When we had four kids at home and not a lot of cash to spare, I saved money on groceries by couponing and shopping sales. My grocery bill was always minimal and I always had plenty of food around. Jeff kind of hated it it but was always impressed when he would go to the store with me and I would pay two dollars for a bag full of food.
I was a super-couponer before it was popular. I can't even do it the way these young moms do it these days, all the websites and store rewards programmes make it more complicated than I care to deal with. But, thanks to the omnipresent (in our part of the world, anyway) Grocery Outlet, I find bargains galore and my cupboards are fully stocked all the time. I have come to the point where I really need to use up my supplies before they get so old that even I won't use them. Every time I think I am making progress on that front, I run across another great buy and I'm back to square one.
Case in point, my fridge.
Freezer on top of the fridge, where it has become hazardous to open the door for fear of being hit by falling frozen objects.
Pantry. Similar risk of falling objects.
Second freezer, full to the gills.
Closet in spare room, full of long-term storage but also some things that need to be eaten.
Closet in Jeff's cave, with buckets of wheat and other long-term storage.
Because I have no willpower for ignoring bargains when I shop, I decided the only way to fix this is to do it cold turkey and not shop for a month, starting yesterday. I think that we can survive easily without shopping for that long and I will be able to make a good-sized dent in my excess. I plan to eschew stores completely, not just grocery stores. Amazon will also suffer from a loss of my patronage.
I barter for milk and eggs, and I often find free fruit and vegetables at the local senior centre, so that should keep me supplied with enough fresh things to keep me happy, along with berries, rhubarb, and salad greens from my garden. I am also allowing myself to buy used things if I happen to run across something I need, but I'm not going to visit thrift stores or garage sales, so it's unlikely to happen.
It will be interesting to see what tempts me, although I plan to stay well away from my favourite couponing websites. There have already been a couple of challenges:
1. Jeff has been hankering after some new cowboy boots and Wilco put out a coupon for $70 off last week. Unfortunately, he was out of town till late Thursday and we have been busy with grandkids all weekend, so I told him he can go buy them without me tomorrow. A little cheat, I suppose, but he is happy to not suffer for my aspirations.
2. I need some more glue for my blinging of a bowling ball, so it may have to wait until September. Which is killing me, because I was on a creative roll.
Anyone have some spare E6000 around?
Good for you! I have a big food storage area in my basement, but it's not as full as it used to be. It seems to be harder to get good coupons lately. You're way better at this than I am!
ReplyDeleteI like sending TG to Kroger almost every day for groceries. xoxo
ReplyDeleteHoly smokes woman! You have a ton of food!
ReplyDelete