Saving Money on Groceries

While I'm all for a bargain, I mostly look for sales or coupons for things I know I want. Sometimes I'll take a chance on a new product but as I primarily use fresh food, rather than canned or packages of pre-made food, I rarely do so. For me, it's a false savings to buy a brand I don't like as well because it's on sale or to buy something I don't like because there's a good deal. If I don't like it, what kind of deal is that?

I have a friend who swears by Aldi and Wal-Mart groceries, two places I don't shop at very frequently; I don't like Wal-Mart so rarely give them the business and while I go to Aldi once in awhile, it hasn't gotten into my regular rotation. Partly because I never know what they have.

I had an acquaintance who was super-cheap, shopped thrift stores and garage sales for everything and bought food at a store that sold food past its expiration date. I'm neither that cheap nor that adventurous.

The new thing I read about recently? Grocery auctions. To me, that's mind-boggling; keeping in mind that I don't want to stockpile food and their goods may be scratch and dent or oversupplied goods. Then again, it's a social outlet as well as a way to buy food. You'd have to be up on the prices in your area for it to be helpful.

Money Saving Advice from Google Tip Jar

I just learned about Google Tip Jar a few days ago and am excited about the prospect of finding money-saving tips. They're from many sources, most of which are unfamiliar to me, and there are several categories.

Much of the information is common-sense, but nobody uses that anymore. One of the tips I read is to drink water, to avoid wasting calories on beverages. Another, complementary tip, was to buy a water filtration system and bring filtered water with you. I have a glass at work and fill it from the tap on the drinking fountain. I also try to bring a water bottle with me and re-fill it when I'm out, rather than to buy water.

Another tip was to bring a flask of coffee or tea with you to work and avoid paying a lot of money. On document reviews, this wasn't really a consideration as beverages were provided. Most reviews provide coffee and filtered water; on some we had cocoa, hot tea, soda and carbonated water available. A couple of times there was also lemonade and iced tea mix. Now that I live in the land of government, water is available.

There are coffee clubs, which rent coffee makers and provide various types of coffee for a price. They seem pretty expensive to me as well; prices vary by breakroom and can be $1 or $2 a day. The more expensive option provides more types of coffee. They must have more expenses as they have several thermal pots into which the coffee is brewed. All I need is hot water, which I can make myself, in the microwave, or pay for. I tend to put some change in the kitty and use the hot water from the coffee maker just because it's faster. It isn't hotter, just faster.

Debt

When I finished law school, I had student loans and credit card debt. I compounded that by buying a new car (the car I had was 13 years old), getting a clerkship, consolidating my credit cards with my credit union and racking up more credit card debt.

Now that my consumer debt is gone, I'm focused on reducing my loans so I can achieve my dream of owning a home. In my case it's likely to be a Condominium or Town House. To that end, I'm paying much closer attention to my spending than I used to. I try not to buy bottled water, instead, I bring water from home when I run errands. Sometimes that's a water bottle, other times I just take a glass of water with me. It fits in the cupholder.

I try to be realistic and don't expect perfect behavior; I have strict goals for 4-5 months at a time, then loosen it up for a few months. I know I'll have trouble if I prohibit buying anything so try to be reasonable about what's okay to buy. While I'm not a lipstick junkie, II allow myself to buy certain things, like Clinique products for the recent bonus. I try to limit myself to buying lunch once a week, but that doesn't always work out. You have to be able to go out with friends and happy hour specials are the perfect way to do that.

I'm also saving money so I have a cushion in the event of catastrophe or lack of work. I'm qualified to make contributions to a 401K and am doing so.

I'm also trying to be more diligent and consistent in looking for a full-time permanent position.

On Friday I got my economic stimulus deposit and am only waiting to get paid this week before paying off my little loan.

Saving Money

Other than taking CLE's consistently and either finding free classes or going to lunches to stretch out-of-pocket expenses, here are ways I save money:

I'm working somewhere that provides coffee, tea and ice water. I try not to spend money on bottled beverages and mostly drink water anyway. Today, someone left a plastic bag full of tea, including my favorite! I had no shame in taking my favorite to my desk. I didn't hoard the tea the company provides.

Bring lunch from home. I'm boring and can eat the same thing for lunch every day, or else bring leftovers from supper.

Shopping:

Don't go to Target. Period. Especially not Super-Target. I swear there's a $50 minimum purchase. If you MUST go, bring a list and stick to it. Most of the things I need from Target are in the grocery store's pharmacy department. They may cost a bit more but in the long run I spend less money.

Stop hoarding. I don't know what you hoard but I'm sure you hoard something. For me, it's bath products. I have soap, lotion, body wash, etc. and am forcing myself to use my stash. I'm down to two bars of soap and one bottle of body wash but have about 8 bottles of lotion. I'm not replenishing my supply until I run out. It's frustrating because sometimes I'd like to buy a new product, like these, but I have to wait until I actually need more product.

At the grocery store, stay around the perimeter where the fresh foods are. You'll need to make the occasional foray to the middle, for staples like flour and oil, but most of your needs can be met by sticking to the outside lane. It's less convenient to cook actual food, but it tastes better, is better for you and is cheaper in the long run than the pre-packaged foods. Don't neglect the coupons, both ones in the newspaper and the ones at the store. My grocery store sometimes has two for one meat coupons. That's a great deal!

My friend is selling books and cd's to used book and cd stores. If you have recent clothing that's only gently worn, selling it at consignment shops is an option. There are a couple of really nice ones where I live; my other friend bought a suit with its tags still on at one of them!

Shopping at consignment shops will reduce your clothing budget but you can also find bargains at thrift stores; I bought a wool sweater from Nordstrom with its tags still on for $9 at the thrift store this winter. If you have time and are patient, you can find great stuff!

Tightening the belt is difficult but needs to be done.