So, I've been trying to find ways to save money...on grocery bills especially. I've been collecting and clipping coupons, watching for sales, stocking up when it's cheap, etc. There are a number of sites out there that tell you how this particular family only spends 20$ a week on groceries so those immediately caught my attention...there had to be a trick. And there was.
Frankenfoods.
One site I looked into showed pictures of items they got for free every week by wrangling coupons and it disgusted me. Not a healthy item in the pic. SURE, they had Cheezy-Poofs, instant potatoes, Flavored this, texturized that. Artificially flavored everything. But be sure, she included recipes using all those frankenfoods!
Here's where I go on a rant; it's no wonder childhood obesity is what it is today! It's no wonder kids have diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol! If that's the garbage they're eating on a daily basis, it's no wonder! Isaac and Mara, they both enjoy snacks and I must confess that I do let them have the occasional bowl of Cheezy-Poofs or store-bought cookies. But that is countered with a dinner entirely out of our homegrown food stores....corn on the cob, green beans, broccoli, tomatoes. And they love it.
Just 2 nights ago, Isaac made a bargain with me....'If I eat the rest of my broccoli do I have to eat the apple crisp?'
One of the biggest challenges I've found in keeping a grocery budget is whether to eat cheap and junky or expensive and healthy, but I've found a good middle ground using what we grew this past summer. I can see no benefit in clipping coupons if the only food available is detrimental to a healthy diet, and for the most part, there are no coupons available for a pound of fresh broccoli or a large bag of oranges. If there were, oiy, we'd be eating good.
1 comment:
Hear, hear! I clip very little coupons from the Sunday papers for this very reason. Most of the coupons I *do* clip come from the quarterly manufacturers coupon booklet my workplace publishes (full of manufacturers coupons for natural and organic foods....even then, I only end up using a few because many of the items i don't eat).
In talking to customers (from whom I learn a lot!), I've found that some got coupons by writing the manufacturers and asking for them (Newman's Own, for example, was one this happened with last week), others say they got them by signing up for e-mail lists with the manufacturers. Sometimes the manufacturers e-mail coupons for products they are pushing. If you guys have favorites (i.e., I'm a big fan of Amy's natural foods), check their website and see if they have any e-mail lists to sign up for.
Sometimes stores publish $5 off $35 coupons in the paper and this can be used for any sort of purchase (barring the alcohol you are stocking up on for barter, of course!). Some stores, like mine, will honor competitor's coupons. So I have regulars who get $5 or $10 off every week's order by bringing our coupon one time, a coupon Busch's put in the paper the next week, one from the independantly owned competitor the third week, and so on. If you're unsure if they honor competitor's coupons a) check the sales flyer because sometimes they print this in small print and/or b) just ask a cashier.
So, yeah, those are the tips for ya from someone in the grocery industry. :) You won't save as much as if you bought Frankenfoods and were out to kill your family with nasty crud for every meal, but you may save a wee bit more.
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