If you haven't downloaded WalMart's mobile app yet you should! They have recently started this program called Savings Catcher. All you do is scan your receipt and they look at all the competitors' ads in your area and see if there are lower prices for the things you purchased. If a competitor has a lower price WalMart will refund you the difference plus tax. I have only scanned in about 8 receipts and already have gotten $13 refunded! It's nice because they do the ad-matching for you!
Original Post:
I love saving money! Really who doesn't? There are so many tips and tricks to living on a budget. One way I really try to save money is by couponing and ad matching. Garett and I love food and we don't want to sacrifice things we love like fresh produce and meat just because we are on a very tight budget!
I'm not like those ladies on that Extreme Couponing show that have binders and binders of coupons and come away from the store with a hundred free TV dinners! A) Those things will kill you and B) we have a tiny freezer. You can still eat healthily on a budget! That being said here are a few tools I use to keep the pantry stocked and the grocery budget down:
1. If you live in Utah, Savvyshopperdeals.com is your best friend! These ladies do all the work for you! They take all the local ads, compare them and list all the best deals. Now remember, Wal-Mart ad matches, so just take your list of deals with you and they will match the price at the register. Also, if one of the best deal items listed has a coupon in circulation Savvy Shopper includes the link to it. This saves me so much money! My average savings per grocery trip is 45%. (If you don't live in Utah this website can still help; they also list deals from a lot of national chains as well.)
2. Did you know that only 3% of all coupons put in circulation are redeemed?! Coupons are awesome! If you get your local paper hoard those coupons! If you don't get the paper use the internet. No matter where you live these coupon websites can help you save a lot of money. Click on the icon to visit the website.
When you combine coupons with sales lots of money can be saved! In Utah County every Tuesday Wal-Mart will double your coupon up to $1.00. But you can't double a couple on an ad-matched item.
Find out coupon policies in your area. Most stores have their policies somewhere on their website.
3. Make meal plans! Trust me I hate this but it cuts down on waste like nobody's business. I plan meals for two weeks that are somewhat centered around similar ingredients. For example, my last meal plan was a Mexican/Thai themed plan. Usually when I buy cilantro I use a few stems and the rest gets forgotten and wasted. But with this meal plan I had 6 different recipes that called for cilantro so it all got used! Same with the peppers and onions I bought. I didn't have ziplocks with partials of either left over and forgotten in the fridge.
4. When something you use a lot is on sale (if you have a coupon too even better) stock up! If you find an outrageous sale take advantage of it if it is something you will use. For example, cereal is what we do for breakfast. It is fast and easy. But it isn't the cheapest option for breakfast for sure. Recently all the local stores had a big cereal sale for General Mills, Kellogg's and Quaker cereals. I found coupons for all three brands as well. These cereals at Wal-Mart range from $3 to $4 per box! They were on sale for $1.88 and I had $0.55/per box coupons! So I got all our favorite, healthy cereals for $1.33/per box. Sales that awesome don't come around that often. And the stars were aligned just right because coupons for all the sale cereals were in circulation too! I stocked up as much as I could! We won't have to buy cereal for a couple of months! Now I just need to find an awesome deal on milk....
5. Coupons aren't just for food! Most retail stores have coupons! Kohl's, Joann's, Bath and Body Works and so many more! Retailmenot.com is amazing! It lists coupons, codes and sales for pretty much any store/restaurant you could think of. Groupon and Living Social are amazing as well!
6. DIY is all the rage it seems these days! Honestly why buy it if you can do it yourself for a fraction of the price? I must say that Pinterest is the mecca of DIYers. If you walk into my home almost everything you see was inspired by Pinterest. If you haven't discovered it yet, please, please click on the icon below. Being a stay-at-home mom can be crazy but DIY projects help me keep my sanity.
Summary:
- The best thing to do is plan ahead and know what deals are happening in your area! Whether it is groceries or entertainment! For example, every Tuesday our local theater does $5 tickets all day, so we do our date night Tuesday night if we want to see a movie.
- Use coupons whenever possible! However, don't get sucked into buying something you don't really need just because you have a coupon for it! Coupons can be huge budget busters if you aren't careful!
- If you can live without it either don't buy it or wait until it goes on sale! My husband loves Nutella but it isn't cheap. He doesn't think he can live without it so I make him wait until it is on sale. Delayed gratification..... mawhaha.
- If you can DIY do it! Not only will you save money, you can also say "Yeah I created that masterpiece!"
Once you start down the money saving road it is addicting. It really kills me to pay full price for anything and my preference is to do it myself if I can. It was hard going from a working woman to a stay-at-home mom. Sometimes I feel like I'm not contributing to our financial well being and that irks me. However, I discovered that a penny saved is a penny earned. Every time I go grocery shopping and save 45% that is money I keep in our bank account. That helps me feel like I am contributing financially!
Life on a budget doesn't have to be a life of misery! If you manage your money wisely and are a savvy shopper you can still enjoy the little luxuries of life like weekly date nights, red meat for dinner, and so much more! The scripture that summarizes this page perfectly is Jacob 6:5; "O be wise; what can I say more?"
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