local drugstore and picked up a gal of milk and went home. I did go to the farmers’ market on Saturday for tomatoes, corn, peaches (2) and nectarines (2), squash and green beans and eggs. We have been eating from the freezer and have not felt at all deprived from not shopping immediately. Let me just say that we left for the beach with a totally empty fridge because we had a 4 day power outage and had to throw away everything in the fridge. Thank goodness it was mostly condiments because we were trying to “eat down” before we left so we had nothing much left in there. When we got back here is what we did for meals, On Saturday, I deboned 2 chicken breasts, cooked the meat for dinner along with fresh corn and watermelon. I put the bones on to cook and made stock for another day. The leftover chicken on the bones went in the freezer, too. Sunday – I cooked squash and fresh green beans – we had these with a slice of ham and shared a peach. Monday – leftover chicken and green beans with watermelon. Tuesday – scrambled eggs and toast with fruit.
Last night we had BLT’s with some leftover bacon from the freezer, and more fruit. When the temp is high, I try to cook very little and our appetite is not eager to eat hot foods, either. So, easy meals with nice cold fruit and leftovers work well. My point is that I did not do a big grocery shop and we have managed quite well on the few things I got at the farmers’ market. What I especially like is I can buy only the portions that I need at the market so I am not buying food that gets tossed. If I had been to the grocery store, I am sure that I would have gotten more than I needed and would have spent money for snacks that we really didn’t need to eat.
I know this is long but wanted to give you an idea of what you can do when you want to. We are trying to eat lighter and less this summer. It is good for our health and our “body shapes.”
In our 60′s, we’re now on a fixed income rather than living on the proceeds from two full time jobs and I’ve spent a lot of time climbing walls when it comes to cooking on a limited budget. The biggest problem is my husband’s myriad of health problems (diabetes, heart disease, and stomach problems all over the place.)
Because of the heart issues, I have to watch the fat intake. Because of the diabetes, both sugar (not really a problem) and carbs (now, THERE’S a problem!) must be severly limited. And, because of all three, it’s whole grain EVERYTHING!
One of my daughters did the extreme couponing thing and tried to talk me into it. I tried, but since processed foods are pretty much of a no-no around here, it was an exercise in futility. And it occurred to me that I was probably spending more in ink cartridges for my printer than I was saving by printing out the coupons.
I buy frozen veggies…lots of frozen veggies. If there is a processed food item or a restaurant dish that we like, I go to the copycat recipe sites, get the recipe and then tweak it until it’s as cheap and healthy as I can make it.
The copycat Fiber One bars are my husband’s favorite.
Chinese and Mediterranian recipes, both big on veggies and short on meat, are usually my go-to’s. I’m trying to make all the red meat disappear from our lives. I don’t buy ground turkey or chicken because our local stores don’t carry the very lean ground poultry. Not really a problem since I can buy skinless turkey and chicken breast meat (and around here, boneless, skinless chicken breast is cheaper than ground beef of ANY percentage fat to lean)and grind it myself.
We used to waste a lot of food because, after cooking for decades for a small army, I had a terrible time cooking for two. So now it’s cook a meal and freeze the leftovers for a night when I don’t feel like cooking or serve them for lunch the next day. And I purposely cook double or triple the recipe if it’s one that is time or labor-intensive.
The ONLY thing I like about winter is that it’s soup and stew time. And, boy, can I stretch meat when I’m putting it in soup or stew. I’ve also found that a very little ham goes a long way in bean dishes made with nice, cheap dried beans.
It’s a continual learning process. But it’s sort of fun!
I am with you there on loving winter to be able to stretch the meat with soup and stew. Good point on using almost as much ink as the coupon is worth too.
Kathy, We, too, are in our 60′s and my husband is retired. He is a diabetic and I have a liver transplant and some mild kidney disease so we are having to eat and cook differently, too. I am still working but do enjoy trying new recipes and it is fun cooking for just the 2 of us. I do wish my husband were more amenable to trying new things but as long as I cook something that looks familiar, he will try it. He refuses to give up his bacon on Sunday so we both still eat that but I am cooking less of it and that still meets our needs. Thanks for the idea of looking up copycat recipes. I’m definitely going to try that. I also love to make things from the food network channel. Lots of time, you can leave out or use a substitute that has less calories and fat and still get the same taste. Good luck with your new eating plan.
Hi, just wanted to tell you, I liked this post.
It was helpful. Keep on posting!
Another way to save money and eat healthy at the same time is to grow your own. Even if you don’t have a yard to grow veggies, you can still grow them. As I write this post it’s nearing the end of September, now is a good time to start thinking about what to grow next year. You can grow a tomato plant in a 4 gal. bucket. Drill holes in the bottom of it for drainage. Don’t have a 4 gallon bucket, think about an empty plastic cat litter container, or any thing else about that size. You can grow peppers and cucumbers in this size container too. You can grow lettuce in a 1 gallon pot, think milk jug with the top cut off and drainage holes in the bottom. You can also do carrots and radishes in empty milk jugs. Beans make beautiful vines that you can grow in a 1 gallon container also and you can train them to climb anything from a trellis to a wooden pole. You can actually grow an entire garden in your livingroom if you don’t have a deck, patio or balcony. All you really need is light and water. You can also save a ton of money by growing potted herbs in a window all year. Basil, chives and thyme are easy to grow. Get online and look for veggies that grow in pots, you might be suprised at how much you can grow in a small amount of space for little money. 1 tomato plant will give you plenty of tomatoes to eat fresh and still give some away. Same with peppers. Plant 2 or 3 head lettuces seeds a week for a continuous supply or plant cut and come again for a continuous supply until the weather gets hot. Save money and grow your own, and you know where your food came from. If you have a little room or yard you can make raised beds. These are simple and can be made any size you like, and they are easy to maintain. They have very few weeds and if you do get a week they are easy to spot and pull. I have a raised bed that is about 20 feet long and 3 feet wide running along the side of my home. I produce more than enough food for my family and still have enough to give away and preserve by using a square foot mehtod of growing. The initaial cost of a raised bed can be a little pricy though. You can make the bed out of any used lumber, but filling it useally means buying soil. Once you have them made though then all it takes is a little compost each year, which you can make yourself, and that’s it. Getting started may take a little money, but once you have your garden going and growing it’s amazing at how much money you can save in the long run. Plus it’s fun to grow your own food. Try it and see how excited you get when you see that first tomato starting to form and the anticipation of that first bite. Nothing tastes better than fresh picked veggies still warm from the Summer sun.
Thanks Debbie for the good ideas if any one needs more tips on this same thing here are two links to help. One is to the articles on this web site which go into quite a bit of detail and the second link is to Tawra’s new garden web site. Hope these help.
Gardening basics
Cool Garden Ideas
Walmart has buckets with lids. 5 gal. And smaller, cheap.ask at the bakery
if you have a garden and even if you don’t. take up canning.
My four .25 tomatoe plants gave me enough tomatoes to make 30 pint jars of green tomatoe mince meat. The only thing I had to buy was the raisins. I think the entire amount cost me $14 for jars, $2. for sugar $2 for splenda and $8 for the raisins oh yes $1 for the apples.
Didn’t need a pressure canner just a large roasting pan for the hot water bath.
I have 50 pints of different relishes lots of pickles and dipping sauces and jams.
Now I have gifts for friends at Christmas and other days and I certainly feel like I have accomplished something with my days.
Yesterday I canned 6 pint jars of ham and bean soup. This requires the pressure canner which Don bought me a couple weeks ago.
But if you are doing fruits and vegetables most can be done in the hot water bath.
I don’t have a large garden so much of what I can and dehydrate I buy but in season it is not that expensive and you can do things to your tastes and diet requirements.
Saves a ton of money if you want sugar free or diabetic friendly foods.
Just an idea for someone with some time and wants to save money on food.
the start up is you need jars made for canning but yard sales are good for those.
And if you don’t have space, find someone on your street that used to garden – you do the work and share the results for their garden space!
Love gardening in trees too!
To save money on groceries I gave up my extreme couponing and decided to try price matching at Walmart. This has saved me hundreds of dollars in grocery and gas money. My local rural store matches prices in a large city a couple of hours away!! I really enjoyed the article it made me really evaluate a necessity. Thank you
One thing I have n oticed for years is that you can save more money than clipping coupons by just buying the store brand. A lot of times even when you use a coupon the cost of the brand name item is still more than the store brand. I tried Kroger store brand spaghetti sauce over Ragu or Prego and it was very good. The jar was $1.99 while “on sale” Ragu was
$2.49 and Prego was more than that. I also shop Big Lots and the .99 cent store. Aldi’s is good also.
Love your site! I think the biggest reason most people have trouble saving money is that it takes work.
Work is involved in checking your pantry and making a good grocery list. It takes time to sort beans and to cook them well. It takes time to plan meals. And then execute the plan.
This world has us so convinced that we are so importantly busy. They tell us we deserve a break today. Enticing isn’t it? After all we are so busy! The question is what are we busy doing? Spending money to earn our well deserved break.
When you wind up broke or close to it, then you realize that break you deserved cost you a lot.
Cooking beans in a Crockpot is easy compared to waking up in the middle of the night terrified because the bills are due.
Counting your blessings instead of needs, most of which are just idle wants anyway, takes some time and work to think about the really important stuff.
Learning how to care for you takes work too. You have to invest time in learning to cook, or fix something that breaks. You have to pick up the broom and sweep the room yourself instead of pining away for the maid service to come and work for you.
You have to work to learn the basic principles of being organized. It takes work to learn and work to DO.
When I lived in a large city all my friends were using this pre packaged meat company to buy their food. It was supposed to save you so much money by just selling you the premium and not the waste.
My husband decided to have the guy come and quote us. The first question was, how much are you spending a week on groceries? When I responded he folded up his little notebook and said, HOW? I told him I was a country cook and cooked mostly from scratch.
He said, “I am sorry but I cannot possibly improve on that.” I felt like I was being scandalously extravagant on the money I was spending because the store prices were so expensive there. The really strange thing was that all my friends were bragging about all the money they saved using his products!
Saving money takes work and while it can becomes a way of life, like any other lifestyle change, it requires effort and execution.
And like any other aquired life style change it can always be improved upon.
Thank you again for this wonderful website that reminds me of that!
Very good advice and so true. It does take work to do all of the things you mention. Most people hear the word work and turn away but I feel sorry for them because it feels so good at the end of a day of hard work to see the nice thing you accomplished. Really good tips.
Thanks for all your good advice!
As gardening plants are out in the stores in the Northeast, I am reminded how many people do not plant anything. If each one had a small garden or two or three plants how much would their lives change? Someone said that the depression was bad, but if things happen now- people don’t grow their food, and don’t know how to cook it!
We all have libraries with tons of cook books. Working with the Friends of our library, I have seen so many cookbooks on sale for a $1 or even 50 cents! And they are the basics- not the fad diet books, but how to cook a potato in a camp fire or in the oven. How to heat water for pasta or rice.
I love couponing since I tell my friends- we’ll try a product- learn how to cook it and then see what it has in it and how to cook it from scratch and as fresh as possible. Its like the Stone Soup story- no one wanted to give a vegetable that they had hidden, but when the aroma of this great soup hit their noses- they had a carrot or two, a potato or turnip, etc… and everyone benefited!
Share your old coupons with the military overseas- who can use them up to six months expired- make a group to clip, sort and don’t worry about using a few out of the 1000′s you will have- if you don’t use them, they will still go to them.
And if you do find a great bargain- share it with your friends and the food pantry. And the food pantry would love help even sorting the food they have.
Charity never faileth and we can use couponing and being wise in our food budget to really extend our family’s well being.
Laurie I think that is why Dining on a Dime is so popular. When we first wrote it there were very few books on the market that told new cooks how to mash potatoes, cook rice, a roast, make ice tea. So people really liked that part of it. Then we had the more unusual things like roasting pumpkin seeds and sun flower seeds, make ketchup, sweetened condensed milk, mustard, powdered sugar, vanilla, self rising flour and so much more. That was before everyone had internet so they had no other source to find these things and were all over our book. That is why it is popular now too is because it is like a mini cooking encyclopedia and if for any reason they can’t get the internet or we would ever had something like a depression Dining on a Dime would help show how to make so many things you maybe couldn’t get.
I was really shocked at how many cookbooks tell you how to roast a duck in orange sauce or to make a fancy salad out of ingredients you need to ship from overseas but didn’t tell any one how to make french fries from potatoes or roast a chicken.