5 Savings Strategies For Grocery Getting

 

In my last post we dealt with the "Basics", regular monthly bills and how we can save more money.

I left this one for a category all in itself, The dreaded Grocery Shop.  I don't know about you but I HATE doing the weekly grocery shop, so much money out the window! For years I lived not being able to afford the foods /brands I liked or fresh products my family needed, and cutting corners wherever I could.  What if I could tell you there is a way to get the groceries you need and want AND still save on your pocketbook? YES folks it can and IS being  done!

 

 

MEAL PLANNING:  First thing first - Do an inventory of your pantry, fridge, and freezer, then make a weekly/biweekly meal plan for all 3 meals everyday. (I know its lots of extra work - but I promise you it will pay off) Choose meals that you can make using the food you already have on hand.  Next move onto your store flyers, see what meats are on sale and plan the rest of your meals based around the weekly sale. OK now your all set to grocery shop - BUT WAIT - Take note of these next tips as this is where you will save WAY more money!

 

MAKE A LIST: Now you know what items you need for your meals, your ready to make a grocery list. ALWAYS shop with a list and stick to the list. I have found when shopping without one you tend to spend more than we need to.

 

 

PRICE MATCHING:  If your serious about saving more money you will want to price match.  This is where you will be able to get the best price for the products your need (ex. fresh fruit) and the brands you love. If you have a smart phone I highly recommend downloading the Flipp App, I use it all the time and not just for groceries. 

Flipp has all your local flyers available for you to view right on your phone, as you look at the flyers you can tap on items you want and they will be saved under clipping under that store (this is very handy if your price matching- you can use your phone at checkout). 

You can also search for products you need or like (grocery or non grocery). Flipp will show you all the stores that have the item on sale, so you can find the lowest price available.

Using Flipp has made my life much easier for price matching and it saves me making tons of lists and bringing flyers to the store.



Here is a list of stores that price match most stores only price match against local stores so you will have to check what stores your store price matches against :

Fresh Co.                                           No Frills

Real Canadian Superstore              Giant Tiger

Walmart

* I do my price matching at Real Canadian Superstore you may have other stores in your area that price match that I missed .

 

COUPONS:  Save those coupons, especially ones for items you buy regularly. You can save extra using coupons AND price matching.  Where to find coupons? flyer that come in the mail red plum and smart source, also check the packages your products come in.  There are coupon sites where you can get them mailed and also print from home, these sites are  Save.Ca, WebSaver.Ca, Smartsource, PGEveryday.Ca, Every little bit helps!

 

S.C.O.P:  Stands for Scanning Code Of Practise :

- A promise from retailers to customers that there will be accurate scanning at the register on all UPC.

So basically this means the price that is listed on the shelf will ring up the same at the register.

SO.. watch your items scanning in at the register and always double check your receipts, because if an item scans higher than advertised the customer is entitled to receive item for free on up to $10 max. (if item is higher than $10 you are entitled to $10 off the price)

SCOP is only for regularly priced items and does not include pharmacy related items.

Make sure to pay close attention and always remember the SCOP rules as you may need to remind your cashier.

 

OK sorry for such a long blog post but this is one of the biggest areas where more money can be saved and kept in your own pocket.

Be a Savvy shopper, apply these principles and enjoy the savings!

stayed tuned next post will be all about store rewards!

Getting Back To The Basics!

I have so much awesome money saving info inside my head, I'm not sure where to start and I don't want to skip over anything. 

SO.. Lets start with the basics, EVERYONE  has monthly bills , no matter where they are financially

We all have heat, hydro, phone (land line.mobile), Internet and possibly cable/satellite.

I will go through each one and tell you how I save and YOU can too!!

Phone:

• I have included both landline and mobile in this section, though I know lots of people have done away with the land line and use solely mobile -- if you're doing this that's great you're saving money!  Go through your phone bills and see where your money is going, do you use that long distance your paying for ? are you going over your data? Call your provider and see if they can give you a better plan based on your usage. They are always happy to help.

Internet/Cable/Satellite:

• I have put these together because most families have them bundled with same provider.  Personally we are with Bell for phone, internet and tv.  What you can do is phone and ask to speak with someone that can help lower your bill because you are unhappy with the amount its costing you.  They don't want to lose you as a customer and will transfer you to someone that will go through your services and see where they can lower your payments, and shave some money off your bill. You will need to do this every 6 months because the prices they give you only last for 6 months (at least with Bell) This can save you $30-50/month!
• Another way to save is to cut out the cable/satellite - buy yourself an android tv box that streams movies and television programs through the internet. You can still watch all your favourite shows just a day later than they air and even new movies!  However you will need a very good internet plan with unlimited usage and fairly fast speeds.  Android tv boxes can cost anywhere from $60-over $200 * I recently bought one on amazon for $60 and it works great! after you buy this you will cut out that cable bill as there is no other cost.
• Another alternative to cutting the cable/satellite is Netflix. With a subscription cost of only $10 a month how can you go wrong! you still save a TON! but with Netflix you are always a season behind the currently aired tv programs and Canadian Netflix does not offer as many great shows. You will also need an unlimited usage internet plan as well.

Heat and Hydro:

• Not too much we can do to save here, other than being conscience of the utilities we are consuming.  We can turn down our heat and use less hydro. BUT.. to save monthly you can request to go on a budget plan through your utility company. This means your bill will be the same amount monthly for the entire year (even in the summer), this is helpful for budgeting because you know exactly how much you will be spending each month.

This is how we save on those pesky monthly bills, lots of info to take in but I hope it was helpful to you and you can save some money!
Thanks for stopping by and look for another blog post from me about Frugal Living!

Welcome to my Blog, The Good, Bad, and Ugly

FIRST I want to say thanks for coming by and reading my first ever attempt at writing a blog, I might add that   I am not a writer so please bare with me.  I'm  just a woman/wife/mom that wants to spread my knowledge to others about Frugal living and finding ways to survive on tight budgets.
That being said my story in a nutshell, I was blessed to be a stay home mom of my 3 kiddos for 17 years. Though I don't regret for a minute my time at home with them I wont lie it was hard living on a single income! There were months where I had to pick and choose what bills got paid and others where diapers and food came first. We struggled for many, many years and it wasn't pretty!.
18 years later my kids have grown , I am  finally working again part time and in the past 3 years I have learned so  much , wisdom I wished I had when I was struggling financially ,trying to make that pay cheque S_T_R_E_T_C_H!  THIS  my friends is the point of this blog, im passing along all that I know about Frugal Living and here is a hint and the key --The internet is your friend !
More to come soon , thanks for stopping by!