Grocery Store and Mateo

Saving Money #3

So a few months ago I become frustrated that we kept going over on what we'd allotted for our grocery budget. We have a little bit of squiggle room in the budget, so it wasn't like an emergency- but it was still something I felt I needed to tweak. So that's when I started doing the couponing, and I started also just brainstorming.

How do YOU save money at the grocery store? I wanna know!

I would love more ideas. Everything I came up with requires more time which may be difficult for the full time worker, but I'm trying to swing it. Here is what I have tried so far....

1. I no longer buy baby carrots. I buy a cheap 2 lb bag of carrots for like 78 cents and peel them and slice them up myself. Easy, right? It's also cheaper and I think they taste better.

2. We started shredding our own cheese (Oh, that's what the cheese grater is for....) and buying block cheese unless there is a good sale on shredded. I am also thinking of not buying string cheese any more since the price per ounce is a lot higher. Though yesterday I got a pack for half off with a coupon ( I love coupons! ) but without a coupon it's more expensive than a block cheese. I just use the cheese slicer and slice a bunch of slices for sandwiches or Mateo's snacks.

3. I love the bulk section at WinCo. I buy a lot of things in there like rice, beans, nuts, spices, etc. I have found it to be cheaper than buying a bag of the item. Especially spices!! I buy the tiny plastic spice containers and some of the spice and voila!

I'm not going to make everything from scratch, but a few extra prep tasks can make a difference.


On a side note.... despite the tantrums, short naps, and picky eating, and just pure ankle biting tendencies, ..... Mateo is a lot of fun. I'm so lucky to get to be with him every day. I say that today, b/c it has been a pretty decent day. Tomorrow I may say, "Get me out of here!!!!!!" He's starting to "pretend" play more and it's been pretty cute to just see how he's interacting differently with kids at play group and at the gym kid watch. He was feeding the stuffed bear "milk" from this little tiny bottle, giving it kisses, and moving his hand and saying "hi".
We built a cardboard fort out of a gigantic box downstairs. Actually, Grandpa made it for him :) It even has a skylight and a window. It's pretty fun.

That said, it is often challenging to occupy a one year old with Mateo's temperament. He's not a naturally independent child. We try to train him to be a little more independent and play by himself a little more, but he just seems to want a lot of snuggles and interaction. That's why I love love love that I have a gym membership this year. The ladies there LOVE him and he really seems to love them back. Especially if they have a ball. Mateo loves balls. SO I get an hour sans baby to exercise, and Mateo gets attention by somebody new and gets to play with new toys. Lifesaver. And did I mention that the gym has cable? :-)