by Mereena J
If you are a mother, you know how expensive it can be to take care of your family. One of the areas that takes a great deal of money is food. Groceries are more expensive, and going out to eat is not thought of if the family is on a budget. There are some money saving tips that you can use every day.
Coupons
Make coupons your friend. Coupons are everywhere. The Sunday newspaper has the most coupons during the week. You can also receive coupons in the mail on certain days. If you have a printer, you can go to online coupon sites and print as many coupons as you want. You need to get a notebook and baseball card pages so that you can keep all of your coupons separated. Organize your coupons by expiration date or the type of food the coupon is for.
The key to saving money with coupons is to use the coupon when the product is on sale. Some stores double the value of a coupon. When the item goes on sale that you have a coupon for, you can use the coupon and get the item for almost nothing. A buy one, get one free sale gives the best results.
Free Kids Meals
Restaurants are now seeing that parents are watching the money they make. This has led to many restaurants offering free kids meals with the purchase of an adult meal. You need to call the restaurant to check on the details of the program. Most restaurants allow two kids meals with one adult purchase.
Grow Your Own Food
When the warm weather arrives in the spring, get your gardening shoes ready. Make a garden in your back yard and plant as many seeds as you can. You can find seeds for less than one dollar at most stores. Start your vegetables in small cups until a plant appears. After the last frost of the season, put the plants in the ground. Water your plants and watch them turn into food for your family. Vegetables that you grow yourself are healthy for you family and they are free.
Buy Generic
Just because the box is prettier does not mean you have to get name brand foods. The store brand is basically the same thing, but it is about half the price. If you need to convince your family that the store brand is just as good, get clear containers for cereal and add the cereal to the container. Dispose of the box so that your family does not see the name.