Thrifty Thursday

Today we have a guest post from Katrina, a long time reader!  She is working really hard to save money on great foods for her family, and today she has some ideas to share with you! While I am trying to eat better and less processed foods all the time, I am just not sure I am ready to give up my ranch dressing and A1 steak sauce quite yet!  (And the best part is that Katrina assures me that is OK!)

I’m so excited Shelly has given me a chance to share with you on Thrifty Thursday. She is one of my blogging heroes!!

About six months ago, I got into a conversation with a friend who began challenging some of my ideas about “real” and “organic” foods. As a hardcore couponer, I had our family grocery shopping and budget figured down to the penny, so I assumed there was NO room in our budget for adjusting to more expensive foods just because of the “organic” hype. However, after some research and close examination of our food consumption, I skeptically decided to try to improve the way we ate, even if only a little bit. After all, I had mastered couponing. Couldn’t I master real foods on a budget too?

Now, I am writing a blog called The Poorganic Life, where I talk about keeping your food and your faith REAL so that you can be generous with others. We don’t eat “organically” per se, but rather what I call “poorganically.” The whole point of being “poorganic” is to eat unprocessed foods, save money, and then . . . give away your savings! Try it; it’s AWESOME.

Today, our food budget is only a little more than it was before, but I’ve cut out almost ALL processed foods. We aren’t extremists or purists by any means, but here are a few tips that I’ve found help us to stay thrifty and healthy.

1. Ditch processed foods. If you’re not sure whether or not your food is processed, follow the 5 ingredient rule. Foods with more than five ingredients (made by someone other than you) can be considered “processed.”  This includes meats with dozens of preservatives, margarine blends, salad dressings, and snack foods. Obviously, there are exceptions like trail mix, where the items aren’t processed, but generally speaking, the five ingredient rule is a good guideline for avoiding added sugar, salt, and preservatives.

WHAT?!?! I hear you saying. That eliminates at least half of the food I get with coupons! Save that money for buying single ingredients and PRODUCE.

2. Allocate at least one-third of your food budget for fruits and vegetables. Grow your food or buy it from a local farmer. If that isn’t an option (in winter), buy organic produce. If you can’t afford organic, buy conventional produce and wash it thoroughly.

Most grocery stores contain “local” produce that is at least from your state.  Even buying frozen or canned produce is better than filling up on processed foods.  In the winter I buy lots of inexpensive produce from a co-op or ALDI, which is not local, but is better than garbage food.

3. Throw away the processed food coupons. This will be VERY hard if you are a serious bargain hunter like I was. You will feel like you are throwing money right into the trash; however, you will actually be freeing up the time and money you need to find real food deals. If you don’t have the coupon for those items, you will probably not be tempted to buy the item.

4. Adjust the way you coupon. There ARE good coupons for many real foods, but it takes a while to learn the brands and costs. Be willing to adjust your buy prices, knowing that eliminating so many processed foods (even free or cheap ones) has created space for buying slightly more expensive REAL foods. Use Shelly’s coupon database to search for coupons for real foods which don’t necessarily go on sale. Save real food coupons for coupon promotions like Harris Teeter Super Doubles. Then stock up on real food essentials like organic peanut butter, oatmeal, rice, or Muir Glen organic tomato products.

5. Shop and coupon the pharmacies!! One area that you don’t want to coupon less is with your non-food items. Devote your couponing time and effort to getting lots of great deals on paper goods, cleaning supplies, personal hygiene products, diapers, and office supplies. Making the most of your savings at CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, and office stores will provide a bit more cushion in your grocery budget for real food. Our food budget has increased about $30-40 a month, but I’ve made up about $20 of that by saving money at the pharmacy.

6. Buy from bulk bins. If you have access to a store that has bulk dry goods and spices, SHOP THERE! I shop at Earth Fare for all my dry goods and spices and get much better prices than I could get couponing for those items. I make homemade granola, bread, soups, and hummus all from items I get in the bulk bin. Spices are a fraction of the cost and you can get small amounts for the spices that you use infrequently.

I hope these tips encourage you to try eating real foods. You can find some more tips to Eating Poorganically at The Poorganic Life.

Do you have a Thrifty idea? Did you save a ton of money this week? Do you have a Thrifty deal you want to share? If so, please leave a comment or link up below!

Well, finally a topic that I have plenty of experience with!  Ways to save money when you are sick!

(I am not focusing on what you can do to prevent illness today, that will be another time!)

P.S.  I am not a doctor, so don’t construe this as medical advice.  These tips will simply help you save a little money when you or someone in your family gets sick.

1. Drink lots of water.  Almost any illness you have, you need plenty of water.   And the best part is that it is cheap or free!  This might be hard for you diet Coke addicts, but water is good for you anytime and especially when you are sick. (In most cases that is.)

2. Keep a supply of tissues.  I generally pay less than $1 for a really good box of tissues, and sometimes I can get them for free.  Nothing bugs me more than to have to pay full price for tissues!  Plus, it is no fun to go to the store when you are sick.  Find a spot in your house for storage, and keep a supply of tissues on hand.  Now you are prepared.  (Because you know when one person needs them, some others will probably follow.)

3. Rest.  It is cheap, free, and can help you get back on your feet sooner.  I know that this sounds like easy advice from a woman with no children.  I realize you moms out there aren’t always able to get the rest you need when you are sick.  But… try to go to bed a little earlier or sleep in a few minutes.  Rest helps your body heal, and you will be able to get back to your everyday routine soon.

4. Chicken soup, crackers, or soft foods can come from your stockpile.  Depending on what is wrong with you, you might need some special food to help you feel better.  It is much easier to get these from your stockpile vs. the store.  Match your foods to how you are feeling, and yes, I think a little comfort food can be in order when you are sick.  No, I don’t tell your husband I said it was ok to eat that half gallon of ice cream. 

5. Use coupons to get OTC medicines at rock bottom prices.  If you have to resort to taking some medicine to help you heal or relieve symptoms, it is better to have a little on hand that you bought really cheap.  That doesn’t mean you should have 10 bottles of Nyquil, and no one in your house uses it.  That means  you should keep 1-2 packs of the medicine your family uses most often on hand.  Rotate it out to ensure that it doesn’t expire.

Illness can be expensive!  What little tips have you found to save money, but still be comfortable and get well?

Do you have a Thrifty idea? Did you save a ton of money this week? Do you have a Thrifty deal you want to share? If so, please leave a comment or link up below!

I am really trying to focus on saving money for Thrifty Thursday, especially since we started the Erase Your Debt Series.  I have been really racking my brain to come up with some ideas to help you all save on your monthly expenses.

Top 5 Ways to Save On Phone Costs:

1. Ditch your home phone. The reality is that most phone calls that are important happen on a cell phone nowadays.  If you are paying for everyone in your family to have a cell phone, don’t pay the extra monthly cost to carry that home phone.
2. If you simply can’t ditch the home phone, go with Magic Jack, Vonage, or bundle your service with your cable company.  Seriously.  My local phone company is about the most expensive option out there. (ALWAYS shop around of course.)
3. Keep your “dumb” cell phone, if you still have one.   (Or whatever you call the opposite of a smart phone.)  Smart phones are expensive, and so is the monthly data fee.  If you don’t really need a smart phone, keep your older model or buy one of the few non-smart phone models out there.  It will save you a lot of money.
4. Don’t fall for unlimited texting, if you don’t need it.  I will be the first to admit that most teenagers with cell phones need unlimited texting.  Some adults I have met need it too.  However, many people would do fine with a smaller plan.  I get 500 texts a month for $5.  I never use that many.  Hubby sends very few texts. We figured out that each month he sends less than 50 we are saving, and that is all the time.  (Texts for him cost $.10 each.)
5. Set up blocks on your cell phone account.  Until I started texting, I actually blocked it on my phone.  That way I didn’t have to pay for those crazy wrong number texts everyone gets.  I imagine most of us have had unwanted charges on our phone bills.  Many times you can block users from ordering things or using certain features.  Contact your cell phone company for more details.

Do you have a Thrifty idea? Did you save a ton of money this week? Do you have a Thrifty deal you want to share? If so, please leave a comment or link up below!

Today I am going to talk about 2 ways to reduce your bills.  I want to encourage you to analyze your bills in two ways to help you get started on Erasing Your Debt.

1. Analyze your bills for items you don’t want or need anymore. I know that for a while we were paying $20 a month for a gym subscription that we weren’t even using any more.  It was billed to our checking account monthly, and because it was automatic, we didn’t think twice about it.

• Look for extra cable channels you don’t use (or cut cable entirely).
• Check your phone bill.  Any features you aren’t using? Do you really need a cell phone and a home phone?
• Make sure you aren’t paying for any subscriptions like gym, magazines, or movies that you aren’t using. (Or if you really need to cut back, maybe look for something you can give up.)
• Make sure you aren’t paying too much interest.  Interest rates have dropped.  I am not encouraging you to refinance to extend terms. But if you have a car at 6.99% for 42 more months, call a bank or two and see if they can beat that interest rate for the same term.  (Make sure the savings are worth your effort.)

2. Analyze your bills for mistakes that companies make.

• I was once charged a $20 tip on my card by a server at a restaurant.  I try to tip generously, but not that much!  If I had not watched my statement, I may not have realized.
• Sometimes fees are applied to our bills that aren’t agreed upon.  You can dispute these.  Once, the cable company charged me an installation fee after I had specifically asked if there was one.  I called and they took it off.
• If you are using your credit card AT ALL, look at your statement each month to be sure you know what you are paying for and who is charging you.
• If you get charged late fees, call the company immediately and pay them.  If you are a good customer, they will sometimes waive the fee.

Have you analyzed your bills lately?  Have you found a way to save you would like to share?

Do you have a Thrifty idea? Did you save a ton of money this week? Do you have a Thrifty deal you want to share? If so, please leave a comment or link up below!