If you have a freezer, Use it!

  One of the things we have problems with is our food going bad and those hard earned dollars going into the trash with the food that went to waste. There is a way to prevent that from happening,  it is called a freezer.
  I wish I had used mine more when we started out. So you plan your weekly meal, (applause,  applause👏) you have saved time and money. What if I told you that you can save even more? Would I have your attention?.
  Well you can. There are some items that do great in the freezer. 
  Say you bought a turkey because it is a cheap meat so you are saving money and you have more then enough to last you the week as your meat. After you have de-boned it, portion it out for your week then portion out a weeks worth or however much is left and put it into a freezer bag and put it in the freezer for another week.
This will work with just about any meat that can not be used up in time. Just be sure to put it in the freezer before it is expired.
Also did you know you can freeze herbs? That's right, those fresh herbs you buy to make your meal taste fabulous but come in bundles to big for you to use up and end up throwing half of them out can go into a freezer baggie and into the freezer. You won't have them crisp like before but you sure can make a delicious sauce or stew by golly! 
  Did you know you can freeze milk?  Yep that's right, if you found a bargain on milk go ahead and buy double!  It will keep. Just make sure to drink a little before placing it into the freezer for when it freezes it will expand.
  Beans freeze beautifully. Make a lage pot of beans in a crock pot and freeze to have handy when you are in a pinch for a quick meal!

Trimming the grocery bill

When you go to make your meal plan for the week take time (yes, sorry I said time) to look up the deals of the week at the store you will be shopping at. Planning your meals using the discount of the week will ensure those extra savings. 💵
Also coupons help a ton. Honestly I don't have the time to buy news papers and cut out the coupons I need and remember to bring and use them at the store but if you are in a real pinch you do what you have to. For my life it isn't worth it but I will share the way I do coupon.  I don't usually use paper coupons because of the time it consumes but also a lot of the coupons in the paper are luxury items like make up, paper towls, hair dyes, and so on. They are worth it for soap razors and shampoo but also if you are pinching pennies you can just use baking soda to wash your hair. If you have pets then it may be worth looking into for you, you can always find coupons for their food.
So back to what I do as far as couponing.
I look for products at the store with the save now coupon attached and then compare it to the lowest price item of its kind to see if with the coupon it comes out to a lower price.
Also I use checkout51 on my phone because they have more necessary coupons like milk, tomatoes,  bread and laundry soap.
Also I use shop kicks app. This is very helpful because you can get gift cards to use instead of your own money and it isn't necessary to make purchases to get the kicks. Also a good friend introduced me to ibotta app, also a great couponing app. Cheakout51 and ibotta can be used in the comfort of your own home. Instead of scrambling at the checkout trying to use your coupons these apps just have you send a picture of your receipt or scan your item and send it in. Of course you have to find the coupon you wish to use first. 
Anyway that is my method to the madness. 

Meal planning

Planning meals for a week can be very time consuming but in reality it is just time that you would normally take during the week to plan dinner every day and really it saves you time because you won't be standing in the grocery store walking in circles trying to decide what to make and grabbing everything that looks good.
What is your grocery budget? 
  Everyone is different and has different needs so try to figure out what your body needs and how much you have to spend to meet those needs. Some are all organic others are just happy if it taste good and don't care about the ingredients. I personally like to eat as healthy as my budget allows... which isn't much but I have kids so I try to get those healthy fats in them.
  When things are super tight here are some penny pinching meals that will still give you energy and some nutrients.
 
   #1. Peanut Butter and jelly sandwiches.
$2 will get you a pound of grape jelly
$1.50- $2 a loaf of bread
$peanut butter really can be as cheap or as expensive as you want. I would suggest a healthy one because that is your source of protein in this meal. Also I try to serve whole organic milk with this for calcium and vitamins.  You will get a lot of meals out of this purchase and it will cost you less then a $1 per serving. 

#2. French toast and eggs.
  Now this meal will very depending on the price of eggs in your area and what kind you buy. I try to buy organic free range but there are a lot of times my budget won't allow that so I buy the white eggs but at least they have no growth hormones or antibiotics at Aldi's at 0.69 cents a dozen.
Bread under $2 and whole organic milk at $2.98 half a gallon.  At Aldi of course. Bread at 1.50ish.
This meal will cost you around  $1.15- $2.25 per serving depending on your choice of bread, milk and eggs.

#3. Tuna sandwiches.
Depending on how you like these sandwiches will determine how much they cost. Eggs, cheese and pickles is what we like in ours. But either way these yummy sandwiches should cost you $1.50 a serving or a lot less.

#4. A good pork loin
A pork loin will cost you around  $10 for a good size one. Throw a couple sides in and depending on your sides, mash potatoes,  green beans, corn, salad or macaroni.  This meal will cost you around $3.75 per serving and you will likely have meat for pulled pork sandwiches or tacos.

#5. Burritos
Prices very on your choice of meat.
But if you are in a pinch you can do bean and cheese costing around $0.55 per serving or if you choose pork or chicken around $1.90 per serving.

Just moved out? Just got married? Then this is for you.

                        Starting out. 

  So you just got married or moved out, you are ready to tackle the world ? 
 I thought I was. I wish there was a few things I new before I wasted my time and money on things that could have been avoided .  There are many of you that already know these things but this is to those like me who didn't . 

Starting out I always ran to the nearest Wal-Mart for their advertised low prices and their convenience. 

Needless to say I shop at Wal-Mart only for very few items when necessary .  Starting out it was just my husband and I and my weekly grocery bill at Walmart came to $98- $140

I found you never do all your shopping at Wal-Mart unless you have tons of money and don't want the inconvenience of shopping several shops.  

I started shopping at Buy for less and Crest. I found incredible deals and ways to keep money in our pockets by the time we had two toddlers my grocery bill could be as low as $65 a week if I needed while keeping good nutritional meals not to say we didn't have good'ol  pb and j for lunch and few times. But  my all time favorite store that literally helped keep food on the table for our family when I was counting out change to pay the bill was Aldi, Of course all thanks to God for always providing for us and giving me wisdom and helping me find better ways to live. 

I know that there are a lot of states and towns that have not been blessed with Aldi but if you do have one my advice is "Use it!" they have incredible deals and you will find ways to eat so much healthier! I don't believe I ever left the store feeling like I had just been taken advantage of  like I do everytime I leave Wal-Mart . 

If anything I feel a little guilty feeling like I just took advantage of them!

If you are starting out I strongly recommend a menu. if you make your self a weekly menu then when you shop you will know exactly what ingredients you will need and save tons of money on food that would go unused and to waste.. I am so ashamed to think of all the food that went to waste our first years starting out. only buy what you can use. unless it is canned goods or foods that have a long shelf life. and even then make sure that you use them before they expire. no sense in throwing money in the trash and when you throw away food that is exactly what you are doing .  💰👉🗑

 Good luck and I will be posting more tips on how to save time and money in life. if you have any of your own please let us know by commenting .