I’m heading to the grocery store today so I thought I’d jot down the ways I save to help you save, too. In order to save the most money, I do the following:

1. I research sales and print coupons for specific items on my list from the Internet. I’m on CouponCabin’s grocery page right now!

2. I sort other store coupons that I have on hand and put the ones that I’ll use aside to take with me.

3. Once at the store, I take note of the sales and stock up on sale items. If something is on my list that is NOT on sale, I’ll keep that item on the list for next time. Usually I keep a few backups of each item so it could wait if need be. If an item is on sale AND I have a coupon, I’ll buy extra of those.

4. I plan my menu for the week before I leave for the store. This way, I am not aimlessly buying and the chances that fresh produce will spoil is decreased.

5. I cook dinner, from scratch, usually 4-6 times per week and have a night or two of leftovers. I usually cook slightly more than necessary in order to have enough for leftover night. This not only thrills me, but it ensures that all the ‘bits and pieces’ of leftover dinners don’t go to waste!

6. Many times, in order to avoid waste, I’ll also turn one dinner into another dinner. For example, baked chicken and all of the odds and ends of steamed vegetables can easily be made into chicken vegetable soup!

Additional things that I do to save are:

• I have four chest freezers to store my large bulk purchases of meat and grocery items. I freeze anything from cheese to milk and everything in between! When it’s on sale, I stock up and my freezers are ready to store it.
• I only do a large grocery shop about every 4-6 weeks at Whole Foods or Wegmans -mainly because we live a good distance from either store.
• In between, I buy fresh produce at my local grocery store. I try not to go too often because typically I buy things we don’t need instead of sticking to that ‘quick’ fresh produce list!

I look at saving money on groceries and food as a challenge. I love to calculate how much I’ve saved and how healthy, yet inexpensively, I can feed my family. Hope these tips help you save too. Happy shopping, cooking and feeding! See below for some great grocery, food and kitchen coupons!

- K8