Above is one of my buddies from nursing school, "city girl" and her little pumpkin. As you can see she was part of last weeks photo shot. She does not have a blog so I pestered her to write a little something up on her recent endeavors. I have learned from her and thought it would be nice to share with others.
Do you remember last winter? You know, when oil prices sky rocketed? Remember how the cost of groceries climbed higher on a weekly basis? I know large oil bills arrived in our mail box every 3-4 weeks and money got tighter all around which meant my grocery budget took a huge hit.
I know I’ll never forget! Because, on one shopping trip the rising cost of groceries literally brought me to the verge of tears! It seemed that literally every item I reached for that day had gone up in price. I’m not talking just a few pennies either! I’m talking dimes, quarters and dollars. Usually, I am one of those freaks of nature who enjoys grocery shopping…so the sting of tears between the produce aisle and the fish counter was not a good omen.
That night I composed an email to all of my friends. In it I asked them if they were having similar experiences with their budgets and what was it they were doing to stretch their dollar week to week? Was anyone willing to have a conversation around this issue? Did they have any money saving tips to offer me?
I hesitated to send it out because I felt financially embarrassed. I soon had found out that I had nothing to worry about and the sense of embarrassment was replaced by the strength and support of those friends. In fact, everyone replied and in doing so took away the feelings of isolation, provided emotional support and put me in touch with some great resources and ideas.
So, if the economy stretching your hard earned dollar so thin you can practically see through it, please read on.
Grocery budgets can be reduced significantly by giving up store and brand loyalty, creating a price book, shopping for sales, buying in bulk, creating a pantry along with a menu plan for the week/ month. It also helps to have a freezer and to learn to cook from scratch if you don’t know how already.
I found the following references very handy:
An e-book written by Lana Dorazio: Saving Thousands Grocery Shopping & Cook Great Food! It was well worth the $19.00 spent. It includes: e book, grocery price book, 50 simple recipes and an exclusive interview with a grocery store manager who gives away the company secrets. Check it out at www.grocerybook.com
Simple Savings Website & Newsletter
An online community dedicated to finding simple ways to save money and reduce debt to improve the quality of life.
www.simplesavings.com
Thanks City Girl for being such a sport!