A few weeks ago I was out shopping and kept noticing all these great deals. There was a stock up price on chicken, a great deal on cereal, BUY ONE GET ONE FREE shoulder roasts (my favorite cut of meat for the crockpot), and a few other bargains just begging me to stock up.
I stuck them all in my cart, then mentally started adding up my grocery total. As we've been working harder since the new year to stick to our grocery budget I knew those “deals” were going to put us over our budget, but it kind of hurt to think about not stocking up when they were all such good prices.
Then I remembered that thing I've learned after years and years of penny pinching. (Are you ready for this?)
There's almost always another deal.Â
Really.
That stock up price on chicken? It'll come back again. (Unless it's under 99¢ per pound ~ then I would have bought the whole store out.) 😉
Another cereal deal? Yup, those are a dime a dozen and within a few weeks time there's bound to be another bargain.
And those roasts? Well (~ahem~) honestly I did buy the roasts. BOGO shoulder roasts are just too hard for this penny pincher to put away, especially in the midst of the-it-really-is-winter-and-we-use-our-crockpot-way-too-much-because-it's-cold-outside-season. 😉
But guess what? I saved a whopping $45 on that grocery trip by simply not choosing to grab all those great deals. As luck would have it I came home and noticed at least 5 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breast in my freezer, plenty of cereal, and enough groceries already in my kitchen even without those extra deals.
There are so. many. great. deals. that we post here on PPP and that you can find at the store, but ultimately if they're beyond your grocery budget they probably aren't worth it. I've said it before (over and over and over?) and I'll say it one more time . . . there is no other area in your family's finances that you can control as your grocery budget, so this is one area I can choose to maintain control in.
Are there any items that you find on sale that you simply can't pass up? For me deals on fresh meat and produce are the hardest to walk away from (I don't ever really skip a great price on fresh produce), but choosing to save on other items by leaving at them at the store was well worth it for me. I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Download my free stock up price list if you haven't already!
New to budgeting and don't know where to begin? Here are a few posts to you get started:
- App that Makes Penny Pinching Easy
- How Cleaning and Organizing Help My Budget
- What My Five Year Old Taught Me About Money
- Don't Sacrifice What You Really Want For What You Want Right Now
- How Much Should A Family Spend On Groceries?
- Are you on an all cash budget?
- New to couponing? Here's where to start.
- How Does Your Grocery Budget Look?
- Extreme Coupon Fraud: What You See On TV Isn't Always Real
- Are You Spending Within Your Budget?
- Save the Way You Can Save: Penny Pinching Is Not A Competition
- Are You Satisfied With Your Penny Pinching?
- You Do Have Time To Coupon (But You Don't Have To Do Everything. . .)
- Are Coupons For Everyone?
- How To Really Change Your Grocery Budget
- How to Save on Organics
My husband shops for us. I make a list, and give him the coupons and he goes and gets the items. He is a no nonsense shopper and he price matches, and everything. His father was born during the Depression and I have NEVER seen anyone more thrifty than my Father in Law! He lives by the rule of only get what you need, and even then don’t turn on the lights just because they are there. Keep the lights off in your house as long as possible, and only use them at night! As I sit here with a stack of coupons before me I need to look at what we really NEED! Thank you for this timely post!
I always fall into this trap around Christmas. There are so many deals that I get overwhelmed and end up stressed if I pass something up. But what a blessing to be able to walk away knowing that being frugal isnt about chasing deals but about being grateful for what you have and living within your means. Thanks for the reminder.
I love that Nicole – thank you for sharing!
Love going in the 98¢ store scored great deals on generic as well as name brand large bottles ketchup Heinz, bags of dole salad at kroger $2, there 98¢–bags of dole shredded carrots red cabbage or regular coleslaw mix as well as other vegetables-gallon of milk $1.79 many many other deals changes weekly. Also aldis grocery store has great deals. Amazon has great deals under their warehouse open box deals just got samsung 60″ 4k 2015 tv under $800. Wayfair under their clearance sections ashley end table that costs $220 just scored 2 for $120.00 each, pacific coast lighting table lamps $200 got them for $60.00 each. I do know how to squeeze a penny.
I TOTALLY agree! Another rule of mine is: Never buy the item with a coupon if there is a generic brand with equal quality at a lower price. Same goes for rebates, such as iBotta, etc.
Result is that I do not use many coupons and skip many rebates.
Since I use many homemade products for cleaning and try to avoid processed foods this also decreases use of coupons, rebates, etc.
But, in the long run, I save more by selective buying and homemade products than all the coupons and rebates.
YES Glennis! Name brands really don’t matter at our house, so if Kroger makes it cheaper than Pillsbury does I generally buy their brand. (Except for a few specific items – certain cereals? – but most things are fine!) Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much for this post!!!! I used to coupon and stock up on items ALL the time. Eventually I found that I was ultimately spending more money, and quickly running out of space in my kitchen. I had to stop. Now, I’m trying to save money again, so of course I’m price matching and doing some couponing, but this time I’m trying to do it in moderation. Maybe don’t get 10 boxes of one thing just because I can. Instead, if I can get it cheap and I NEED it then grab what I need, because like you said, another deal is around the corner. This just reaffirmed what I’ve been thinking and feeling for a while now. Thanks!
You’re so welcome Megan ~ it sounds like you’re already on track! It’s so hard because there really ARE good deals, but if we don’t need them they’re really not worth it. So important to maintain a balance (which is why I’ve never really been an extreme couponer!)
That one thought – there will always be another sale – has saved me a lot of money and stress this year. Great advice.
I have to remind myself of it all the time Beverly because there really are so many good deals out there! It does save so much money and exactly like you said, stress too. Thanks for the reminder!
Honestly, this is one of the best posts I have read anywhere in quite a while. We are going through a very tight financial time right now and I feel that I’m not taking advantage of some deals, but then I read about people chasing drugstore deals especially and I’m thinking, “I don’t need any of that stuff, so it’s not a deal for me”!
Great common sense advice that we all need at one time or another. Thanks.
You’re exactly right Jennifer – there are so many deals but if you don’t need them (and don’t have wiggle room in your budget), you can miss them for now! Praying peace for you right now as you go through this difficult financial time – those are so difficult but it sounds like you already are looking at it the right way!
Thanks Laurie. Dh was out of work for 11 months, his father died and we moved 3 times in 18 months – AND this was with 3 teenagers. Prayer is what got us through, but we certainly appreciate any extra. 🙂 Dh and I say “God is good all the time” all day every day and it has become our mantra.
Bless your heart Jennifer – I can’t even begin to imagine. Life with teenagers is just HARD in general (I feel like I’m going nuts and only one of mine is 14!), and to have so much added stress with moving is just so much.
Not sure if it will help but you may want to read these – goodness life’s just hard sometimes! We haven’t had near the added stress that you all have and it’s been HARD – my heart aches for you and I just added a post it note to my computer screen to keep you in my prayers!!!
https://passionatepennypincher.com/2014/06/when-life-just-isnt-easy/
https://passionatepennypincher.com/2014/06/how-to-make-life-more-liveable/