The Quest to Save a Few Dollars in this Economy

I'm on vacation this week to help a loved one with some medical things. In preparation for my busy week ahead, I decided to visit the grocery store this morning. While the selection was great and the fruit was ripe, the prices were troubling.

I realize I've been buying my own groceries for over thirty years, and mentally, I'm still looking for the price points I enjoyed in the nineties. I understand times have changed, and prices naturally increase with inflation. However, it hurts my heart to pay $150.00 for half a cart of groceries.

It doesn't matter what my bank account looks like, I'm not paying more for something than I absolutely must. There are a few methods I employ to save as many of my hard-earned dollars as possible. I've posted some of these tips before, but it's been a long time.

Even though groceries are outrageous, cooking at home is still a great deal more economical than eating out. Even fast food has become ridiculous. Last week, my husband and I grabbed some fast food on the way home from feeding our loved one's chickens. It was nearly $30.00 for our food, and we didn't even order beverages.

I shop at my local Aldi quite a bit. Their prices are usually lower than our big box stores. I use digital coupons at stores that offer them. They often coincide with good sales, but you should always watch your individual prices. I recommend checking the sales flyers for the best deals at your local stores before leaving the house.

Shopping online can be economical. Thanks to Amazon Prime Day Deals, I was able to stock up on necessities such as body wash, deodorant, stevia, protein shakes, and socks at great prices. I have also been able to find good deals on the TikTok Shop from time to time.

While I believe in shopping locally owned businesses, we don't have a local grocery store in my town. The city closest to mine doesn't have one, either. All of the grocery stores close to me are national chains.

I use aps on my phone to get money back on purchases in the form of gift cards, too. I use Fetch Rewards, Checkout 51, and Ibotta. They are simple to use. Most of them only involve scanning or photographing the receipt, but Checkout 51 makes me scan my product, as well. If the purchase wasn’t made at Walmart, I also have to scan the items for Ibotta.

If I’m shopping online, I go through the Rakuten site to receive a percentage back on qualifying purchases. Rakuten mails a check directly to me quarterly. While not all stores participate in their program, many of them do. I've received cash back from Macy's, Sam's Club, Nike, Walgreens, Kohls, Target, and many more.

Saving on purchases with careful shopping is only half the battle. Conserving what I purchase is just as important. One of my cost conserving methods is to buy meat and veggies in bulk when they're on sale and freeze them in one-pound packages.

It’s a simple process. I buy a large package of food, gather my supplies, and wash my hands. I use plastic wrap and freezer bags. Sometimes I write the date on the freezer bag with a Sharpie, but I usually don’t bother with ground beef because we use it so quickly.

I separate the food into one-pound sections. Then I wrap each section in plastic wrap. I have developed a technique where I use the plastic wrap to grab the food during the wrapping, so I’m not actually touching it again. After that, I put all of the wrapped sections into a gallon size freezer bag, making sure to completely seal it. I then place it in my freezer for future use.

Freezing left-overs in individual servings is another of my hacks. If we haven’t eaten all of a main course within a couple of days, I freeze what’s left in single servings. I scoop the food into sandwich bags and then put the smaller bags into a gallon size freezer bag. I do write the date on the freezer bags, so I’m sure to use the older batches first. In fact, I am freezing broccoli cheese soup tonight.

One of my best money savers is the fact I take leftovers for lunch every workday. On the rare occasion I don't have leftovers to bring, I keep desk groceries in my office. My desk groceries include beef sticks, tuna salad kits, Vienna Sausages, ramen noodles, protein bars, and canned soup. They aren't glamorous, but they fill the void in a pinch.

Other ways of saving money include being conservative with your electricity. Turning off the lights in a room you’re not using is a simple way of saving. Lowering your thermostat a few degrees in the winter and raising it a few degrees in the summer are great ways of keeping those costs low.

If you see daylight around your door, you need a weatherstrip. They aren’t difficult to install and can save you a lot of money in the heating and cooling of your home. Changing your furnace/air conditioning filters as recommended keeps your system from working too hard and therefore more efficient.

The cost of living is no joke, and I believe in saving money whenever possible. What are some of your favorite money saving tips and tricks?

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