Frugal Friday- Grocery Shopping

Posted on Friday, May 4, 2007 at 2:24

Here's a tip for Frugal Friday!!

I've been amazed lately at how the price of everything is going up, uP, UP!  Grocery shopping on a budget has become quite a challenge... thankfully, I LOVE a good challenge!    Here are a few tips I've incorporated into my grocery-shopping routine.

1) Don't buy lunch-meat... have it made!!  Yep, you can eat deli-style lunch meat for cheap!!  Here's how!  Just this last Monday I bought a 3-lb turkey ham for a little over $1 a pound.  I took it to the deli counter and asked to have it cut into thin slices ( a number "1" cut at our Super Wal-mart).  I ended up getting TWO BAGS of deli-style lunch meat for just over $3!!  I put one bag in the fridge, and the other in the freezer to save.  This makes yummy sandwhiches on busy days, or I also like to roll the meat up with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, etc., in a tortilla.  (I also had a package sliced thicker for ham "steaks"... a very inexpensive way to enjoy ham!  Makes a great meal with a baked potato and salad!) 

2) Shop the Sales... and Stock up!!  Last week our local Brookshire's (which is usually very expensive compared to Wal-Mart) had broccoli for $1 a pound.  I bought 5 lbs, and what we couldn't eat right away I froze.  Today we had "fresh" steamed broccoli... for cheap!  (Of course, the cheapest way is to grow it in your own garden... can't wait for our veggies to be ready to pick and eat!!)  While our Super Wal-mart is usually a lot cheaper on most things, I still check out the weekly Brookshire's sales flyer.  Almost every week they have something cheaper than Wal-mart's every day price.  It saves to shop the sales!!   

3) Make your own "prepared" foods.  Buying convenience foods may be convenient, but it's not cheap (and it's usually not healthy!).  I try to make and freeze a lot of my own "prepared" foods.  For instance, when I make pizza, I prepare enough dough for 3 pizzas...  I use 1/3 of the dough, and the rest I shape into 2 balls and freeze.  The next time I need to make pizza, all I have to do is reach into the freezer and thaw it out!!   Another example is beans.  I stopped buying canned beans about a year ago... instead, I buy a bag of pinto beans (or sometimes black beans) and soak about 1/3 of the bag in the crock pot over night.  (Extras from the turkey ham add great flavor, by the way!!)  Once the beans are cooked and cooled, I place 2-cup servings in freezer bags (you could also use freezer-safe containers), label the bags, and pop them in the freezer!!  One bag of beans makes about 7 or 8 two-cup servings.  It's very convenient and cost efficient!!  I get the equivalent of 7 or 8 cans of beans out of one bag of pinto beans, which costs less than $2!!                

Next Friday I want to share some of my favorite ways of saving $$ on baby & children's grocery items.   

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Posted by southernbelle on Friday, May 4, 2007 at 3:16 - Link

Thanks for sharing your tips. I've always wondered if it was cheaper to go to the deli for meats. I just never took time to do the math. But these days, man, we all need help at the grocery store!!!

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Posted by Anonymous on Friday, May 4, 2007 at 3:23 - Link

We get our meats at Sam's, so I wonder how the cost compares. Sam's has been cheaper and really convenient for us. Thanks for the post.

Sherry
http://redbudslane.blogspot.com