Following up with my last post, I'm going to share some of the ways that I save money every month. Some of them will be damn obvious, others maybe not so much. Either way, I invite anyone who reads these tips, tricks, and stories, to share their personal feelings and opinions about it. I love learning new things from different people, and saving money is something that we all have to do in life.
I was reading in the newspaper on the weekend that Canada's debt-to-income ratio is sitting around 150%. That means that people who are making 50,000$ a year owe (or add to their debt) approximately 75,000$ per year. (Correct me if my concept is wrong, please!). How on earth can we as a population be expected to contribute effectively to the economy if we owe more than we make? Ridiculous numbers, if you ask me.
Saving money and saving the environment absolutely go hand-in-hand. Buying less new both saves money and puts less strain on limited resources. Using homemade cleaners, same concept.
Today, I'm going to start with a task that takes me (on average) about an hour each week, and saves me close to 200-400$ per month. That is some sweet return for my investment if you ask me. It's like making 50-100$ per hour for those hours.
What could be so easy a way to save money for so little time?
Read Your Flyers!
Seriously. That's it! Check out your flyers, make a list of whats on sale, and buy from that list. For non-perishables, buy extra to last (ideally) at least until the next sale.
Doing this will also give you a good idea of what a "good sale" price is. For example, some people will go out and buy a brick of cheese whenever they need it. The going rate for a 500g brick of cheese right now is 8-10$. That's ridiculous. Cheese is something we eat A LOT of at my house. So when it goes on sale for less than $4.50 per brick, we buy at least 8 and freeze them. Currently, we have about 20-25 bricks of cheese in our freezer, none of which did we pay over $4.50 for.
Almond milk (since I don't make my own due to time/space constraints) is purchased in bulk when it's on for less than 2$ a carton (regular price is $3.99).
Small changes create big effects, and reading your sales flyers is just one small change that can really open your eyes into how much money and time you are wasting.
If you don't get the flyers delivered to you (like us), you can use websites that post them online (which saves paper too!) such as flyerland.ca.
Do you read flyers for your shopping (if you even shop at grocery stores)? How do you prepare your grocery/food list for the week? Share, share, share!
Much love,
Laura
2 comments:
Hi Laura
I keep a running list of things I run out of. So when the flyers show up in the mail, I know exactly what I need. I always scour the flyers for deals. We try real hard not to pay for anything at full price. When food comes on sale, I bulk buy. Bulk buying, if you have room, is a great way to save.
Years ago, before the farm, I use to buy the biggest boneless sirloin beef roast I could. I would cut out of it one or two smaller roasts (that would feed the gang for at least one meal) chop up 'chunks' for stew meat, and even a few steaks. I also would buy warehouse packs of extra lean ground beef, and down size them into smaller one pound packages.
Another good way to save money on groceries, is believe it or not, is to keep your pantry organised. So you can tell at a glance what you are running short of.
Keeping my pantry organized has definitely helped avoid "over buying!" Except for a few items, we are well stocked for at least 2 months for most non-perishables. Which is fantastic, and really helps me to relax when it comes time to go shopping. :) Thanks for sharing your meat-money-saving tips!
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