How to save hundreds of dollars on groceries without clipping coupons
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:date: 2012-03-03 19:54
:author: Russell Ballestrini
:tags: Greatest Hits, Opinion
:slug: how-to-save-hundreds-of-dollars-on-groceries-without-clipping-coupons
:status: published
:summary:
  Jenn explains how she drastically decreased our grocery bill.

**This is the first time I've had a guest blogger on my site. It may
sound campy but my wife Jenn wrote this article after explaining how our
grocery bill decreased so drastically.**

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**How to save hundreds of dollars on groceries without clipping
coupons**

I was recently re-working the cabinets of the kitchen, anticipating a
new and organized year. With a growing family and limited space, I
decided to do some consolidating.

I allocated a whole section of cabinet space to arts and craft supplies
for the kids (play-doh, paints, etc), and another to bottles and
formula. I suddenly realized that my food products remained scattered
across the counter and there was only one lonely cabinet left to fill.

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Among the food items on the counter, many were far expired, forgotten in
the dusty back corners of the cabinets. I thought to myself “Hey! I
worked hard to find coupons and sales for all these things.” and I
regretfully filled a garbage bag with old food.

I had been clipping coupons and striving to match the savings of super
couponers. These couponers, featured on popular reality shows, often
recommend stock-piling when food items go on sale and you have coupons
to purchase them.

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I opened the refrigerator to find a similar and familiar situation: a
head of lettuce that had seen better days, a tomato that had lost it's
freshness, and other food items that were past the date of recommended
consumption.

Looking into the garbage bag, I realized that... every week I was
wastefully throwing food and money away. I decided to make a commitment
that has cut my grocery bill in half! Do I still use coupons? YES, if
they fit into my weekly plan. Do I still look at the sale flyers?
ABSOLUTELY! But...

**These two strategies have saved me much more money:**

| **1. Cut down food storage spaces**
|  If you currently use 4 food cabinets try designating only 2. In my
  case I consolidated my food items to 1 cabinet. This consolidation
  saved money in two distinct ways:

-  *First,* I am easily able to assess which food items I have and when
   they expire. This helps prevent re-buying a product we already have
   at home (Remember the time you were at the grocery store buying all
   the ingredients for those chocolate chip cookies and couldn't
   remember if you had any brown sugar? Undoubtebly you re-bought,
   probably to discover you had a brand new, unopened package in the
   cabinet).
-  *Secondly,* it prevents stock piling. I can buy only what I need for
   the week ahead, after all, it is all I have room for. If you generate
   the sense that “my kitchen is full of food”, it eliminates the need
   to buy for the sake of filling the cabinets.

| **2. Let your menu dictate your shopping list**
|  My son complains “There are no more crackers." My husband sighs,
  “We're all out of bananas." My answer used to be probably a lot like
  yours “OK, I'll put it on my list." I had the perception that I
  constantly needed to replenish. It is unnecessary and wasteful to have
  three different brands of crackers, five types of cereal, and every
  kind of fruit known to the produce section. Without fail, I was
  throwing away money each week.

Instead, I sit down each week with two sheets of paper. One serves as
dinner menu for the week and the other as my shopping list. When
building my menu, I consider the sales and coupons I have on hand. If I
notice a great deal on pasta sauce, we might have spaghetti one night
and meatball subs another. I immediately begin a shopping list writing
ONLY items used for the companion menu. Additionally, I add two
breakfast choices and two lunch choices for the week if needed (some
breakfast items such as pancake batter or a family size box of cereal
often last longer). I also include 2 choices of fresh fruit or
vegetable. To reduce waste and cost I ONLY add the staples (eggs, milk,
and bread) when it is on the menu. If none of my breakfast, lunch, or
dinner choices call for bread, I skip that aisle for this trip.

**It took me only a few short weeks to notice that by cutting my food
storage space in half, and adopting a disciplined approach to menu and
list making, I had saved hundreds of dollars. I challenge you to cut
down your food storage spaces and let your menu dictate your shopping
list!**

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