Have a plan!

by Tara
(Davenport, IA USA)

Part one of the plan involves coupons. I clip coupons from the newspaper, as well as trusted coupon sites, that I might use.

Part two involves much more intensive planning--I plan meals that I can easily make on a larger scale (think spaghetti, chicken soup, etc.) so I can have leftovers later in the week. I also always make a list before shopping and match my coupons to the list before I get to the store--this way, I don't forget about any! I also watch the sale ads and use them to plan my purchases--if a particular cut of meat is on sale for an unbeatable price I buy more than I need and freeze what I don't use right away.

I do the same thing when pop is on sale for a great price--I buy more than I need right now and store the rest in the pantry.

Another thing I do is take advantage of stores with price-matching policies. Wal-Mart matches competitors' advertised prices (and their prices are often the lowest on non-sale items) so I scour all the ads I can find for deals that they will match. These may sound like obvious answers but you'd be surprised how much money you can save this way!