COUPONS:
This is a fantastic site to search for coupons
(seen on the Oprah Show)
SHOP FOR DEALS COUPONS DISCOUNTS
COUPONS BY EMAIL - COOL SAVINGS
THE COUPONER. The method is pretty simple, and those who adhere to this style of grocery shopping are just one clip short of being fanatics. That's what makes this method work.
The rule is simple: Shop at the best supermarket in town but buy only items that are on sale AND for which you have a coupon. Now, you get that sale price, plus the coupon value, and that makes for very cheap shopping. It's not easy, but once you get the hang of it, it's not difficult at all. Especially if you "hire" a helper. You can use the free site, TheCouponMom.com, to help you discover what's on sale in a store near you.
You can also do the sure thing and join TheGroceryGame.com, which is the primo site for serious couponers. It will cost you $10 every eight weeks, but you're going to save so much money that $1.25 per week will be chump change. Personally, this is the only way I will coupon because I'm just not that good at it myself. But with The Grocery Game? I could qualify to be coupon queen. NOTE: You can get a four-week trial membership for just a buck, which I highly recommend.
THE CHERRY PICKER. There are some people who, no matter how much help is available, simply cannot abide the idea of clipping, filing and remembering to use grocery coupons. That's okay. You may find "cherry picking" to be your method of choice.
Cherry pickers know that nearly every food store has weekly specials, and the sale items that are dirt cheap are priced so low they are actually less than the store's cost. Stores do this to lure customers through the door, in hopes that person will buy more than the "loss leaders" and pay full price for them. But cherry pickers are shrewd. They buy only the loss leaders from several stores.
It's easy to find the loss leaders if you watch the sale flyers carefully, or go to a site like MyGroceryDeals.com to track all the sales of all the stores in your area. You can make your lists ahead of time then stop off when you are in the vicinity.
SUGAR SAVER. Buy brown sugar when it is on sale and then store it in your freezer in its plastic sack. Placing brown sugar in the freezer will keep it fresh and soft for future use. We left a bag in the freezer all winter at our cabin and recently used it to bake a batch of cookies. It was unchanged and did not need to be softened. Pat, Colorado
TAKE A BITE OUT OF LOCAL GROCERY PRICES
Grocery Shopping Styles: Get One
I tell you, the high cost of food these days is enough to take your appetite away. To beat the high cost you need to adopt and perfect a specific shopping method that fits your temperament and lifestyle--and then stick to it tenaciously. It's not difficult. What it takes is dogged determination. Your reward will be good food, cheap.
THE REBEL. Most of us are conditioned to assume a grocery store or supermarket is the place to purchase food. That would be wrong, especially these days when lots of retailers are getting into the food business--and offering amazing deals.
Most dollar stores are now offering canned goods and other non-perishables--some even have refrigerator and freezer cases. Drug stores like Walgreens are now competing with supermarkets on milk (much cheaper where I live) and non-perishables.
Have you checked the food aisles at Target? Rebels know that cereal, snacks, cake mixes and a plethora of other items at these kinds of discount stores are much cheaper than elsewhere. Many even take coupons. Rebel shoppers also take advantage of local farmers markets because the prices, while already low, are often negotiable.
No matter your food-shopping style, now's the time to hone your skills and sharpen your method. If you've never really thought about it before? For you, my friend, it's time to get stylin'!
From Mary Hunt... Debt Proof Living
FOOD:
Best way to ripen a banana is to stick it into a paper bag with an apple. Most fruits and vegetables generate ethylene gas while they ripen. This gas is a very active plant hormone.
Items particularly sensitive to ethylene gas, such as broccoli and bananas, will spoil quickly if stored in the same area as avocados, melons, and apples, which are ethylene producers.
This means we need to keep our vegetables away from the fruits to make our fresh foods last longer. This may explain why your refrigerator has two crisper drawers.
These Create Ethylene Gas: apples, apricots, avocados, bananas, blueberries, cantaloupe, citrus fruits (except grapefruit), cranberries, figs, guavas, grapes, green onions, honeydew, ripe kiwi fruit, mangoes, melons, mushrooms, nectarines, okra, papayas, passion fruit, peaches, pears, persimmons, pineapple, plantains, plums, prunes, quinces, tomatoes and watermelon.
These Become Damaged by Ethylene Gas: asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, chard, cucumbers, cut flowers, eggplant, endive, escarole, florist greens, green beans, kale, kiwi fruit, leafy greens, lettuce, parsley, peas, potatoes, potted plants, romaine lettuce, spinach, squash, sweet potatoes, watercress and yams.
Of course you can use ethylene gas to your favor. Try this: Place an unripe avocado in a plastic or paper bag by itself and it will ripen much more quickly because the ethylene gas is trapped inside and becomes concentrated.
Ditto for bananas. Since they produce ethylene, they can be manipulated to ripen themselves more quickly inside a bag than if left out in the open air. And remember to add an apple to the bag when you’re in a big hurry, since apples are big-time ethylene producers!
From Mary Hunt creator of Debt Proof Living
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CHEESE STORAGE. To stop cheese from going moldy, instead of wrapping it in plastic, use aluminum foil. Heather P., Ontario, Canada
TIP:
Make your own veggie spray with grapefruit seed extract—found at your local health food store—to help wash away any chemicals that could be on your fruit. Rinsing simply isn't enough. "All you do is spray it on the vegetables, leave it for 5 or 10 minutes and rinse them off, and you've got rid of a lot of pesticide residue
VEGETABLE WASTE
WASTE NOT. Instead of throwing out broccoli stems, grate them and add them to salads or slaw, or peel them and cut them into sticks, as you would carrots, to eat as a snack. Broccoli sticks are yummy and good for you. Janice B., North Carolina