Operation $40K

I know I have talked alot about groceries so far...and HOW does that add up? Simple. One of the first things you do, when you want to save money, is to track where you are currently spending it. We spent $300 a month eating out...I know. UGH! That is $4,000 a year! All that money and nothing to show for it! Eating at home can save that money...so saving at the grocery store was the next logical step. $375 a month at the grocery store is another $4,500. By trimming $275 or so a month off my grocery store spending I save another $3,300! See how easy it was to save $7,300? That is about 1/5 of what I needed to save on this mission! Don't get me wrong, we DO still eat out. 1) I use my Tupperware Business to run a challenge for my team where they can earn a big dinner out with us every quarter...and then I get to deduct it on my business taxes, LOL! It also creates a fun sense of team and accomplishment for them - which is really priceless. 2) Hubby has a credit card that has "perk...

Meat is one of those items that rarely has a coupon...so, what do you do? Look for your grocery store selling cycle! Most stores have a 6 to 8 week cycle. What does this mean? This week ground beef is on sale for $1.69 a pound. It normally is $2.93 a pound. If you usually eat 1# a week, you need to invest in 8 pounds at that sale price. This will save you $9.92 on ground beef. $10 is $10 in my world, LOL! Just think of saving $80+ over 8 weeks on meat! The next week, whole chickens might be on sale for $.49 a pound when they are normally over $1.75 You can get a whole chicken for about $2.00, cook it off and harvest the meat. This should get you 2-3 pounds of meat which tastes a LOT better than the 8oz can of chicken for $3.00 **Just think of this: by using the sale pricing on whole chicken and cooking it off, that means the same amount of canned chicken would cost you $18 - you save $16!! (per chicken this week!!) We like chicken for tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, chicken chili, chic...

I talked last time about matching coupons up to the sales specials to drastically reduce your grocery bill...but WHERE do you get all those coupons????! First of all, subscribe to your Sunday newspaper. That $1.50/2.00 a week more than pays for itself when you get to double ONE $1 coupon! Add a few more, and then the grocery store circulars, it is really a publication that lets YOU be in control of your plan. This website is what I use to get a sneak peak at WHAT coupons will be coming out on Sunday, so I know if I need to get more than one paper: http://www.sundaycouponpreview.com/ If you don't want to get more than one paper, you could always "buy" the coupons. Keep in mind that selling coupons is illegal so many sites don't sell them, they charge you a "handling" fee. (LOL) The site I often go to for additional coupons is --> http://www.thecouponclippers.com They ship pretty quickly and usually have what I am looking for. There is also the world of pr...

This can be a fast way to fix a budget...setting a goal for what NOT to spend at the store to feed the family. I have been averaging $100 a month and that feeds the 3 of us along with a cat and a dog. There are so many tricks out there to pinch pennies at the store being shared these days...I am a huge fan of matching coupons to sales specials, but only on double coupon day! Only one store chain around here doubles coupons - Roundy's. That means I make a weekly forray to the local Copp's store every Wednesday. You really need to know your own store's policy before you attempt this...how many will they double? How high a value will they accept for doubling? Can you "stack" manufacturing coupons along with store coupons? Here is an example of yesterday's trip: Quaker Oats were on sale from $2.85 to $1.49. There was a store coupon to bring them down to $.98. I had a $.50 coupon that was doubled so I actually got paid $.02 to put that in my cart and take it home. ...