Each week I use an internet program called Coupon Sense. This program allows me to plug in my grocery list and find which stores have the items on the list at the best price. Coupon Sense then provides reports that include which coupons I should clip, which stores have which items and an "ad match" list. We generally shop at Walmart as they "ad match" to all of your local stores ads. This is really convenient when you have a 4 year old that you are taking with you to shop, like I do. :) Anyway, I go to the grocery store with only the coupons that I need for that trip, my grocery list, ad match list and my running shoes. I prefer to get my shopping done as quickly as possible. I always use a list because it keeps me from buying things that we already have or adding impulse purchases to my cart. If it's not on the list, it doesn't go in the cart!
Our family shops weekly. I know of people who shop monthly and it works out really well for them. If you are one of those people, GREAT! Keep it up. I find that shopping once per month doesn't work well for our family for several reasons. Plus, I like to get the great deals each week that you may miss out on if you are only shopping one time per month for your groceries.
Another way that we use coupons to save us money is by meal planning. I will be doing a video on how we do our meal planning at a later time. We use an electronic method to plan ahead for meals several weeks in advance. I will sometimes move meals around a bit on the schedule if life happens and we find that a particular meal doesn't fit our schedule one night or we are in the mood for something in particular. We also ALWAYS have a left over night. While I am not a huge left over fan, this saves us a ton of money. There is always one or two things that we have left over that even my picky eater will eat. If not, that is the night that you can make yourself a sandwich if you want to, but that's it. We don't make any meal that would give us left overs on that night. We try to plan left over night on the night before our garbage goes out. That way, whatever items we do throw out, won't be sitting in our garage stinking up the joint for a whole week. GROSS!
When I do cook at home, which is most nights, I use a crock pot. Since I don't particularly like to cook, this is a great way to fix a large meal for my family that includes all of the healthy things they need. When I don't use a crockpot, I tend to lean toward the quick fixes, (insert frozen pizza here) or am more tempted to order out than if I have a meal already prepared. Our family has three different crock pots that we use. They are all different sizes and serve different purposes. For example, we have one that had three different crock pots in one. This one is particularly helpful when making a meal that involves a main dish and a couple of sides. For example, when I make beef tips, I may use this crock pot to include baked potatoes and broccoli with them. Then all I am doing at dinner time, is making a salad or rice to finish out the meal. Super easy!!
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