Southern Illinois Money Savers

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Being a super simple saver is sometimes tempting to me and who knows one day I may find myself making that choice.

I am sure there are many of you out there that just do not have the time and energy to get coupons, clip coupons, sort coupons, research deals, shop several stores a week and then next week do it all over again.  Maybe you work fulltime out of the house, maybe you have little ones and your time is better spent being with them.  Whatever your situation may be you know that you need the very simplest method to cut back on your grocery/household bill.

1) Find one or two stores to do most or all of your shopping at. If you are trying to be as simple as possible I would go for the closest stores too.
2) Choose the store that would get you the most savings even without coupons. If you are already very familiar with your local stores it shouldn’t be hard to decide which to choose as your main stores.  If you aren’t then I suggest asking your friends and family, visitng your local stores and checking out their weekly fliers.  I I was to become a Super Simple Saver my choices would be Aldi and Kroger.

3)  Set Your Budget:  Before you head out to shop you need to have some idea of how much money you want to spend.  Before I started couponing I spent 300+ a payday (2 weeks) on groceries and household items.  When I actually started couponing I set my budget at $200 a payday.  That went very well.  At the beginning of 2010 I lowered my budget to $175 a payday, however I actually averaged $143 a month!  So I suggest that you start small, lower your budget just a little and when you realize you are always under budget drop it just a tiny bit more.  Whatever you do don’t drop it so low that you can’t possible attain it.  If you take things slow you will be able to whittle down your budget little by litte until you get to a number that works for your family.

4) Menu Plan: Writing out some type of Menu plan will be one of the major keys to staying within your budget.  Whether you plan weekly or monthly it will give your shopping trip direction.  If you are not using coupons and are only shopping one or two stores I higly recommend checking out that stores weekly flier so that you can plan your menu around their sales.  Before I started using a plan I just put anything in the cart that looked good and that was not good for my budget.

5)  Writing the List: Finally the shopping list is just as important as the menu plan.  A list will keep you on track when you head to the store.  It will ensure that you purchase all the items you need to feed your family that week.  Without a list I find myself forgetting items that are essential to make it through the week then I find myself heading back to the store.  Those trips back to the store always seem to cost more than I plan which is not good for my budget.

Just by following these few simple steps anyone can lower their grocery budget.  The amount that you save will depend on your dilligence to keep track of your weekly menu, follow your shopping list and to focus on your stores weekly sales.