HELP! I've never been the best at saving money thus I've not been a frugal spender. I keep hearing about couponing (I don't get the newspaper and my "coupon printer" hasn't worked). I hear about buying in bulk, but I'm not sure what to buy. Should I buy food storage and then eat it?
Lately I've been rethinking everything like instead of buying canned Manwich sloppy joe, I found a dry Western Family mix for .50 cents and a can of tomato paste for .69 cents. I usually shop at Costco, Walmart, or the neighboor hood grocery Harmons next door. Costco is cheap for milk, eggs, diapers, wipes, formula, and bread. Walmart pretty much everything else. Harmons will have case sales (not totally sure what those are) and pretty good 2 for $1 or 10 for $10 (but gatoraide is no longer a necessity). Baby food is so expensive it kills me, suggestions on how to make your own? I think we would have saved alot more money when we had income if I had thought about my purchases more. I guess I'm a natural impulse buyer which now forces me to steer clear of ANY type of shop.
So I'm asking no pleading for your ideas and advice. What do you do when you start to count pennies? I've been avoiding this post but I'm sure you all know. I really hate what's happening with the economy. You think yeah that sucks and that your own family will be just fine and then it hits you. You're screwed and what do you do? No one is hiring, how does a family survive? Whoa sorry this is turning into a journal entry. Anyway your ideas are wanted please leave a comment maybe something you've tried?
9 comments:
Sigh. It sucks being poor. I cut coupons, your idea with the sloppy joes is a good one, I would just apply it to other things. Don't eat out, it's so expensive. Have a couple things on hand that are easy to make so that you will eat those instead of going out. Apply for WIC, cuz cheese, milk, eggs, formula are expensive. I think they're starting to pay for some baby food too. It's a pain but it's worth it. I'll keep thinking of other advice... sorry you've been bit by the recession bug.
I agree with Carrie, do the same thing with the sloppy joe stuff and apply to other recipes. Also look at other money saving blogs, they give GREAT ideas, I have some links to them on my blog. They also tell you how to get free samples of a lot of baby stuff, magazines and regular groceries. Also, making your own baby food is simple! You steam the food, then blend and add a little water. I've been doing it for months and it is REALLY easy! As for the formula, sign up on their sites to receive coupons and free samples. I wish I knew more about the subject, but I don't use formula or WIC so others might be more knowledgable than I am.
I also work with the weekly ads, I make dinners according to what is on sale that week, instead of making a list of things I want. It cuts down soooo much on cost. I also shop Costco for diapers but not for wipes. I actually buy those at the 99c store. They have pure and gentle kind, as well as Beech Nut puffs and such, you just have to check the expiration. I also give Clark a lot of Cheerios instead of puffs and meltables. This has been my game since I stopped working to take care of Clark. These are a few of the things I do. These days I actually go to the store and they pay me! Its a really fun game and I get free magazines too, Elle and Shape. Check the blogs on my blog, I'm telling you they are awesome! Good luck!
okay my ideas might be lame but they have helped us so why not share...maybe i will also learn more from your post from others...i love reading everyones ideas. anyways....our doctor said to feed jaida whatever we eat so she eats what we do to an extent...chopped up..or steamed and mashed...she gets the majority of her calories from formula still but then has food after for her three meals. we get our formula from target which is their brand called up and up and it is soooo cheap and has exactly the same ingredients as the expensive kind. we also do the same costco things as u guys but we buy the big frozen bag of chicken and that has been saving us soo much money every month. i have just come up with random menus with chicken...which gets a little tiring to have chicken a lot but it has saved so much money for us. we are usually always trying to watch our weight and it seems like the majority of the coupon stuff is not the best weight loss foods so that has been hard for us. I also bring old baby clothes that i did not like so well and trade them at baby consignment stores...i rarely by new stuff for jaida unless it is under 5 dollars. i get all her stuff from consignment stores and their stuff is usually really cute! i buy all my towels and anything else..gifts.. clothes or what not at TJ max because it is so much cheaper and still super cute.
but i still need more help so i am excited about more posts! good blog post!!
I feel bad that I don't have any great advice to give off the top of my head but have liked what everyone before me has said. But I can say that we're praying for you and love you guys. And if you decide to ever come back to WA we have an extra room....with a twin bed for you all to share. :) Seriously, though, something will work out...I know it will.
Call Mary about couponing...seriously, she was using couponing terminology that I don't even understand. She has some links from her blog that tell you the deals in your state.
Thanks for rededicating yourself to my blog. I was starting to wonder if anyone out there cared. Your little girl is ADORABLE! Sorry this comment has nothing to do with saving money.
If couponing is confusing, do what Rolene suggested. When I go to WalMart, I just buy what I want and it ends up being a ton. If I watch the sales, I can limit myself to $50 on food a week. With coupons, usually it is under $40. The blog I look at the most is called fistfulofcoupons.com. She has a link to state lists and you don't have to get a paper for most deals. Click the UT link on the side, pick your store, and make your list based on the stars. Try to buy only the 4 or 5 star items. She has explanations on her site. I usually shop at Albertson's. Have a weekly budget for food and stock up on good sale items, if you have extra $ from that budget, to build up your pantry. Right now, I have at least 30 boxes of cereal. I print lots of Q's on coupons.com
I go to coupons.com like mary said. Its saves me a few bucks when i go to the store. I shop yard sales and have my own yard sales. Most of my kids clothes are from yard sales. Be creative. Create things to sell. Buy what you need and not what you want. Stock up on the cheap basics like pasta, potatoes, rice, stuff like that and then be creative with your meals using those cheap basics. Make your own baby food and put it in an ice cube tray and then thaw out the cubes at feeding time. if you need to buy gifts for something....make them instead of buying them. There are tutorials online to make almost anything. Umm.. a good way to save money would be to move to washington and eat dinner at the parents once a week and at melissa and ryans once a week. I will pay you to do my dishes! Well, i hope jon finds something. call me if you need to talk.
My meals suck. But it's cheap to buy flour and eggs are a good source of protein for less than meat. Beans are even cheaper. But I haven't delved into that yet. Not every meal needs meat.
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