Saving Money while you are Abroad!

    So, you raised all the money you needed for the trip. You are walking off the plane into a whole new country. Congratulations! But now you have to figure out how to not burn through your entire bank account while you are in the country. I can help! While I was in South Africa, I spent a little more than I had expected to, but I also had the trip of a lifetime. These are the 5 tips that I figured out while I was there!


1. Don't promise people gifts from the country. 
   I know you want to bring every single person you know something back, which is fine if you have the money, but most of the time you don't. I brought stuff back for my boyfriend, my little brother, my parents, and his parents. Outside of that I really didn't bring home gifts for a lot of people. If  you can, see if you can hold them off for birthday/ Christmas gifts depending on when your out of the country. In this case, the gift would act as two gifts in one!

5 Ways to Raise Money to Go Abroad!

  This summer has been absolutely crazy. After getting back from South Africa I have been trying to focus on getting moved into our new apartment and making it a home. Then I had 2 weeks of military training out in Fort Carson. (Great Time) But I feel like yet another summer has slipped away from me.
   I am just getting Thank You's done from my South African Donors, 2 months after getting home.. Even though they have been on my list of things to do... since I got home. Slowly but surly this summer is coming to an end.
  All of that being said, I am finally starting to get some of my study abroad posts up onto my blog! Woo!

Studying abroad is well worth the money. I don't regret a single penny that I spent on the trip, but I do wish I would have watched my finances a little more closely. Here are 5 Tips for raising money for your trip, because it is no secret that it costs an arm and a leg sometimes. It is hard to pay for an entire trip straight out of pocket so follow these:

5 More Money Saving Tips

     Hey Readers! I am so glad to finally be back and writing! The last 2 weeks I was at some military training and I just didn't get all of my blogs written that I had wanted to, but now I am going to be back to writing a post every day, Monday- Friday! At least until I get a job or start college back up! I am back now and ready to share some more great things with you!
   
I have done a couple other money saving posts like these two:
                     Money Saving Tips #1
                     Money Saving Tips #2

But here are just a few more tips that I have found really helpful!

5 Steps to Easy Meal Planning

    Meal planning is a great way to save some money, feed the family, and stay organized in the house. I have worked hard on mastering this skill and overtime I have gotten a lot better at it. It doesn't have to be as complicated as I make it. It can honestly be as simple as writing down ideas for food. Or writing out 6 meals and going to get them from the store. 

    The way I meal plan has cut my grocery spending tremendously. I have gone from spending about $150 per grocery trip (2 weeks) to spending between $60-90. This includes a ton of fresh produce and fresh cuts of meat. I don't buy a lot of frozen/canned fruits and vegetables and I hardly every buy frozen meat (except chicken nuggets, which will always be my fav!)

     I have done a couple posts about this already but I wanted to let everyone know how I actually do it in 5 super easy steps. It takes a little printing for me, but you could easily do everything from your computer screen as well.

I personally have a notebook dedicated to meal planning. I make the meal plans in it. I keep lists of meals that I want to try. This also helps me look back and see the meals that we had last week and the meals that I have groceries for in the house.

Why I Meal Plan!

I know there is a lot out there on the benefits to planning out meals at least a week in advance, so I thought I would add my two cents into it. I love meal planning, but I don't necessarily do it the way that everyone else does. When I meal plan, I just list enough meals for 2 weeks and then we kinda go by week. I normally figure out what we are having the for supper the night before so I know if I need to prep anything or make sure something is ready to go.

My meal plan for two weeks consists of:
  A few new recipes
  A few "convenience meals" (Hamburger helper, frozen pizzas)
  A few traditional favorites (Spaghetti, burgers)
  Two leftovers nights
  One night out


1. Organization
I will be the first to admit that I go a little crazy when there isn't a definite plan. I like order. I like knowing what time I have to be ready and where I need to be. Also, in the sense of going out, I like to know what I should be wearing for said event.
It isn't surprising that I meal plan. I like to know if I need to start supper earlier, or if I need to run to the store to get one item for the meal. If it is a crock-pot recipe I like knowing that I will be around to check on it if needed or at least there to start it at some point in the afterno
on.

My New Blogging Plan

I have struggled with what this blog is about most of the time that I have had the blog. I have spent hours searching other blog sites and reading all about what they do for their blog to make it work.

I am going to try something new and I hope to keep with it throughout the school year. I may have a few weeks were I struggle to keep up, but I will make sure to at least post every once in a while. I am really excited to start this!

My plan is to have a different theme for every day Monday-Friday. Each day will have a theme but it will be broad enough that I can write about a lot of things that are under that category. Every week will have a different blog post for that day of the week.

Save the MOST bucks from YOUR Commissary shopping trip

This doesn't apply to a ton of my typical readers, but it is something that I have been working on learning and wanted to share with the rest of you.  If you do stumble upon this from a shared link of pinterest pin, please share with me the tips that you have found to work the best!

Rules for Shopping at the Commissary:

Money Saving Tips #2

As most people know from reading this blog, I am all about saving money. I am trying to come up with more creative ways to push that penny a little farther. Just in case you missed the first Money saving post. Here is the link to it. I have continued to find ideas and slowly add to them. I am hoping that this list gives you some more great ideas for saving money. Whether that money goes toward a new house, vacation, to pay off debt or whatever else it could possibly be.  This is my combination of other things I have found and other peoples comments.

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• Check your bank account daily. You can see how much you have and how much you have spent. It is a great way to check for fraud as well as make sure you don't overdraft your account. Overdraft fees can be mighty expensive for just buying that dollar pop if you didn't have that money in your account.
• Make Things homemade. Pinterest is full of copy cat recipes for snack crackers, and different things like that. Sean and I just attempted making our dried fruit ourselves. Its working so far. I also found a thin mint recipe that I am super excited to try! (I found a make your own thin mint recipe!!!) I have homemade egg muffins on here! and they are GOOD!
• Challenge yourself to not spend money for an entire week. You would be surprised at where you spend money when you don't need to. I read a blog that budgeted very little for a month and didn't spend any money other than that. None on gas, only like 100 on groceries (25 per week) None on eating out/ clothing. They called it their month of nothing... Ugh. That would be hard.
• Bring your own food to work. This is especially important if you work at a restaurant and don't t way to eat healthier.
• Turn off the lights. This will decrease your electric bill greatly.
• When grocery shopping, the things on the end caps are typically NOT on sale. They just look like they are. They are actually priced at the same as they always are, but they just need to up the sales on that product. Don't be tricked into buying them. 
• Here are some great tips for saving money when buying groceries. It is something that I put together a while back. I like the fact that grocery shopping doesn't have to be so expensive.. Before I started looking at ways to save money, I was spending almost 100 dollars every time we went to the grocery store. Finally, I just couldn't do it anymore and I had to find another way to do my grocery shopping.
• Here are great meal ideas to help you organize your meal planning.
• Not everything was meant to be bought at a grocery store. Stores like Supermarket and Sunmart specialize in groceries. This means that items like laundry soap, cosmetics, and hardware (like light bulbs) can be much more expensive than the would be at most other stores.
• Try shopping at the dollar store (like dollar tree for some of the things you buy often.) Last time I was there, we looked into getting Pasta Sauce (Only a dollar), Kitchen Utensils (Only a Dollar), Kitchen Cleaners (Only a Dollar), Commonly Used Spices (Only a dollar, and those really add up quick)  Here is a list of 100 things you can use to play with kids from the dollar store, but a lot of these also make a great point..
• Don't buy books at the book store (don't mock me Sean), Okay. I definitely don't follow this because I read A LOT, but once summer hits stock up on books from garage sales. Most of the time you can get 7-10 dollar books for a quarter to a dollar! WOO! Check out that savings.. The same can go with movies. Plus you can get some books that you probably wouldn't get otherwise. (if you just can't wait until summer hit up the thrift stores and second hand book shops)
• I have a basket where all of my bills go into as soon as I get them in the mail. This makes it easy to sit down on pay day and pay all of the ones from then until the next pay day. THAT is how I avoid late fees. 
• If you don't need it, don't buy it. (I know that is easier said than done, but how often do we buy something that we simply don't need!)
• Make lists. I have an on going list of what I need from certain stores. (ie. Dollar Tree. If I think of something that I could use from there. I have the list that I will take with me next time instead of going to walmart and paying double next time.) I always have a list with me when I grocery shop. It makes it easier to stay focused on what I need to get and what I don't need.
• This website has a ton of great information and other tip!

Okay, well.. that's a pretty extensive list. I know there are a ton more out there and I am always interested in what everyone else is doing.

Are you doing something similar or did you find something that works as well? Let Me Know at Elylyons2013@gmail.com or comment below. 

Will increased DVR use cut into TV advertising revenue?

    How many of you don't have cable or use DVR when you do watch TV? Personally, I don't have cable. In our house, we have Hulu and Netflix.
    Many advertisers are concerned that with the increase in DVR use, commercials will become a thing of the past. I would have to agree.
   My little brother is five years old. He is very easily persuaded into wanting something that he sees on TV. One morning, I was sitting in the living room with him before school. A commercial came on for some sort of Lego set. It showed the Legos moving, flying, and attacking other Legos. While that is great for the Lego company, my little brother actually thought they if he got them, they would move, fly, and attack on their own.
    Since then, my little brother has stopped watching TV as much and started watching Netflix more. It used to be that every time I saw him, he would tell me about a new toy that he wanted or had to have for his birthday.  Now, it has decrease quite a bit since he started watching Netflix.
     I believe that the biggest lost in advertising revenue will be from young children. They are the easiest to persuade and I believe that children under the age of 10 are the most affected by the commercials on TV.
   Even in the picture to the right, both children are actively engaged in the commercial. Right after this commercial is completed, I bet one of them run to ask their parents for Trix. It is almost inevitable for children to want an item they see other kids playing with on TV.

      With all of that being said, it is destined for the TV advertising revenue to decrease due to all of the technology and new ways of watching TV. It's not just commercials anymore. Everything is changing, but I believe that advertisers will come up with a way to be one step ahead of the game and end up coming out on top once again.

Meal Ideas

     Many people struggle with the idea of saving money because when they sit down to make a list, they don't know what to put on it. They aren't sure what to make or what they need to get to make it. Then, when they do go to the grocery store, they get snacking foods. When time comes to make a meal, they don't have complete meals in the house and end up getting take out anyway.. 

    For some time now, I have been working on compiling a master list of the meals that we eat in this house. I am ALWAYS looking for recipes and ideas for meals. I probably missed some major ones that seem to obvious to put on here, but PLEASE. I am always interested in finding out what my readers are eating at home and how much they are working with for their monthly grocery bill.

    Currently, I have our grocery bill at about 180-200 a month. That includes a TON of fresh and frozen produce, and some great cuts of meat when it is on sale. I always look for good sales on meat. 

     The other day we were at Heartlands Foods in Beatrice. They currently have a "Pick 5 for $25" Special on their meat. 

We got pork chops (marked at $5.89) 

Two cuts of ribs ($6.96 and $5.33). 

Huge chicken breasts ($5.89)  

Brautwaursts ($7.26). 

Well, that meat wasn't really that high priced, but I did make sure to get some of the more expensive cuts of meat. We saved $6.33 on that meat!! (I LOVE sales like that.) 

PLUS!! The best part is that with the heartland foods groceries to gas card Meat is 50 points per dollar spent. Well I earned 1580 points on the meat alone, which can turn into 5 cents off per gallon. (Up to 15 gallons!). That means I can still save a 75 more cents!! 

That puts me at just over $7 dollars in savings in the entire grocery trip.

Anyway... that was not the point of this post, I just had to brag a little because I was excited about those kinds of savings on meat!

Here is my list of meals:

Beef:

Golash

Spaghetti
Stir together Lasagna

Tacos

Hamburgers

Hamburger Helper

Taco Hamburger Helper

Meatloaf

Hamburger Gravy with Mashed Potatoes

Taco Soup

Runzas (Casserole Style)

Cheeseburger Casserole
Cheeseburger Sloppy Joe
Cheeseburger Calzone

Burritos/ Enchiladas

Chicken:

Chicken Tacos

Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken Noodle Casserole

Chicken Breasts (Baked with Ranch powder as a coating)

Wings
Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

Breakfast:

Biscuits and Gravy

Pancakes

Eggs

Convenience Meals:

Banquet meals (Sometimes, they are nice to have when I get off work and don't want to cook!)

Pot Pies

Mac and Cheese

Frozen Pizzas

Frozen noodle and veggie steamers (Add some chicken.. Yumm.)

Other Cuts of Meat:

Sausage/ Fettuccine Alfredo

Ribs

Roast

Hot Dogs (Turkey Dogs from Walmart ($.99)

Brauts

Pork Chops (SunMarts 10 for $10!)

Sandwiches

Farmland Ham and Instant mashed potatoes
Pepperoni Pizza Roll

Vegetarian:

Potato Soup

Noodles with veggies and cheese (or Alfredo sauce)

Quesdillas with a Rice Side

Stuffed Shells (Meat/Marinara/Cheese.. Or pretty much anything)

I try to do about 2 or 3 vegetarian nights a month, just because meat does get expensive very quickly. I will be the first to admit though, Sean and I eat very well. We have a veggie and a fruit at ALMOST every meal when we eat at home.. We rarely ever have Ramen noodles in the house. We don't really eat canned soup other than tomato soup. All of those "cheap" foods, they don't exist in this house.. other than mac and cheese (Cuz its the best food EVER)

A lot of my recipes are found on pinterest. If I find something I really want to try, I typically print it off and try to fit it into the meal plan for the next two weeks.

      Now, when you have a master list you can sit down and figure out what each recipe takes and how much you need of it. Then you can effectively look for price matches or coupons.

Do you do something similar at home home and know something that worked better? Let me know what you are doing at home!!

Make Your Laundry Soap and Use It Too.

      I keep looking for recipes to use for laundry soap, but the idea of grating an entire bar of soap just doesn't appease to me. (Awesome job mom for making laundry soap for the whole family for Christmas, I couldn't do it.)
        So I finally found a recipe after spending much time on pinterest looking for something that I didn't need a ginormous pot for, and I didn't need a grater and 3 hours of my life. 

Now, This is my Laundry Soap!!

3 Tablespoons Borax 
3 Tablespoons Washing Soda
2 Tablespoons Dawn Dish soap

Put these ingredients in a one gallon jug. 

Pour 4 cups boiling water into the jug. 

Swirl until ingredients are dissolved in the liquid.  Let liquid cool. 

Then fill almost to the top with cold water. The bubbles will overflow out of the bottle.

This is a super cheap way of making laundry soup.

A box of Borax (at Walmart): 3.38
A box of Washing Soda:       3.24
Dawn dish soap:                    .97

Total Cost:                             7.59


       We made two gallons of laundry soap and we still have almost full boxes of each. It barely takes ANY of the Borax or Washing Soda. This is such a great way to make laundry soap without having to try to grate a bar of soap. "Ain't NO ONE got time for that (:"

      We haven't used the laundry soap yet because we are finishing up what my mom gave us for Christmas, but laundry soap is SOOO expensive at the store. Every time we used to by it before, I would throw a fit in the isle because I didn't want to spend 8+ dollars on a 1 container of liquid soap. I am so glad we started making it ourselves. No more fits in the laundry soap isle (: Thank you mom for the 5 gallon bucket of homemade laundry soap for Christmas!!

When using homemade laundry soap we have a designated measuring cup for it that sits on our washer. We use about a 1/2 a cup to a cup of the homemade laundry soap (depending on the size of the load!)

I like the dawn soap because you can pick out a great scent which is the best part of making your own soap.

This is definitely a pinterest success! It looks was so easy and it smells good (at least now). I suggest making their own laundry soap who doesn't do it already! SO MUCH cheaper!



Okay, so there is my success for the week. Now I got to get the clothes washed! Blah! (:

The Best Way to Organize Your Finances!

I am pretty much in charge of the spending and recording it to make sure we are spending it on what we need to. Well, This month I recently took it over. Its been hard, but I am finally pulling it all together.

So I saw this idea on pinterest, but I never got the chance to put it all together. It is a finance folder where all of the money, budget and other important bill paying information, which helps when it comes to pay day and bill paying days. 

The first page I added in was and index. I had listed out all of the pages on it. Now, I have added Money saving tips, big purchase receipts/warrant information, and doctor's appointment information and cards. This is my way of laying out what is in here and in what order, because I like that kind of organization.

    Then I added in a calendar. I wrote in all of the bills that we need to pay and the days we get paid. Since we both work together we have the same paydays, but I also have my drill payday (which I normally just leave in my savings account.) After we pay the bills, I highlight where I wrote it so I know what we have left for the bills to be paid this month. I also try to write how much each one is so I know what is due that week. It is helpful because I can easily see it all in one spot instead of having each statement to look at.

The next sheet lays out all of our spending. I have printed out four of these sheets. One for each week of the month. That way each day when we spend money, we just record it in that days column. There is a column for the categories, goal spending, one for each day of the week, total spending, and the difference for the week.

After starting this, I decided to print one sheet off at a time and update the goal spending column so it carries over from week to week. 

     Next is our income sheet. Since Sean and I have irregular incomes, I chart each of our checks for the month, then any unexpected income from selling something, or just anything else. This is a way of showing how much we are bring in each month.

I have a category for repaying hospital bills slowly. Sean has had medical problems and now we are working to pay them off. I haven't sat down with the statements yet to figure out how much a month/ how long until they will be paid off. I will be doing this soon.

After the income is our wish list. These are the extra things that we slowly want to save up for. Things for the house and for us. Some of them have estimated prices with them and some don't. But this is a good way to lay out the things that we want or need, but can't just go out and buy it right away. With my tax return, we did buy a new vacuum and the laundry sorter. It was great to cross things off of this list. While the list will never be gone and there will always be something we want for the house. It is a good way to plan for bigger purchases. 

I have included some simple money saving tips in the folder. Simple things like selling stuff, cleaning out my closet and the things we have already started doing to save money. I put them in there as a reminder for me of why I sit down with all of the finances and budget. It is little tips to put me back in the swing of things when I get off sometimes.

    I have a folder for all of the paid bills for the month in case I need something from one of them. It is a good way to keep everything in one place. After the month is over, I will get a filing cabinet to put the months bills in until the end of the year. This way I can set everything aside, but I know what was spent. This is a great way to set up the long term budget because going month by month can be hard when different things happen in a month. This is a good way to chart a months spending. Ie. How much was the electric bill last January. so on and so forth.

Last but not least, I keep all of our online account information. This is where I keep our Charter account name and log in, bank account information and other certain things like that. This way it is all in one spot for when I need to pay bills.

So, another success from pinterest, I would say. It is great to keep everything organized. Not to mention make sure bills get paid on time. I keep this folder in a basket with a folder that holds all of our receipts, and other important tax information. I am really glad that I sat down to do this because it is a great way to lay everything out. Thank you pinterest.

This blog also has a really great spin on this folder as well. I like how she has different folders for each category of my budget.

So start your finance folder today, because this is the best thing I have ever done for our finances!!

Money Savings Tips #1

   This blog is an extra one for the day to make up for all the days that I have been slacking off. It was started a while ago and when I come across something, I open up my blog and type it in there. Finally, I think I have finished this one at least.  I am hoping to make this a series of posts, but one step at a time.

  Being young and working for every single penny that I earn. It is important to make sure that it all goes to something worth while. Right now, I am all about money saving.

  Someday, years and years from now, (meaning after I graduate college and have a full time job) I really really want to buy a house. I'd like to be able to pay for it all in full. (I'm talking years and years)
    My mom and dad have been really good about teaching me how to save money. When I was in 6th grade, I remember my mom taking me down to the daily sun for me to get a paper route. I also remember the day the day that I received my first good check from that paper route. My mom took me down to First National Bank to open up a savings account. To this day, I still have the savings account, and let me tell you, its more than it was when I started delivering papers. My parents always made me put about half of the check into savings. I am very thankful that they made me put that money away instead of wasting it away on little things. The other half of my check was up to me. I usually put more than half away, but I used the money to go skating (Way back when that was still THE thing to do.)

    I have started looking for little things that I could save money on. All those dollars really add up in the long run.

Here are my favorites:

• Finding Clothing at Goodwill: Clothes that people just got rid of, some can actually be cute. I know a lot of people feel like they are too good for them, but with a sewing machine and pinterest, who knows what your closet will turn out to look like.
• Drink water: It's free and it is better for your health! Drinking a cold glass of water, once an hour, increases your metabolism which helps you lose weight faster.
• Have a budget and stick to it! The most important thing is to know where your money is going every month. Knowing where it goes is the first step to make cutbacks in your budget and find out where you could be saving money.
• Cut the cable. Most people pay anywhere from 20-50+ dollars a month for cable and there is still NOTHING on TV  We switched to only having Netflix and Hulu. (Sports fans, I DO NOT recommended) I will admit, I do miss Big Bang Theory and NCIS, but that's why I go to my parent's house.
• Stop paying for prepackaged snacks: Buying the big containers of snacks and little Ziploc baggies is soo much cheaper in the long run. Also, many snacks, have a homemade recipe somewhere on the internet. If you have the time, making them can be WAY cheaper.
• Instead of stopping at the gas station for a pop every day, going to buy the 2 liters at Walmart (Priced at 1.25) and reuse a bottle or buy a water bottle (As cheap as $1.00) That would 1. Save you time in the morning. and 2. save money because I can guess that most mornings, you don't just get the pop. Probably a donut or a slice of breakfast pizza. Then some gum, and some candy for later. So that 1.10 pop probably ends up costing you around 4 or 5 dollars for a majority of the mornings.
• ALWAYS shop online before making big purchases or DVDs, Video Games, books because most the time you can find it cheaper online than you can at Walmart.
• Pinterest. If you don't have it already and are avoiding getting it because of the time you will spend not doing the other things you need to do. I would suggest getting it. I have severely cut back on how much time I spend on pinterest, but I have found recipes for making your own Windex  laundry soap, dish soap, homemade foods instead of buying a product, and so many other things. Pinterest is a great way to find everything you could ever use online and keeping it bookmarked. 
• Make your own house cleaners. My mom made us a HUGE bucket of laundry soap for Christmas  we have been using it since and still have over half a bucket. It is great because we haven't had to buy laundry soap (Which starts adding up quickly) since Christmas! 
• Make your razors last forever! (I found this on a website, I haven't tried it, but this is what I found) http://www.wisebread.com/want-to-keep-your-dispoable-razor-blades-sharp-use-your-arm
• Now, this is probably the biggest thing I have seen debated all over the internet. To use cash or to use your card. I prefer cash when I can. Personally, it is harder for me to hand over 45 dollars in cash than it is for me to swipe my card and spend it. Although I do agree that sometimes cash isn't practical and that each has their benefits. One thing I do like about my card is that I can see where I spend my money and exactly how much I spend without saving all of my receipts. This is something for each person to decide, but if you use cash, I highly recommend that you find a mason jar and place all your spare change there. That money can be used as a big purchase savings (ie. Sean and I put all our change together. We just cashed it in and are now planning our trip to Cincinnati, Ohio. No it isn't going to pay for all of it, but it ended up being close to 65 dollars that we wouldn't of had otherwise)
• If you are going to use a card (I don't follow this one) but if you can, I suggest looking for a great rewards card (ie. Cash back, sign up bonuses etc.)  I shall start looking soon. (This is the next goal on my list of things to do.)
•  Research says that using separate bank accounts (One for Emergency, Bills, Savings, and a Slush Fund) is the best way to save some money. A lot of things that I have read talk about automatic withdraws into the separate accounts. (At McD, they just give us our checks, but I have been considering opening a bank account for all of my military pay where I can't see or touch it. That way I have the funds, but I never add that in for what I have) I am not really sure that separate banks accounts is the best idea, but if it works for some than it may work for others. Maybe some day! 

    Here are the firsts. I'm hoping to slowly come up with more ideas to save money, other than on groceries. (I got the groceries down) Please! If you have a way you save money, comment and let me know! You may just see it in a follow up blog post like this one! I would love to see more comments on my blog posts for feedback and other ideas!

Grocery Shopping

  Everyone who is responsible for feeding other people (whether kids, spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend, etc.) probably hates this task. I know it is the worst possible thing that I have to do.
       Every two weeks I pack up my wallet, calculator and coupons and head to the grocery store, aka. Wal-mart. I make sure that I know how much I am going to spend and I won't spend more.
    But I haven't always been like this... When I first started out I was spending 150+ dollars on each trip to Wal-mart for two weeks.. and for my boyfriend and I.. It was getting ridiculous. I spent hours and hours reading blogs and looking on pinterest (yeah, it really is good for something other than relaxation and procrastination) for ways to save money on groceries. I just couldn't fathom that every family in the United States was spending this kind of money for just a few things. I know that 300 dollars a month for a family isn't too bad, but for just my boyfriend and I.. It seemed like someone out there would have a guide to lower that awful grocery bill.

Here are my 8 favorite tips for saving hundreds a month on groceries.

1. Plan out your meals
    I have recently placed a marker board on the fridge with a list of the MEALS that are in the cabinets/fridges. My goal on shopping day is to have two weeks worth of meals planned out. I try to use the ones with perishable items first or if possible, I stick it in the freezer. I only buy things for set meals when I go to the grocery store, plus some snack food for the afternoons. For snacks, I buy lots of the Yoplait yogurt that is 58 cents at Walmart. I also buy fresh fruit, which many people argue that it is too expensive, but actually it cost roughly the same as a bag of potato chips as it does for a 3lb bag of apples. I would rather see a ton of fruit on my counter than chips and junk food.

2. Make a List
    I've been there. I remember wondering around Wal-mart with my mom when I was younger. We would be looking for something for supper. I remember buying a lot of food that we didn't really need but we thought we might eat it. My mom would have a list that mostly consisted of bread, milk, cheese, and "something for supper." It works for some people... but not for me.

3. Buy in Bulk
  Now, I am not talking about going to SAM's club and buying a months worth of fruit. It will probably spoil before you get to eat it. I am talking about simple things that you use often. This changes for every person. Sean and I look for really good sales at Sunmart or Supermarket for the 10lb rolls of hamburger. We bring it home, cut it into approx. 1lb bags, and freeze it. If you are going to do this, make sure you write the date on the bag to ensure that you use the oldest stuff first. We also go through quite a bit of cream cheese. There was a sale a while back for 4/$5 dollars on cream cheese. We bought 12 of them and 5 are in the freezer for cooking. Little things like that, when food is on sale is a great time to buy it, but only if you can freeze it or use it right away.

4. Look for store brands
This is kind of an obvious one, but the Great Value brand is probably my best friend when it comes to grocery shopping. It is normally 10 to 15 cents cheaper that a brand name depending on the product.

5. Don't be fooled by coupons
  I know couponing takes so much time and it is so much extra work. But I have to say, if it is already on your list, take the coupons with you. If it isn't on your list, don't think it is a good idea to buy it.. You aren't saving money, you are spending it on that product that you didn't need for your home. Also, if there is a brand cheaper than the price- coupon.. get the cheaper one. Just because you have a coupon, doesn't mean it has to be used. Many times they aren't worth it and there are some better deals, but sometimes, if you also have a sales price match - coupon. It can cost you under a dollar for something that is priced 2.00+ in the store.  Which brings me to my next tip... (These can all be found in the Saturday Beatrice Daily Sun.)

6. Price matching can be your friend
   After making your list for the grocery store. Skim the competitors ads to see if any of those things are on sale. Quite a few times you can find most of you're stuff cheaper. When I do this I look through the sales ads with my phone out. I take pictures of the ads (instead of lugging the ads with me to the store) and write it on my list. I make sure to add up everything I can to make sure I am not going over on my budgeted pricing. On the iPhone, there is an app called "Weekly Ads" It searches for your location and gives you the updated ads based on stores. It has Walgreens, Target, CVS, Wal-Mart, and Shop-ko, which makes it great for having all of the ads in one place. All I have to do is look through the app and screenshot the great sales.
Wednesday daily sun has all of the sales ads for the weeks.

7. Keep a list of Wal-mart (or your grocery stores) prices
   This I didn't find on pinterest, but Sean and I decided to do after a couple trips. It saves time at the store because you know if the sale on the brand name product is actually cheaper than the store brand. I keep my list in an excel document on my computer. When I come home from the grocery store I make sure to add some of the things I didn't have before. My list is mostly Great Value prices, but I have some other stuff like Kraft Cheese Singles, which are on sale frequently, Eggs, Bread, and that kind of stuff that we buy frequently. This helps me add up all of the items that I will be getting at the store.

8. Calculator
   Last little tip.. Sometimes price matches and coupons don't work out. Sometimes it's because the store doesn't carry that size or that brand of that product. Walmart can't have everything. I keep a running total of how much everything is going to cost me because most of the time I take cash to the grocery store to ensure I don't overspend. Keeping a running total is important because I don't want to get up to the register and not have enough. HOW EMBARRASSING!

      Now I am not an expert. Every person has their own way of saving money. But last month I lowered our grocery costs from almost $300 down to almost $150 for the entire month. I also make two separate transactions so the household items are not in there (just for accurate budgeting) Total, a month, I probably spend around $175-$185 at Wal-mart a month. While that's still a lot and I would love to bring it down more. I am really glad that it is no longer in the $300 range.

Like I said, everyone has their own way that works for them, but for all of the kids that are going to college and don't live in the dorms/don't have the meal plan. I would suggest starting out this way instead of finding that you need to save money after months of spending A LOT just to eat.

Below is my grocery receipt from the last time I went to the grocery store. I bought 60 items for $79.63. That was for a two week time span. I'm starting to rock this! (:

Also. A side note. Never think that eating out is cheaper. I also found that out after a ton of number crunching (thankfully, I am pretty good at Math- Thanks Ms. Mick). Once and a while it is ok, but it definitely adds up quickly so make sure you are watching the cost for each meal. (Not that I am complaining about people eating fast food. Those people pay my paychecks (: )
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