DesperateDollars.com Food and Groceries

Grocery Savings

Use coupons. Some places double them and even take coupons from competitors. Cut them from your mail or pick them up around town. You can also find some great coupons grocery coupons online.

__Coupons____________
__CoolSavings_________
__MyCoupons__________

__Valpak______________

Use grocery lists to help keep you in check with purchases. Your impulses could get the best of you if you can’t remember why you went to the store in the first place. Add coupons to the list to remind you to bring them and use them when you get there.

Buy store brand, private label or generic products. These are getting better in quality and are worth trying most of times. They don’t always match the quality of the brand name item, but if they get close and times are tough, saving 20% or more could be worth it.

Buy your food for the whole week. This helps you save in many ways. Like not driving to the store as often so you can save on gas. Buying food in bulk usually yields savings. Making larger meals that can be saved and eaten over a few days helps save on gas, water, and electricity bills. Less food will go to waste if you plan your meals for the week carefully. And it should help you avoid spending more time in the many aisles of temptation.

Buy fresh fruits, vegetables and meats when the price is right. If they are selling for a high price because of demand or seasonal reasons, do your best to find a lower cost substitute. Also, try to find better ways to cook and enjoy those lower cost items.

__Epicurious________
__Cooks___________
__FoodNetwork_____
__FoodAndWine_____

__VegetarianTimes___

Buy foods that you can freeze and eat later, when the price for them is just too good to pass up. Many times you will see meats sold for incredible discounts. Load up on fruits and vegetables when that near give away price happens. Grab those up when you know that price won’t come around again and freeze them. M
Make meals with the food you already have in the pantry and fridge. Explore the depths of your pantry and fridge. You could save some forgotten foods from going bad. Look at what you already have and get creative with your cooking.

Eat before you go food shopping. If you go with a huge hunger brewing then you may buy every craving you come across.

Don’t buy bottled water. Get one of those above or below kitchen counter top water filter systems. Then get a glass or metal container to haul around with you for drinking. The savings here are obvious. The better water filtration systems will cost about 9cents per gallon after the cost of the system. After you get a system you can drop another $500 or so dollars a year from your expenses. You might even drink more water after knowing it won’t cost you as much.

__Buy.com_______

Stop making those little impulse purchases at the check-out counter. The candies, magazines, gum, air fresheners and other waiting line traps. They put them there because they know most people can’t resist it. These little purchases add up fast so try to resist the temptation.

Daily Expense Cuts

Skip the $5.00 coffee, latte and teas. Easier said than done right? Add up the savings and you might change your mind fast. If you buy these three times a week then you can kiss around $1000 a year away. All that said, it’s still a pretty tasty way to blow a grand.

Quit smoking. Another easier said than done candidate. If you smoke one pack a day then you could easily be kissing your health and $2000 a year away. To help quantify the financial loss here we can pretend to invest this $2000 in a retirement IRA yielding 9% over 40 years to give you a final total of around $250,000. Now let’s add in the increased health & home insurance costs. Car depreciation when you try and sell your smoked up car and money spent trying to clean and hide the smell. Washing clothe and furniture more often. Cost of chewing gum, and tooth whitening per year. Consider all this, include lost time and other expenses often associated with smoking and one may consider trying to kick the habit for good this time.

Eat smaller portions. Not everyone should do this, but most people could probably cut back on the amount of food eaten at one sitting. Think about eating healthy balanced and properly portioned foods. Save some money and reduce unhealthy weight gain if you have not already taken these steps.

__Buy.com_______

Save your uneaten portions for another day. Find safe ways to store and reheat your unfinished meals.

Bring your lunch to work. If you don’t work from home then plan on packing a lunch. You could easily save $40 or more a month.

Free & Discount Meals

Look for free or discount meals for kids on the link below.

__KidsMealDeals_______

Eat at super low cost fast food spots with dollar menus. If you want to stay healthy this is not usually the way to go, but since many of us can’t always eat at home it works for savings. Also, weigh out the benefit of skipping the $5-7dollar value meal at the local fast food joint and instead eat at a better quality food spot. Many times a great Greek meal or roasted chicken dinner from a local spot will give you more meal for the money and a healthier choice. Skip the drink and many times it will cost the same as a fast food meal. Think about a spot with no waiters and nice sized quality portions for the money.

Grow Your Own Foods

Learn ways to grow your own food.

__DIY Network_____
__Expert Village____

__DIY Life_________

You can buy the seed and equipment you need to grow your own foods from these places.

__Park Seed___________
__DirectGardening_______

__Gurneys_____________

__Yardiac______________
__Henry Fields__________
__Nature Hills Nursery, Inc.
__Michigan Bulb__________

Fish For Food

Learn how to fish by finding and learning about some of the information found on these great sites.

__TakeMeFishing.org

__DIY Network_____
__Expert Village____

__DIY Life_________

Buy what you may need to fish here.

__BassPro_________
__DicksSportingGoods