Frugal

How do you spend your money? Do you spend spend spend or are you frugal? What does being frugal mean? Our family is frugal, but this year we are going to be really really frugal.



I have always cut coupons and shopped sales and tried to find the best deals on things that we may need. The first place that I go to in a clothing store is to their sale rack. My kids know this and they too, have implemented this. There is nothing wrong with checking out a sale rack before looking at the things that are not on sale. We are very blessed to have two children that do not have to have(or whine to have) "name brand" things like clothes. Our teenage daughter is just as frugal as I am and doesn't care about the name of an item as long as she likes it and will wear it. The only thing that she really wanted recently was a pair of Sperry's(shoes), she got these for Christmas, but she just casually mentioned them and didn't say that she had to have them nor did she beg. How can you better save at department stores before you go there to shop? Pull up the store that you want to go to on the Internet and see if they have a sale going on, and also see if they have an in store coupon that you can also use. I took advantage of this yesterday before I went to JCPenny, and it paid off just putting a few extra five minutes into going to their web-site and printing off a coupon....in the long run, it saved me $15.oo. Shoe Carnival is a great place to go and get shoes for the whole family. They always have buy one pair get a pair half off, plus if you are Military they give a 10% discount on Tuesdays. Most places will give a Military discount, all you have to do is ask, what's the worse that they can say? No! Like our local Movie Theater, they also give a Military discount. I believe a regular admission price is $10.00 and their Military discount is $7.50. Don't forget that Matinees are always cheaper our Matinees are only $7.00. Also, most Restaurants also have meal deals, coupons or Military discounts. All you have to do is look or ask!





Groceries.......unlike when we were stationed in Europe and only had the Commissary to shop at, there are soooo many Grocery Stores here in the States to shop at. But how do you know which one to shop at? It would be nice if it were that simple, but if you want to pay less on groceries, it's going to take a little from your part. First things first, if you have an Aldi, I strongly encourage you to go and check them out. They have very good prices, especially on fresh produce. Although you will not find lots of name brands at Aldi, they are a great place to shop. Because their prices are so low, they do not take coupons and they only take cash or debit cards. Plus to keep their overhead so low, you must bring your own bags or you can purchase them from the store, also, you bag your own groceries. You can check them out at http://www.aldi.com/



Most Grocery Stores have store cards that you can sign up for and get. These cards are worth getting. Most stores that have sales going on will only give the sale price if you have a store card and they scan your card at the register. I know stores such as Kroger, Food Lion and Bi-Lo have store cards. Does it pay off in the long run? You betcha!



Coupons. I am a coupon clipper. Can you save money with clipping coupons? Yes you can! What is the trick with using coupons? Only clip coupons for the items that you use. Look at the sale papers before you go to the Grocery Store(s) to see if you have any coupons for the items that you need to purchase. Also, on buy one get one free items, don't forget that you can also use a coupon too if you have it. Stocking up on items that are on sale or that you have a coupon for is also a good idea. Double coupons, some Grocery Stores offer double coupons, you can find out by visiting that Grocery Stores web-site or by looking at their sale flyer that comes in the mail or newspaper. Most Grocery Stores will let you sign up online to receive their sales or promotion via e-mail, some even offer online coupons and savings. Check it out!

Hitting various Grocery Stores to get the best deals. Yes! I do this, and it pays off in the long run. I look at all of the local Grocery Store sale papers that come in the mail/newspaper and I circle the things that I need from each of them. I then go and get those various items from those stores. Yes, I am going to several places, but it saves my family money, and this is money that we can use for other things. So for me, it does pay off to shop at various stores.

Bulk? Buy bulk? Yes! Buying bulk on some items is the best way to buy them. We are a member at Sam's Club, yes there is a yearly fee to be a member, but it pays off, and yes, they do have a Military Discount on their membership as well. What do I buy in bulk at Sam's Club? Our family gets our paper towels, toilet paper, cat litter, softener, laundry detergent, yogurt, healthy choice entrees, bell peppers and strawberries when in season. I usually make a trip to Sam's Club about every other month.


Other ways to save: Don't eat out as much, pack a lunch if you work or for the kids for school, turn off lights in the house when you aren't in the room where they are on, keep your thermostat on one degree and leave it there do not keep changing it up and down up and down. Doing this will increase your electric bill. Take showers instead of baths, and take quick showers.

Going frugal isn't hard to do.......it's pretty fun to see how much you can save just by taking the extra few minutes of time.