No more CSA

Last year, the company facilities manager arranged to have our workplace become a CSA dropoff spot. Since I had always wanted to join a CSA, I was one of the first to sign up. At first, I was a little disappointed in the amount of produce for the price and it wasn't all organic. But, as it turns out, the produce really was fresher, tasted better than what I got at the grocery store or farmer's market, and lasted longer.

So every other Monday, like today, I would go down to the mailroom and pick up a box of produce. Usually, there were carrots and I'd cut the tops off for my coworker's rabbit. And there would be a small crowd as we played "guess the vegetable."

Unfortunately, the schedule was inconvenient for me. We do most of our grocery shopping on the weekend and I plan our meals for the week. It just didn't work out to have a full fridge on Sunday and then more produce on Monday. We never knew what would come in the CSA box so sometimes, we'd end up three heads of lettuce or five pounds of apples or more than we could use of some other fruit or vegetable or herb. Plus, the cost ($23) was a significant portion of our grocery budget every other week and I had trouble adjusting the budget. I felt bad cancelling the CSA since I want to support local farmers, but it just didn't work out.

With spring coming, I hope that produce will come down in price, plus I hope to eat from my garden all summer. It was a good experiment while it lasted.

Saving on groceries: coupons

Coupons? Who wants to spend time clipping out little rectangles and organizing them? I don't "want" to, but they are an easy way to save quite a bit on your grocery or HBA (Health/Beauty Aids) bill.

If you're looking for coupon match ups and deals, check out Money Saving Mom, Coupon Pro, or the forums at Hot Coupon World. You may also find some local bloggers/websites who do match ups in your area. Those sites are good because they often list the store locations with the best deals or clearance markdowns.

Target and some grocery stores "stack" coupons. That means you can use one store coupon and one manufacturer coupon on the the same item. Be careful when printing/clipping "store" coupons. Sometimes they are really manufacturer coupons, even though they are in the store ad or printed from the store website. If you do this, be prepared with the store policy. I've had checkers refuse to take multiple coupons or allow me to stack coupons.

I almost always shop with coupons. I usually buy the Sunday paper on Saturday so I can get a sneak peek at the coupons. I got into this habit because one local store used to put 3-day specials in the Sunday paper. They stopped that a few years ago, but I never got out of the habit. I recently got a Groupon deal for a competing newspaper and it was worth it just to get the better coupons. (disclosure: if you sign up for Groupon via the link, I may get a referral bonus)

If you don't want to subscribe to the newspaper (or if coupons aren't available in your Sunday paper), you can buy coupons on ebay, from a coupon clipping service, or see if a friend will pass them on to you. If I'm out for Sunday brunch or passing by an outdoor cafe, I'm not above picking up abandoned coupon flyers or asking people for their coupons. I'm more prone to do this if I know there are awesome coupons that week. You can check out preview sites or forums at hotcouponworld.com. You can also print coupons at coupons.com, redplum, and smart source. (You'll need to download an app to print the coupons; I've never been able to get the smart source printer to work.) You can also load coupons on your cell phone, but since my cell phone is just a phone, I haven't done that.

Sometimes, you get coupons at the register (called Catalinas, after the company that markets them). They are usually for a product you just bought or may be for a competing product. If the Catalina is especially good, I've been know to put my groceries in the car and then turn around and buy that one item on the Catalina. (Catalinas count as manufacturer's coupons.)

I'm not a rabid couponer and (usually) won't drive out of my way for deals. I also don't shop at CVS or Walgreens because I don't want to figure out their coupon deals on top of the shopping I already do. Call me lazy (or practical since I know my limits). You'll need to figure out what works for you. Do you want to clip coupons only for brands you're familiar with (say, Kraft salad dressing)? Or do you want to clip coupons for everything in a category (all salad dressings).

Clipping coupons takes more time than I'd like so I usually try to multitask and clip the coupons when I'm a passenger in the car or while watching TV. Same with the sorting.

I keep my coupons in this box (I purchased it years ago; yes, those are rust stains). If you only clip a few coupons, a recycled envelope works. Or you could buy a coupon organizer (most are too small for me). Some avid couponers organize their coupons in binders, using baseball card holders to store the coupons. I thought about it, but decided it was too much work. You could also keep the flyers intact and just cut out coupons as you need them.

Some things I never buy without coupons (and usually combined with a sale):
cereal
crackers
canned foods
yogurt (except for Greek yogurt)
feminine products
toilet paper
shampoo
toothpaste/toothbrushes

Keep your coupons near your keys or shopping bags or in your car so that you don't forget to take them to the store. Good luck with your savings!

Saving at the grocery store series (topics subject to change):
My grocery budget
Coupons (this post)
Making a list (coming soon)
Checking it twice (coming soon)
Other ways to save (coming soon)

Saving on groceries: my budget

My friend Kristin asked for some grocery shopping tips and I thought, "What? I'm no expert!". But we do live frugally so if I can help anyone by writing down what we do, then I'm happy to do it. I hope to make this an ongoing topic on my blog since it fits in with my desire to save more money this year. I started an outline, broke down the topics into more details, and wrote and wrote and wrote. After I got to eight paragraphs, I knew I had to publish this information in separate posts so neither of us was overwhelmed.

Let's start with some background. I'm not a frugality or financial expert, but we do manage to live okay on what we have. Nor am I an extreme couponer, but I am an extreme saver (more than 30% of my paycheck goes into retirement/savings plans) and I couldn't do that if I didn't save in other places, like groceries. I'm not giving the 30% number to brag, but hopefully to inspire you. A few years ago, my friend (who was making about the same as me) told me she was paying double her mortgage to pay it off faster. Again, this wasn't bragging, but merely a factual statement that she was hoping to pay off her house sooner than 30 years and how she was going about it. I knew we wouldn't be able to do make double mortgage payments, but I was inspired to save more because of what she said.

According to the USDA, the average cost of food for Nov. 2010 for my family/age group was $347.80 to $690.20, depending on if you're thrifty or liberal with your grocery shopping. I'm not sure how the cost of living in different cities comes into play; frankly, I didn't read all 80 pages of the dry report.

We spend around $380/month on "food"; that amount includes vitamins, paper goods, shampoo, soap, and other consumables, which the USDA doesn't include. I group these items together because sometimes I buy paper goods/soap/etc. at the grocery store and sometimes I buy food at Target. It just makes my bookkeeping easier. If you add in our dining out budget, we're still below the USDA average cost for a liberal monthly cost of food. I think we're doing quite well, especially since we live in a high cost of living area. According to the news gas averages $3.35/gallon here. Ouch!

If you're looking at cutting your grocery budget, looking at the USDA average can give you an idea if you're on the right track. Of course, if you live in an expensive area, entertain a lot, buy all organic, or have food allergies or other dietary needs (sorry, chocolate is not a dietary need), your costs will most likely be higher. You can easily track your spending for a few weeks (or even better, a few months) on a spreadsheet. I don't have a specific amount I spend per week, but since I know what our average grocery/consumable costs are, I just keep that in mind while shopping. It doesn't bother me to spend $70 one week if there are great sales because I know I'll spend less the next week. For example, yesterday, I bought vitamins and probiotics at the natural food store, which added another $40+ to the total. That's enough to last us two months and I'll keep my eye out for the next sale so I don't overspend.

Saving at the grocery store series (topics subject to change):
My grocery budget (this post)
Coupons (coming soon)
Making a list (coming soon)
Checking it twice (coming soon)
Other ways to save (coming soon)

That was a different shopping trip

We went to a different grocery store from our usual since it was on the way home from running errands. Adding to the strangeness was I didn't have my coupon box with me. I have no idea why I didn't bring it. As it turns out, we really didn't need it because we bought a ton of stuff on clearance (and I know I didn't have coupons for any of this). Most of food has a sell by date of 1/12 or later so we're very comfortable buying it to eat/freeze this week. All this plus another bag of groceries for $16! Dry salami $0.79, regular price $5.49. Individual tapioca pudding $0.10. Cooked chicken breast (6 oz) $0.25, regular price $4.49; we're adding some sauce and having it for dinner tomorrow. Bean sprouts for $0.25. A frozen dinner for an emergency lunch or dinner. Our groceries usually have a much lower amount of packaged/processed foods, but I couldn't resist these deals. We may have to switch back to this store if we continue to get deals like these.

All shopped out

Maybe the reason we didn't shop this weekend is because I was tired of hunting for bargains after all the grocery shopping I did. In case you didn't know, the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving and Christmas are great for stocking up on groceries. There are usually more coupons in the paper and there are also lots of sales. Combine the two and you can save lots of money on staples. I didn't do as well as I did during the great pasta stockpile of 2010 when I got everything for free or 50 cents/lb or less. But I did get salsa for free and chicken broth for 25 to 50 cents a can, and some canned soup for emergency meals (free). About half of that savings was coupons and the other half was store club member savings. I really dislike having to join store clubs just to save $, but if I don't join, I feel like I'm getting ripped off. I'm pretty sure I'm skewing their statistics because I buy my fruits and vegetables at other stores where the selection is better and cheaper.

My second trip to the store I didn't save quite as much, but on the other hand, I was running out of room in the pantry.
I'm sure there will be more great sales before Christmas so keep an eye out for the ads.

Panic in the pantry

A few months ago, I checked our cupboards and we were down to two jars of pasta sauce (my go-to meal when I don't feel like cooking) and (gasp!) no pasta. How could an Italian run out of pasta? No, I'm not Italian, but I happen to be married to one.

Here's how an Italian runs out of pasta: when I ask Mr. Fix-it to choose a pasta for dinner, but he doesn't tell me he opened the last box, that's how. Plus it hasn't been on sale for a while. You know I can't pay full price for pasta (for anything really).

But now the pasta crisis is over. Sales + coupons = awesome savings. I'm not such a good couponer that I got all this for free, but anytime I can get pasta for 50 cents (or less) a pound, I'm happy.
That's the shaped pasta. That shelf is now full. The spaghetti-type pasta is stored in a different cupboard:
I think we're set for a while, especially since I bought a few more boxes since I took those photos. Now I'm panicking about where I can store all of this, especially since I've also stocked up on pasta sauce.

Passed on the blueberries again

They were only 99 cents for 4 oz. That's a great price, but again, these were from Chili. I can't wait until "local" blueberries are available. I put local in quotes because I'm willing to buy them if they're trucked in from another state. Obviously, I'm not on jumping on the locavorian wagon yet. And I bought veggies that weren't local, but I justified that with the thought they looked fresher than the local stuff and I'm making food to take to my BIL's for the last family dinner before my other BIL leaves. Baby steps, or maybe it is one step forward and then another step back.

Photos 16-18 Stocking up

We went to the Chinese grocery store since we were out that way for other reasons and lots of stuff was on sale since Chinese New Year is only a month away. I bought three kinds of oyster sauce: vegetarian, which I like for the milder flavor, the expensive stuff on the right (Mom and W say to buy the one with the colorful label with the kids in the boat, that's how I remember, lol), and a bottle that a lady in the aisle recommended. She said it wasn't as good as the expensive stuff, but almost as good, so I thought I'd try it.

Twenty pounds of rice. Never had this brand before, but it is one of the more expensive bags. On sale it was less expensive than everything else so I thought I'd try it. And then some multigrain rice. Supposedly, it it healthy and good for you. It wasn't something I'd normally buy, but it was 50% off and Mr. Fix-it was game to try it so it went into the cart too.

Overdoing it

I'm frantically trying to clean house for my house guest this week, so lots of straightening up, vacuuming, dusting, and even some tossing. I need to put away my personal papers (bank statements, pay statements, etc.), not that this person would deliberately look for this stuff, but the reality is, we don't get guests that often so we leave a lot of personal stuff out until we get around to filing it...months later, lol.

Add to that a stressful job (too much computer time), more gardening, and then a cooking marathon (more on that later), and my arm is killing me. So why am I on the computer again? Typing doesn't hurt, like mousing does. Besides, I'm giving the rest of my body a break. How's that for an excuse? And haven't you been anxiously awaiting a new blog post?

As for the cooking marathon, the special of the day at the grocery store was 15 pounds of potatoes for $1.49. So of course we bought a bag. Normally, I'd cook up a huge batch of mashed potatoes and freeze it, but there isn't any room in the freezer. I stocked up during Frozen Food month (March) and have yet to make a dent in what's there. Plus there's the usual stock and stock fixings and yes, I need a freezer. But that costs money. And takes up space. And we don't have extras of either.

Back to the potatoes...so far I've made potato salad, a casserole (to be baked for dinner tonight), and I've got soup simmering on the stove. And I've still got half the bag. Anyone want to come over and peel some potatoes?

Frugality gone too far

The other day, I was in the produce section pricing cherry tomatoes. I like the little ones that you can just pop in your mouth as a snack, so cute! so yummy! I know that tomatoes aren't in season, but still, I was in the mood for tomatoes. I wanted some for my salad. I wanted some to snack on. I wanted something bright and cheery and fresh for my dinner. But they were $3.99. For a few ounces. I don't pay that much for a steak; how could I pay that much for tomatoes? In a few months, hopefully, I'll have more tomatoes than I know what to do with. $3.99? Outrageous! So I passed on the tomatoes and I wish I didn't. Really, I can afford $3.99 right? So why couldn't I spend the money? Because they weren't on sale? Because I didn't have a coupon? Because I know I'll be getting them for "free" in a couple months? If I can't buy food that I want, when I want, that I can afford, maybe I have a problem. At least that's what Mr. Fix-it thinks.

Couponing

I need to rethink my couponing strategy. I usually cut out all the coupons, then sort them among the many people I share them with, then finally, I file mine. I'm finding that takes too long; it can take more than a week to do all that (I usually cut/sort in the car when we're going somewhere or when I'm watching TV). I'm finding that I've given away coupons that I could have used (oops, no free granola bars for me) or I end up with multiples when I only need one or two.

One "problem" is my FIL gives me his coupons, but he doesn't get them to me for a week or two or three, after I've cut and sorted my own set. By then, some are close to their expiration date. Do I still clip and send? I hate seeing coupons go to waste. But on the other hand, my time is valuable too. And Mr. Fix-it is really tired of seeing coupons all over the house.

I'm wondering if keeping coupons in their flyers is a better way to go. A lot of coupon hounds recommend that. But then, do I take the whole stack to the store when I shop? A lot of times, I'll find something on sale or clearance and there's no way I could find a coupon in a stack. My coupon box is so much more organized.

I can't stop couponing because it saves us so much money (even though I'm not as good as a lot of you). But really, this is driving me crazy, even stressing me out. Isn't that stupid? All over a few cents and some scraps of paper.

Photo 62/365 Groceries

Life cereal x4
Quaker oatmeal x2
Breakfast sausage
Oral B floss x2
Oral B toothbrush x2
Pillsbury pizza crust x2
Pillsbury Italian loaf x2
Lentils x2
Spinach
Salad mix
newpaper

Total $16.36

Nothing was free (so I'm not as good as some of you CVSers or coupon hounds), but everything was on sale or on clearance except for the newspaper. And there's even some healthy stuff in there, lol. I'm pretty impressed that the cereal/oatmeal's final price was 50 cents each after sales/coupons. The regular price on the cereal/oatmeal is over $4/box. Why would anyone shop without coupons or not check what's on sale? Since it's the end of the month, I was leaving soon-to-expire coupons all over the store. Hopefully they will save someone some money (and not make a mess and work for the clerks).

Adventures in grocery shopping

That's what it's starting to feel like with the rising price of food. Last week, we went to Big Lots because everything was 20% off. I originally went to look for scrapbook supplies (they had Basic Grey!) and some tank tops that they carry sometimes. No luck on either of them, but we ended up getting a lot of groceries. I was thrilled to get canned veggies for 26 to 46 cents each. Some pasta that I like to add to soups for 26 cents. We ended up spending around $30, but now our pantry is even more well stocked. Isn't it crazy to go grocery shopping at Big Lots?

Today, I finally went back to the local chain grocery store. Last month they changed their coupon policy and now will only double coupons up to $1.00 in value. For various reasons, I hadn't been back since the new policy. This week they had another special, buy 10 of certain items and get $5 back. I diligently checked the ad and my coupons, made my list, and off we went. Boy, was it a lot of work. They're advertising their lower prices (to offset the coupon change) with yellow signs. And the buy 10 specials with yellow signs. And the buy 3 specials (which I didn't need) with yellow signs. And their sale prices with yellow signs. Is it any wonder I was confused? I ended up buying only 9 of the 10 needed items, even though I thought I bought 11. I must not have been the only person this happened to because the clerk told me to go ahead and get the other items for the special and she'd adjust my total (this was after I had checked out and realized what happened). She even had a special sheet to scan to fix the difference. That sure was a lot of work to save $15.

I'm going to have rethink our grocery shopping. I got a lot more food at Big Lots for same amount of money, but of course, none of it was fresh. The ethnic markets I like to shop at aren't too convenient. The natural food store doesn't have a huge selection of staples, but the produce section and meat sections are good (though the meat selections are limited). So where should I shop? Do I shop where it is convenient? Where it is cheapest? Right now, I've got enough cucumbers and tomatoes to last another couple weeks. Should I grow more of our food? I really hate this, feeling like I can't afford to eat well.

Never send a man to do the grocery shopping

Yes, I know that's a sexist title, but it got your attention, right?

We didn't go grocery shopping this weekend so were running low on a few things. Plus there were some awesome sales on instant oatmeal and I had coupons. I was going to shop before work, but Mr. Fix-it wasn't working so I decided to send him instead.

First, a little background on the oatmeal. I'm not a huge oatmeal fan, but I've been eating it for breakfast because it is cheap and high in fiber. Normally, I use plain, regular oatmeal, you know, the kind you cook over the stove, except I cook it in the microwave at work. For convenience (and a flavor treat), I like to keep some of the instant oatmeal around. I found this awesome new multi-grain hot cereal by Quaker, Simple Harvest. Unfortunately, it is way more expensive than the regular instant oatmeal. For the sale, with my coupon, it would be free!!! Yahoo!

I only like certain instant oatmeal flavors: cinnamon, brown sugar, pecans, or combinations thereof. Sooo, what do he get? Vanilla almond. Yuck! (yes, I tried one and don't like it.) And reduced sugar brown sugar. Another yuck! Mr. Fix-it didn't realize he bought a reduced sugar version, which I refuse to eat. (Maybe I'll post about that later.) Luckily, I found a coworker who took the reduced sugar version off of my hands. Mr Fix-it will eat one package of the vanilla almond and will try to exchange the other. Grrrr, and I thought it was such a simple request.