The Budget Diet

The average family of four spends $800 – $1000 a month on food (groceries and eating out), so there’s plenty of room to cut costs!

Recently, I was working with a family on budgeting, and when I asked them how much they spent a month eating out, they answered, “about $200.” The next month, I had them write down everything they spent, and they were shocked to discover they actually spent $600 a month eating out! Those daily trips to Starbucks and drive-thru lunches really do add up!

You don’t have to stop eating out or become an extreme couponer to cut your food costs. I’ve come up with 14 ways to cut food costs, and I’m sure you’ll find a few that will fit your lifestyle.

1. Always plan meals, make a list and try to grocery shop once a week.
2. Buy store brands, this alone will cut your grocery bill by 25%!
3. Use TheGroceryGame.com to maximize your savings. The Grocery Game helps you combine coupons with sales for huge savings and even a few free items each week. You will save at least $50 a week!
4. Shop Costco or Sam’s for staples like milk, eggs, butter, cheese and sugar. This is where the real savings are. Check out the results of my field trip to Costco and Sam’s.
5. Stop buying bottled water! A case of bottled water is about $5 per week, $20 a month and $240 a year! Try a refillable bottle instead.
6. Buy seasonal produce for best taste and savings.
7. Did you know that Kroger sells rotisserie chickens for half price after 7:30? Stock up, chop up and freeze!
8. Eat out for less with deals from Restaurant.com, Groupon or discounted gift cards from PlasticJungle.com.



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

9. Discover all the Kids Eat Free offers.
10. Eat free on your birthday with a $30 gift certificate from Benihana’s! Check out the over 100 birthday freebies. Many of these offers not only send you a free coupon on your birthday, but will also send you a coupon the very day you sign up for the club AND at every one year anniversary of you signing up. Throw in all the free coupons they send around your birthday and you can get multiple meals a year for free because most offers do not require that you use them on your birthday.
11. Are you taking advantage of Report Card Freebies for free food?
12. Eat in, not out! Those everyday trips to the drive-thru quickly add up – $7 a day for lunch = $35 a week, $140 a month, $1820 a year! Could you brown bag it to work a few days?
13. Make your own Starbucks and save about $3 a day, $21 a week, $84 a month, $1008 a year!
14. Plant a garden and enjoy seasonal produce for a fraction of the cost.

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Image courtesy of: Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

If you are looking to save money when buying groceries or drugstore items, did you know being brand loyal could be a budget buster?

Consider this, when you are shopping for, let’s say canned tuna. Do you always buy the same brand just out of habit? Would you buy an alternative brand if it was on sale and you could save $.50 a can? Or better yet, what if you were able to pair up a sale and a coupon and get that item FREE. Would you then be willing to try another brand then?

Before I really started using coupons and sales to my advantage I often bought specific products that I had always used and many of them were typically less expensive brands. But after I started couponing I got to try a variety of high dollar name brand products that I wouldn’t have purchased otherwise. In most cases, I was able to get these products either free or almost free.

For example: I primarily used to purchase Suave haircare products because they were not only good but reasonably priced. I can now by haircare items from John Frieda , Herbal Essence, Finesse and the like. Getting them all for next to nothing, which is cheaper than the cost of the “less expensive” brand.

Having an open mind to trying other brands (and to save money) have allowed me to find products that really work well for me and my family. And it can work for you, too. With all that being said however, I realize there are definitely certain items you absolutely love and aren’t willing to compromise on and that is fine. But if for most of your shopping you are willing to get the best deal regardless of brand, you can and will save a ton of dough, which in turn will keep your budget intact.

Want more info? Learn My Top Ten Couponing Tips on how to get the best deals around.

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Written by: Amy Fields, ManyMoneySaversBlog.com

Amy is a full-time work-outside-the-home wife and mother of two, who loves to find great deals and share them with anyone who will listen. She is also the author and publisher of Many Money Savers Blog. A place to find freebies, specials and deals as well as great money saving & money making tips.

What’s for dinner? It’s a question our families ask us everyday, and if meal planning is stressing you out here’s a solution! I call it Meal Planning Made Simple – 7 Days, 7 Ways. It’s simply 7 ways to come up with dinner ideas, so you’ll add some variety to your meals and save money.

Did you know that meal planning and making a grocery list are two of the most important steps you can take to save time and money? Those everyday trips to the grocery waste time, gas and money. It may seem like just a quick 30 minute grocery trip, but if you’re doing it everyday…that’s 3 1/2 hours of grocery shopping a week!

Meal Planning Made Simple – 7 days, 7 ways!

• Check Your Calendar – each week before you plan your meals. Don’t try to plan an elaborate meal on a night when everyone is coming and going! How about crock pot dinner night? Try The Budget Diet’s recipes for Crock Pot BBQ or Crock Pot Red Beans & Rice

 

• Organize Your Recipes – take time to organize your recipes and revisit some old favorites! Maybe you want to make a list of your favorite recipes, so you can refer to it each week when your planning meals! It’s a menu planning cheat sheet!

 

• Try New Recipes – commit to trying 1 new recipe each week! If you’re a Food Network fan or you’re forever clipping recipes out of magazines…get cooking!

 

• Make Freezer Meals – get in the habit of doubling and freezing some of your recipes like casseroles and soups. At least once a week, you can look to the freezer for dinner and take a night off from kitchen duty! Freezer meals are especially good on busy nights, and if you’d like to learn more about freezer cooking check out these articles: Freezer Cooking aka Super Mom’s Dirty Little Secret and Season & Freeze Ground Beef

 

• Look at the Grocery Ads – the Wednesday newspaper is filled with grocery inserts, use these sale ads to spark dinner ideas and save money. If you notice that ground beef is on sale, maybe you should make chili! Try The Budget Diet’s Chili recipe

 

• Let Your Kids Do the Meal Planning – let each child plan dinner 1 night per week. They’ll love planning a meal with all their favorites! Even better, if they are old enough…check out my plan to let your kids do the cooking!
   

• Grill It – just because you’re in charge of meal planning, doesn’t mean you have to do all the cooking. Declare Saturday night grilling night, and let your husband do the cooking!

 

So, the next time you kids ask you what’s for dinner…impress them by pulling out the menu for the week!

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Image courtesy of: chawalitpix / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

guest post by:
Davian Masters

Davian Masters is a professional article writer and blogger who has written about pregnancy, diet, physical health, and social health topics for sites that sell wedding favors and baby shower favors. Below is an article about healthy super foods that anyone can afford.

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Healthy Super Food that Everyone Can Afford

Very often, people who feel uncomfortable with a change of diet use one simple argument – healthy foods cost too much. It is actually true that obesity levels among people having limited budgets are higher.

In fact, healthy foods are often simple and inexpensive items that can be purchased from any store. There is no need to purchase exotic items or specially-designed diet meals. Most fruits and vegetables are healthy super foods that everyone can afford.

These are some of the best and healthiest foods that can be purchased even if your budget is tight.

Broccoli
Broccoli is a healthy and inexpensive option. It can be consumed raw (in salads for example) or cooked in a number of ways.

Broccoli contains a number of important elements and vitamins. These include magnesium, vitamins K, C and A, fiber, potassium and phosphorus. People suffering from thyroid disorders should increase their broccoli intake, since the vegetable contains natural elements aiding the functioning of the gland.

Fresh Nuts
Almonds, walnuts, sesame seeds and other fresh nuts are probably one of the best types of super foods.

Almonds contain vitamin B, calcium and useful lipids. They provide the body with energy and are an excellent brain food.

Walnuts contain omega 3 fatty acids, copper and manganese. These nuts contain large amounts of antioxidants, which counter the action of the harmful free radicals. Walnuts improve the functioning of the cardiovascular system.

The walnut is another excellent type of brain food. To function properly, brain cells need omega 3 fatty acids that are mostly contained in walnuts and marine fish.

Baked Potatoes
You have probably heard that potatoes are not the healthiest of foods. This might be the case when it comes to French fries. Other preparation methods can turn potatoes into a healthy super food.

Baked potatoes decrease the level of bad cholesterol in the human body. They also aid the functioning of the digestive system and can be part of the diet of people experiencing stomach problems.

Cucumbers
All vegetables are healthy. The cucumber is one of the most inexpensive options available on the market.

Cucumbers are the vegetable that contains the largest percentage of water. They also contain vitamin C, vitamin A, potassium, manganese and fiber. They are also rich in the important mineral silica. Silica is an important component of connective tissue that improves the condition of bones, muscles and tendons.

Cucumber juice improves the complexion and health of skin.

Beans
Beans are an excellent source of proteins, antioxidants and folic acid. Beans can be cooked and bean sprouts are another healthy and affordable option.

The daily consumption of beans can diminish the level of bad cholesterol in blood, while simultaneously providing the body with various useful nutrients.

Most beans contain only two to three percent lipids, 20 percent proteins and large amounts of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates will provide your body with instantaneous energy boost. The fiber contained in beans aids digestion and the functioning of the intestines.

Super foods can be inexpensive. It is all about discovering the right ingredients and the right recipes. Preparation methods play very important role when it comes to keeping useful ingredients inside food. Get informed and learn more about the food you eat if you want to be preparing healthier meals.

The economy that is affecting the prices of daily necessities and the lack of job security are teaching us all the value of penny pinching. Stores that have suffered heavy losses during the recent economic downturn are doing their best to attract and retain shoppers. Given this, there has never been a better time to get the goods you want and save money! Learn how to cut your grocery bills in half!

CLIP AND ORGANIZE COUPONS

1. You don’t need to spend hours clipping and organizing coupons and matching them up with store sales. Set aside a time to sit down with your Sunday paper for this task. The rewards in terms of savings will be worth the time and effort you put into it. Check out coupon sites such as couponmom.com and many others to for the latest and best coupons.

2. To know which supermarkets have sales, go over the advertising circulars in your Wednesday and Sunday newspapers. Search for specific items that you want.

3. Every Sunday, as you clip and organize your coupons for the week, create a weekly menu plan as well. This will not only save you money but also save additional costs on stocking perishable goods that might spoil.

MATCH COUPONS WITH SALES TO MAXIMIZE DISCOUNTS

4. View the sales at different select supermarkets. View weekly specials and see if you can match items with your coupons. If you find that a certain item has a high-value coupon, get as many coupons as you can to leverage maximum discounts. With all this homework, don’t forget to note down the expiration dates on the coupons you plan to use. You don’t want to miss out on the savings.

5. You can save 80 percent or more on your weekly grocery bill by matching coupons to the items on sale in your local supermarket. For example, if the price for a bottle of Heinz tomato ketchup is $4 and it’s available on sale at $2.75, use your 40 cents off coupon for Heinz ketchup and get a further discount. You’ll only pay $2.3 for the ketchup, saving $1.7, which is almost half the cost.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF AMAZING DEALS

6. Buy items that are priced very cheaply and use coupons to get them for free. Soups, broths, frozen vegetables, frozen yoghurt, beans, tomatoes and frozen meals are sometimes sold at $1 a pack at large supermarkets. Using coupons on top of the low price means that you can buy an entire week’s goods without spending more than a dollar or two! For example: soup is $1 per can, you have a coupon for 50¢ off, the store doubles the coupon, your soup in FREE!

7. Watch out for amazing deals of values of less than $2. You can even buy beans for a dime on double coupon days at your local supermarket.

8. Buy perishable goods that are within a day or two of their expiration date. You can get an entire pack of 12 large breakfast muffins valued at $10 for $2 if you buy it a day or so before the expiration. Remember that food items are marked for expiration conservatively. The muffins you buy can be stored in the freezer and consumed over a couple of days.

MANAGE SAVVY GROCERY SHOPPING

9. Get yourself a coupon organizer; invest in a proper organizer, don’t compromise. Visit your supermarkets or check prices for the items you want online. Write down the highest and lowest prices at your supermarket for the largest items you need every week. When the price hits its lowest point, use your collected coupons buy as many of the items as you want and stock up.

10. Collect additional coupons from different coupon websites or by borrowing Sunday circulars from a recycling center or from friends. You can even get coupons at some libraries and grocery stores; check the notice board for coupon swaps. Trade the coupons you have with other people or at coupon trading sites, for example, thriftyfun.com.

11. Find food coupons online for new or promotional items. You’ll often find that these items are heavily discounted. Buy basic everyday items such as butter, coffee, tea, chips cereal, pet food and juice in bulk using discount coupons.

12. Search for grocery coupons either by product name (Mycoupons.com) or via zip code (Valpak.com). You’ll be directed immediately to different shopping sites where you can redeem your coupons instantly. Use these sites to register for email alerts when good coupons come up in your zip code.

USE REBATES

13. Rebates are usually offered on the holiday shopping you do. Good Friday, Easter, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Christmas, Fourth of July – all these festive days see lucrative rebates put up by many supermarkets and stores. A rebate can help you shave off anywhere from $1 to $5 from your product’s cost. However, these rebates are of no use unless to remember to mail them in.

14. Keep an eye out for rebates at the supermarket; check bulletin boards and displays for Ads on manufacturer refunds or rebates.

15. Store your receipts carefully post purchase; you can always check later if there was a rebate on for any of the items you purchased and claim it.

16. Before you start using a rebate product, be sure to clip the proof of purchase from it that states rebate value. Once you’ve put away your groceries, do your rebate paperwork. Keep all mailing accessories handy such as pen, envelopes, scissors, glue, mailing labels, and stamps and so on handy. This way you won’t postpone your rebate mailing work.

17. Make sure you keep a copy of completed rebate forms, just in case!

18. If you forgot to pick up a refund form at the store, check the manufacturer’s website for the form and print it out.

19. Maintain a list of the rebates you’ve mailed in along with phone numbers to call in case you need information. If your rebate doesn’t arrive within the time stipulated by the company, call the manufacturer and follow up.

ADDITIONAL TIPS TO SAVE MONEY

20. Buy a freezer to store the meat and other perishable goods that you buy in bulk.

21. November and December see more food coupons than any other months. Stock up on coupons and use them on pre-holiday and post-holiday sales for maximum savings.

22. The items that are more expensive are usually found at eye-level on grocery shelves, so that customers will spot them easily. The cheaper items will be in shelves that are above and below eye level. Look for these.

23. Join frequent buyer programs at large stores to take advantage of store incentives offered to frequent buyers. You may even get an additional 10% shaved off of goods!

24. Buy raw ingredients and make your own sauces. When you buy readymade sauces with mixed in seasonings, you’ll be paying 50% more. Juice that comes premixed costs 60% more than frozen concentrate that you can use to mix your own juice.

25. Buy frozen veggies in large packs instead of boxes. The boxed ones are more expensive due to the packing.

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written by: Marina
Marina is owner of 1001Shops an online purveyor of retail specialty products like accent tables, decorative mirrors and a lot more.

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Image courtesy of: Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Do you need to cut your grocery bill?

Wondering how to reduce your grocery budget and eat better?

No one wants to sacrifice what and how they eat in order to save money. Luckily, there are many easy ways to save money without sacrificing the quality of your family’s meals. Done properly, these tips will actually make your meals a lot better.

Use a Crockpot
Are you too tired or busy to cook? Do you find yourself reaching for the takeout menus just so you can get something on the table? If so, you need to consider using a Crockpot. A Crockpot will provide your family with flavorful meals for just a few minutes of work. You start the meal in the morning, let it simmer all day, and come home to a wonderful meal. Crockpots, whether new or used, are inexpensive and will save your family both time and money. Try recipes for Crock Pot BBQ or Crock Pot Red Beans & Rice.

 
Make Your Own Bread
Most people have never given serious thought to making their own bread. But how much is a loaf of bread at the store? A cheap loaf is $1.50; a good loaf is two or three times that. You can make gourmet quality bread at home for literally pennies on the dollar. The ingredients for most artisan breads cost about fifty cents.

Bread machines are just as easy to use as crockpots and can often be found new at yard sales and thrift stores. You load the ingredients, set the machine, and wait. A few hours later you have fresh bread. Most machines even have a delay feature, so you can time the bread to be ready when you get home. Not much is better than homemade bread, unless you pair it with a roast cooked in the crockpot.

Double and Freeze
It’s no more trouble to double a recipe. When you do cook make twice as much as you need, then take half of it and freeze it for later. This handy meal will be nice to have on one of those nights when you’re too busy or too tired to cook. Pull it out of the freezer, pop it in the oven or microwave, and dinner will soon be ready. If you buy the ingredients on sale you will save even more.

 
Buy Fruits and Vegetables in Season
Not only are they cheaper, but you can also freeze them for later use. Most fruits can be had by the gallon at farmer’s markets for the price of a quart at the supermarket. This will allow your family to have fresh fruit in the winter without paying exorbitant prices.

 
Make Your Own Cleaners
Lastly, one of the easiest ways to cut your kitchen budget is to stop buying those overpriced cleaners from the store. Safe and effective natural cleaners can be made at home using all-natural ingredients such as vinegar, baking soda and ammonia. Check out recipes for homemade cleaning products. This tip alone could save your family hundreds of dollars a year.

These are just a few easy tips to help your family save money in the kitchen. There are many more, and with a little work you can put even more money back into your family’s budget.

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Written by: Isaac Bullen

Isaac writes on behalf of Cliq Studios a home improvements business who design, manufacture and sell quality kitchen cabinets which come with a lifetime warranty. Use the Cliq Studios website to visualise your new kitchen, request free kitchen samples or check kitchen cabinet prices. Whatever your requirement – trust Cliq Studios’ wholesale kitchen cabinets to exceed expectations.

Contaminated produce continues to make headlines and continues to make people sick.

When we had the tainted spinach scare last year, it was enough to make me splurge for a bottle of that expensive fruit and vegetable wash. A year later, this money saving mom is even wiser because I’ve learned to make my own homemade fruit and vegetable wash!

Do you really think that water will rinse away all the pesticides and chemicals on your produce? Even if you’re buying organic produce, you probably need more than water to tackle the germs from the customer that coughed on your apple or the clerk that sneezed on your grapes. And just think about how many people touched your tomato trying to find the right one! So, have I grossed you out and gotten your attention?

Exactly what is in that $6 bottle of Fit Fruit and Vegetable Wash? Purified water, oleic acid and glycerol, ethyl alcohol, potassium hydrate, baking soda, citric acid and distilled grapefruit oil. Our homemade produce wash will kill bacteria and dissolve both wax and pesticide residue. It’s all natural and effective, and it sure beats a $6 bottle of Fit Fruit and Vegetable Wash.

Homemade Fruit and Vegetable Wash Recipe:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup vinegar
• 2 TBS baking soda
• 2 TBS lemon juice

 
Directions:

1. Mix together all ingredients in a deep bowl…it will fizz!
2. Pour into a clean spray bottle.
3. Spray fruits and vegetables generously.
4. Let sit for 5 minutes.
5. Rinse.
6. Store any remaining produce wash in the refrigerator.

 
What are you waiting for, open up your pantry and mix up a bottle today! It’s time to do battle with the dirt, pesticides and bacteria!

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Photo courtesy of Free Web Photos

Being a mom is more than a full-time job; it’s a lifetime job. You don’t have scheduled start and end times, breaks, or even meals unless you wrestle your schedule into submission. Applying yourself to raising your family takes strength, determination, inspiration, creativity, and so much more – but one thing it always takes is resources.

There are many ways to stretch your dollar, many of which are already outlined on this site, but there are always more ways to help you get the best products for your family at the best price with coupons. That doesn’t have to mean wasting your valuable time clipping coupons when you could be accomplishing something on your long to-do list. It does require a time investment, but you’ll be back to being a super mom in no time when you go online for your coupon needs. There are several ways to use coupon websites, whether you’re switching to them as your sole coupon source or adding them to your clippings. To learn more about how to successfully troll the online savings waters, check out some of the following tips and websites.

The Basics of Coupons & Online Opportunities

When it comes to saving money online, there are several different types of coupons to try – based on your specific needs and preferences, you can choose the type or combination that best serves you.

• Paper Coupons: You can order pre-clipped coupons from websites that offer them, paying a low percentage of the coupon savings (usually 10-20%) plus shipping and handling. Some of these websites also charge an annual membership fee, but it tends to be reasonable at around $10. If you use every coupon you order, you’ll still be saving a considerable amount, but it’s not for everyone. It works best if you routinely buy large quantities of a wide variety of items – the trade-off here is that most paper coupon sites offer hundreds of thousands of coupons, whereas other types of coupon sites offer a thousand at best. You can save on more items with paper coupons, but if you don’t have a wide variety on your list, they might not be the best choice for you. Example: TheCouponClippers.

• Printable Coupons: Websites that offer printable coupons typically don’t charge you anything, but their selection is often limited – many of them max out at under 100. Some of these sites also have specific software that you need to install in order to print their coupons, but again, you don’t have to pay for it – manufacturers pay these sites to offer a limited number of coupons in order to increase their visibility. You’ll use up some paper and ink, but in the end, printing coupons is often worth your while. Example: Coupons.com.

• Coupon Codes: If you’re a consistent online shopper, coupon codes will be helpful. Simply enter them at checkout and you’ll get the savings – several websites offer updated lists of coupon codes, so all you have to do is keep checking for your favorite stores to release codes. Example: RetailMeNot.

• Click & Save: This is a great option if you use specific store cards like Kroger because you can simply register your card on a click-n-save website to get digital coupon savings. To redeem them, simply use your store card at checkout the next time you go shopping. While you may need to remind yourself of which coupons you’ve clicked on, it’s a fast and easy way to save. You can even save digital coupons to your phone and show them to the cashier if you’re shopping for something besides groceries. Example: Cellfire.

3 Simple Ways to Maximize Your Savings

Finding and getting the coupons and codes for the products you use is only half the battle. You also need to stay aware of several factors that can influence the success of your coupon “clipping” – these tips can help you stay on top of your savings.

1. Check Dates: Make sure that the coupons and codes you get are valid for when you want to use them.

2. Check Compatibility: If you have multiple coupons for the same item, how many of them can you get in one trip while still saving on each? Some coupons are more flexible than others, but you’ll need to know exactly how you can use them if you’re going to stretch your dollar to its limits.

3. Plan Ahead: If you choose to order paper coupons, you can increase your savings by planning ahead. This is especially effective if you plan your meals by the month or more because the best way to take advantage of this service is to know exactly what you’ll need, when you’ll need it, and how much of it you’ll use.

For example, if your family uses ten boxes of spaghetti noodles each month, order ten coupons at a time – but only if you can use them before they expire. Compatibility is key here – if you can use ten coupons at once, there’s no reason to get any fewer. But if you can only use two at once, you’ll have to make five grocery store runs before your coupons expire. Depending on your schedule and the coupons’ flexibility, you’ll need to make informed and accurate decisions in order to save the most.

No matter what you do, check your favorite coupon sites consistently – at least once a day – to make sure you don’t miss a big coupon for a product you use often. It’s easy to get lost on these sites, so make sure you don’t waste time. Setting a timer or letting the laundry buzzer remind you to get going on something else can help you stay on schedule while saving the money you work so hard to make.

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written by: Alexis Bonari
Bio: Alexis Bonari is currently a resident blogger at College Scholarships, where recently she’s been researching college essay selection as well as massage school scholarships. Whenever this WAHM gets some free time she enjoys doing yoga, cooking with the freshest organic in-season fare, and practicing the art of coupon clipping.