Grocery Shopping on a Budget (without coupons)

There is a lot of hype out there about how much money you can save by buying five newspapers and clipping coupons until your hands bleed . And to a point, this is true . I know my sister, my mom, my sister-in-law , friends , and many many people I don't know that do this . They come home from the grocery store with their car overflowing. At the bottom of their receipt it says something like :

Total : $45 .00 Amount Saved : $200 .00

While I agree , paying $45 .00 for $245 .00 in groceries is a big savings , I have to ask . Is it really worth it ?

Before you roll your eyes at me and say I am crazy for even suggesting that "saving $200 .00" isn't worth it , hear me out .

I get coupons in the weekly mailer . Every week I flip through them to see if there are any coupons for items I normally buy . Extremely rarely do I find those . If it isn't something I would normally buy then spending any money on it at all is a waste of money . Yes , you heard me . It is a big fat waste of money . So when you come home and brag about the awesome "deal" you got on buying foods and snacks and goodies that I wouldn't even consider buying , even the store brand of , save your breath . I am not interested .

If there is anything I have learned since spending 3 years desperately trying to dig our family out of debt and break those bonds , it was this . Just because it is a good deal doesn't mean you can afford it . This is a terribly hard idea to wrap your head around . It took me a long time to cope with this simple phrase . I would walk past the clothing stores and see 75% off signs posted all over . I would tug on my husband's arm and say , "But honey ! It is such a good deal ! I can't pass it up ." He would put his foot down and tell me , it isn't in the budget . And of course he would be right . I would do the same things for him , when he would see a new tool , shining on the Snap-On truck at work . He would call me and say "But honey ! It is such a good deal ! I can't pass it up ." And I would gently remind him of the same lesson he reminded me of the day before .

It sucks being broke . It sucks not having money . But life sucks even more when you let your money have control over you . Remember the old D . A . R . E . slogan ? "Just say no". Well , with money , it's the same thing . It can have control over our lives if we let it . We work so hard , our husbands work so hard to bring that paycheck in . Let's keep it . Let's tell it where to go and what to do . Because if we don't , it's going to go anyways , and we will be left with the bill .

Sorry to have gotten a little off track there . My simple question to you is this . Do you need the things you are buying with those coupons ? Are they healthy ? Do they fulfill a spot in your weekly meal plan ? Do you even have a meal plan before you hit the grocery store ? If you answered "No" to any of those questions , I suggest you sit down and take a long hard look at your income and outgo with both food and money . Do this with your spouse or significant other . We aren't very good at holding ourselves to commitments unless someone else is on board with us .

I am a mother to 3 beautiful kids . I am 8 months pregnant and I have a wonderful , loving and hardworking husband . I homeschool my children and am a stay-at-home-mom . My financial contribution is to make sure we don't squander the precious income my husband works so hard for . I prepare and cook twenty-one meals a week on a budget of $60.00 . (Mind you this amount was only $30.00/week when we were trying to get out of debt and we still managed without coupons !) It is possible , just look at what you have , plan your meals , and don't buy superfluous junk foods . If you want treats , bake them, or get them from what is in-season in the produce isle . If you want to go out to eat , make sure you budget for it , and don't make any exceptions .

Now I don't think everyone shouldn't do coupons . There are plenty of things you can get with coupons that are useful . The most common thing I hear is getting free toothbrushes or hand soaps etc , by using multiple coupons , or matching coupons with sales . So yes , coupons can save you money . For me , taking the time to go through the coupons to save a dollar on toothpaste isn't worth it because that is likely the only coupon I would be using . If you buy all those miscellaneous items , (The frozen dinners etc .) anyways , then yes , please coupon .

I guess I just want people to evaluate themselves here . Figure out if you would really be "saving" all that money with coupons or not . If the coupons aren't for something you would normally buy , then don't bother . It would be much more beneficial to spend your time planning meals that match up with your local grocery stores weekly sales .