Thrifty Thursdays: Savvy Grocery Savings

I'm always looking for ways to stretch my dollar. Below are some tips that I use to get the best value at the grocery store.

1. Bagged/Pre-cut lettuce, cabbage or salad - You pay for the convenience and you have to ask yourself, how fresh or nutritious is something that has been pre-cut? A head of romaine lettuce much cheaper and it really doesn't take that much time to wash it yourself.
2. Specialty coffee by the cup - Let's take Starbucks for example, most of their coffees are between $2 - $4.50. If you figured $3 a cup five times a week that adds up to $15! If I buy the ground coffee and make it for myself, it costs it costs about $2.75 for an 11 oz. can of Reveille; which lasts me at least a month. 
3. Lunch - If you don't brown bag it, you probably can expect to spend $6 (modest figure) for a lunch. Add that up over the course of the month and it tallies up to $120 for one person in addition to what you already spend on family groceries. I do my best to send Andy with a brown bag lunch every workday. It doesn't cost me that much extra to make slightly larger supper so Andy has leftovers for work the next day. We also invested in a few microwave safe dishes which have already paid for themselves. 
4. Microwave oatmeal - Not only is this particular item a bad value (cost vs. serving size/amount of servings) as well as limited in it's use, it also is high in sodium and sugar. A big canister of quick oats is much more useful and cooks nearly as quickly as microwave oatmeal without the bad for you additives. It's uses are only limited by your imagination; apple crisp topping, oatmeal cookies, baked oatmeal, breakfast oatmeal and so much more! Plus it's high on value at $2.70 for a large container. 
5. Plan ahead - Plan your menu around what is on sale for that particular week. Try to avoid paying full price for big ticket items such as meat. Also, making a menu and shopping list can save you money in more ways than one. Not only can you evade distractions from the things you don't need, you can also make sure you get everything for that week in one trip. Avoid making extra runs to the grocery store to pick up odds and ends; you will save time and gas money. Imagine you live thirty miles in the middle of nowhere and it will encourage you to get all your shopping done in one trip. ;)

While shopping, I really try to consider what I'm buying not only in terms of price but also in health costs as well. As much as is possible I try to avoid pre-packed food or frozen meals. These items are expensive and they often have high amounts of sodium and a plethora of ingredients listed on the back that I can't pronounce. Happy shopping!

The Revolutionary Homemaker,

Sara