Save Money on Groceries Without Coupons

Last week I wrote about how to get started couponing, but for some people even basic couponing might be too time consuming. For those people, or for seasoned couponers looking for more ways to stretch their food budget, here are some additional ways to save money without coupons.

• If you’re pregnant or have small children check out the Women Infant and Children (WIC) supplemental food program in your state. The income requirements are far less restrictive than food stamps. You can’t live off of WIC, but it helps with things like baby food, bread, milk, eggs and fresh produce. If you have a new baby WIC will also help provide breastfeeding resources like lactation consultants and breast pumps. Contact your local health department for more information.

• Shop the sales. You don’t have to use coupons to get a good deal at the grocery store. Knowing what items are on sale at what store can save you lots of money. Nothing is more frustrating than to buy milk at Wal-Mart only to discover milk is on sale at Target. While I wouldn’t recommend going to four or five different stores to do one weeks worth of grocery shopping, splitting your trip between two stores may be worth it in savings.

• Utilize Angel Food Ministries. Angel Food is an amazing bulk food program administrated through individual churches. The program provides a box full of food – this includes items like beef, chicken, frozen vegetables, pasta, eggs, cereal, milk and dessert items – for $31. You can sign up for a box of food online or at an affiliated church. Check out www.angelfoodministries.com to find out more.

• Change the way you cook. Little culinary changes can make a big change in your wallet. Try making meat a side dish instead of the main course. Meat is usually the most expensive part of any meal and portion control is the key to saving money. Consider dishes like pasta, rice or casseroles. Also make sure you freeze every bit of leftover meat or vegetable to use later in soups. Nothing is cheaper, easier or more convenient than soup.

• Try do-it-yourself options. Everyone knows it’s cheaper to cook at home than to eat out, right? Well the same holds true when it comes to everything else in life – it’s less expensive to DIY. This trick is all about weighing what’s more important to you – cost or convenience. You could do something as simple as forgoing the store-bought chicken, beef or vegetable stock in favor of bullion and tap water or as complicated as starting your own vegetable garden or baking your own bread. A quick, easy way to DIY and save money (and the environment) is to make your own cleaning supplies. You can clean almost anything with baking soda, vinegar, soap nuts and lemon juice.

Emily is a mother, wife, non-profit administrator and freelance writer – usually in that order. She blogs about her experiments combining attachment parenting, green living and real life at www.crunchyishmama.blogspot.com.