So today's post builds on the post from yesterday about frugality.
Luis and I have an ongoing debate about our different shopping styles. Luis likes to carefully plan out everything in advance before shopping for everything, make a detailed list, and then stick to the list religiously.
I am quite the opposite. I like to go in to a store and see what's on sale and then my purchases off of that- especially when it comes to meal planning and clothing purchases.
Luis claims that I shop too impulsively and end up buying stuff I wouldn't have purchased with a list. I claim that I only buy things that I am going to use eventually (such as the INSANE deal I got on some fabric from JoAnns the other day shopping online with a free shipping coupon- over 10 yards of designer print fabrics for $30!!!) and that when you see a good deal on something that you're going to use, you should take advantage of it.
I think that I don't like to be restricted to carefully planned out shopping lists and I enjoy the thrill of the hunt. I think Luis doesn't like the unplanned and erratic nature of my shopping trips because it's difficult to know in advance what I'm going to spend.
I don't think there's a right or wrong way to bargain shop and since it's not a source of any major conflict in our marriage I don't think either of us will be changing our stripes soon. I'm interested to hear your opinions on the matter, though. I have been thinking about this a lot lately and my friend Margot got me thinking further on the subject when she blogged about coupon clipping earlier this week. I'm the QUEEN of finding cheap deals on major purchases like furniture, autos, plane tickets, electronics, etc. but how do you all cut back on the day-to-day stuff? What do you do to reduce and reuse at home?
I think I'm probably going to be blogging about this for a while, because I think as younger adults in today's economy our financial future is something that concerns most of us. I would like to extend an open invitation to all of you to send me your money-saving tips and tricks.
The topic for my next post is probably going to be meal planning and shopping. Please send me your tips on how to save on the family food budget. Do you clip coupons? Do you subscribe to a grocery website (you know the kind that comparison shop and then list which stores have the best deals)? I'd appreciate any input you might have. I'm actually thinking of setting up a themed blog to address the topic of penny pinching on a broader scale.
3 comments:
I personally have a hard time playing the coupon game because it takes so much time and organization, both of which I tend to be quite wanting in. However, when I do take time to sit down, find ALL the good coupons, make a strict shopping list and meal plan accordingly, I end up saving a lot of money. Last month I got nearly $200 worth of groceries for just under $100! That is huge for me. I wish I was better at the coupon game.
I often, however, feel I could save more money if I had more money. Lately things have been so tight that it's been about a month since I really went all out grocery shopping, as opposed to making shorter trips for the few things we absolutely HAVE to have. I find it harder to coupon and price compare and wait for the good deals this way.
One thing I absolutely will not cut is my brand name diapers. In the interest of cutting costs I have bought store brand diapers when they are on really good sale at a couple stores in the past month or so. I have (once again) re-learned my lesson. I buy Pampers. Huggies will do, but I am Pampers mom. They cheaper ones leak much more and fall apart more. They don't make it through the night. After nearly three weeks straight of Janie waking up early because her diaper has leaked and her pajamas are wet, I went out and bought a pack of Pampers for overnight use. The headache of early rising plus all the extra laundry (new, clean pj's and sheets and blankets every single morning really gets old, and expensive, fast) was too much to bear any longer.
Anyway, I think I am just rambling now. I don't know that I added anything or answered any of your questions. But yes, finances are a constant cause of stress and concern for me and mine and we are trying to cut back as much as we can. It's not easy.
Hey, that's me! Cool.
I know I've written on my blog about my price book and shopping lists, so I won't go into too much detail on that. I will add that I always have a handful of vague items on the list just because I don't know everything that's on sale. For instance produce, discount meat, and food storage item are always on my list. That gives me a little more flexibility, but keeps me focused so I don't go crazy nuts and buy stuff we don't need.
Another thing we do is eat everything we buy. We have regular leftover nights and have gotten quite creative in the ways that we combine the food in our fridge to make sure everything gets eaten. This cuts our grocery bill down considerably.
Random question: I know that you garden. I just found out that I can rent a garden plot (10'x30') in our condo complex. I'm going to do it, but I have never had a garden before and am totally clueless about what to do or not to do. How about a how-to post on gardening? It could be another in this series about frugality.
Taking a calculator to the grocery store is a big help for me so I can pare things down before I get surprised with a big total.
Meal planning is HUGE! I am terrible at it but I still try. I think the key to meal planning is finding ways to use the same ingredients/leftovers for future meals including lunches. I've actually considered trying to develop some software to help with this (something that would come with some stock recipes, but you could plug in your own, then you could put in whatever things you need to use up that week and choose a few meals that you want to make and the program would offer suggestions of other meals that would allow you to use leftovers, same ingredients etc and then print out organized shopping lists). Maybe this already exists...but if not I would LOVE it!
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