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Day 9
#11: Make a goal of saving 30% on your grocery bill. (Just plan to start there…you’ll soon be saving much more than that each week!)
When my husband and I first took a look at our monthly expenses (remember the Monthly Expense List assignment from Day One?), I knew that groceries were a negotiable expense, because I was pretty sure that I could be spending less than I was at the time. But I wasn’t sure how because I was shopping at Aldi, barely ever buying name-brand products, and skimping in every way I could imagine. But, as I listened to other moms talk about how they were seeing huge savings with coupons, I knew I needed to check into it more.
I started reading and researching and talking to my money savvy friends, and before I knew it I was off to the grocery store for a trial run. I marched in with my nine coupons and walked out with nine items, having spent only $4 for what should have cost about $16. Boy, was I excited! That was the beginning, and I haven’t stopped since. It’s a bit of a thrill to see the pre-coupons total on the register, and then to see that total go down–down–down as they ring up your coupons.
Well, saving at the grocery store is much more than a thrill for us, it’s a necessity, and I am happy to say that we have been able to consistently cut our grocery expenses from about $400 to $200 per month without sacrificing in the least. In fact, I have more in my pantry now than I ever did before. I tell you all about how to do it in my Couponing 101 post. If you haven’t read it yet, take a look at it today! You might also be helped by checking out the other pages in my Start Here section (like Grocery costs: what you can expect to spend on specific grocery items when combining sale prices with coupons.)
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