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Community > Helping Hand > Grocery Couponing Questions

July 10, 2012

adjswife

  • Joined: Jul 2012

A little coupon/budget guidance needed

Hi everyone! A little history – I started couponing about a year ago when my husband went back to school and I was completely bored and needed a hobby in the evenings, plus I needed to start saving money because the career change was also going to mean a pay-cut for him.

In the beginning I was very diligent about couponing – I would do matchups for all of the local stores and I would make my lists and I would go to all of the local stores. I saved a lot of money and built up quite a stockpile.

Over the past few months (shortly after he finished school), I found myself slacking and only going to one store. I also found myself not really wanting to lug that giant 4” binder around, so I would pull out coupons I thought I’d use and leave the binder in the car.

Since I’m not going to all the stores I was before, I find myself grocery shopping once a week spending on average $75 per visit. That may not seem like a lot per week – but – there are only 2 of us in our family.

Any advice for getting back in the swing of couponing?

How often do you guys grocery shop? Once a week, once a month?

Also, I really need help starting a budget because I feel like $300 a month for 2 people is really high – even if a lot of it consists of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Any suggestions? Anything?

Thanks in advance!!
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July 10, 2012

BlinkieApp

  • Joined: Jun 2012

1 of 1 people found the following reply helpful:

Re: A little coupon/budget guidance needed

Do you feel like you've lost your "drive" for couponing? Sounds like lessening that budget will be what motivates you. A couple things I would suggest:

1. Shop locally and in season for your produce to save the most there. If you can get produce from a local farmer's market, that will help you save and focus your efforts on just getting produce that is in season.

2. If you are going to stick to just one store, shop the sales cycles along with using coupons, and make sure you buy a 4-6 week supply of the things you need when they are on sale so that they get you to the next sale cycle. Those cycles are usually always 4--6 weeks, so if you can make it so that you don't have to get those items when they are not on sale, you'll be doing really well.

3 Try to eliminate as many processed foods as you can, as these are what will really cut into your budget and don't provide a lot of nutritional value. Instead focus your money on produce, meats, bread (whole grain if possible), and dairy. The more you can make items from scratch at home, the more you will save. ie. Instead of buying a box of waffles or pancakes, make them from scratch at home.

It's these small changes that can really help reduce your budget. Here's a great video that talks about Meal Planning and the Fast Five Meals concept...these are really great for helping you reduce your budget while also planning healthier meals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swiFwnP-I…
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July 12, 2012

NikNac

  • Joined: Jun 2012

1 of 1 people found the following reply helpful:

Re: A little coupon/budget guidance needed

On a budget shopping definitely takes planning, I am a family of two also. We are in a financial crunch right now and our grocery budget is about $25 a week. It's depressing but couponing has made it doable.

I live within a few blocks of a Family Dollar, Dollar General and Giant Eagle. I do the majority of my shopping at GE but I always pick up the free stuff at FD & DG. Free stuff makes me happy, even if I don't use the stuff I have a nice collection of baby things, razors, make up, cleaning supplies and things I plan on wrapping up into baskets and giving as Christmas Gifts.

I think once you start bringing home the deals and freebies that coupon switch in your brain with light up again and you will be right back into the grove.

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July 29, 2012

savingwithshellie

  • Joined: Oct 2009

Re: A little coupon/budget guidance needed

I had that problem too. I had stair-step babies and it's hard to get out to multiple stores, pay attention to my transaction with a 7 month old and a not quite 2 year old in tow. It's easier to just go to the grocery close to my house and spend more. I pretty much threw the budget out the window until my husband said it was out of control. So I started back in just baby steps. For two weeks I just made a menu plan. That eliminated those last minute trips. I looked at how much I was spending those two weeks and it was about the same amount: $80. So the next two weeks I challenged myself to get down to $75. The two weeks later, $70. I was now 6 weeks in and my next goal was to shop 2 stores. I go to my main grocery store and maybe a drugstore or Target or another local grocery store. Just doing that helped me get the budget down into the $60 range. I've been shopping 2 stores most weeks and spending about $60 now for about 8 weeks. So just do baby steps to work yourself back into it so it becomes fun again and not a chore.
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July 31, 2012

bargainshoppermom

  • Joined: Sep 2010

Re: A little coupon/budget guidance needed

I agree that they best way is to break it into small steps. Also meal planning is huge. Be sure to plan your meals for the week using the produce and meat that is on sale. Just doing that can save you a ton of money. Then start to work on using coupons again to build up your stockpile of basics and non perishables.

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August 1, 2012

ThriftyTiff

  • Joined: Sep 2010

Re: A little coupon/budget guidance needed

My tips for saving on groceries without even touching coupons is to start a Price Book. I have mine posted here: http://thriftytiff.com/lowering-your-gro… Basically a spreadsheet of the top items I buy regularly and how much I pay. This will help you to recognize your sale cycle at the store you shop at, and you will start to know when a sale is really a deal! Also, Like already stated, Meal Planning is huge! Make a needs vs wants list. Think of everything you, and sort them into a needs column and a wants column. Try slowly shedding off a want item at a time, maybe let those be treats you only purchase when at rock bottom price!

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August 2, 2012

adjswife

  • Joined: Jul 2012

Re: A little coupon/budget guidance needed

Thanks so much for all the help! I really do appreciate all of your replies and I am going to give meal planning another shot (I tried it and it only lasted about 2 days ...lol). Thrifty Tiff, I love that spreadsheet idea and I cannot wait to start doing one for myself!

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August 28, 2012

ThriftyNWMom

  • Joined: Sep 2010

Re: A little coupon/budget guidance needed

I have gone through some valleys in my coupon usage too. I think its important to let coupons fit in with your lifestyle, so you don't burn out completely. One thing I did to help me get back on the bandwagon was to take Sundays to make a list of the deals I wanted to get at the stores that week. I would pick up what I could, but not be too hard on myself if I did not get every single deal. By keeping the list in my purse, I would be prepared to grab the best deal whenever I happened to find myself in the store. I also find that if I plan one or two good coupon shopping trips a month, and then just shop wisely on my other shopping trips it helps me to get back into the couponing groove, without burning me out.

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October 5, 2012

debtfreespending

  • Joined: Jun 2011

Re: A little coupon/budget guidance needed

I am totally in the same boat. I think sometimes you need to start back into it slowly. Sometimes you just can't jump in with both feet. There have been several times where I've stopped only to find a mountain of coupons piling up and not being used. Sometimes when I get behind like that, I ask my mom and my husband to help me cut and sort, which takes away that feeling of having to do it all by myself. Another way would be to have a coupon cutting party to get caught up, which helps you have fun while you're clipping!
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