Taking Pictures and Posting on Instagram Saves us $1377.09 in 4 months!

I post a lot on Instagram these days. It's so easy, and instantaneous. I don't have to have enough space to upload my pictures, or deal with text that's wonky. I can share deals instantly and with pictures! But, once in awhile I have more to say than can be properly featured in a quick Instagram post. This is one of those times. If you have read this blog for awhile now you know there are some sure fire ways to decrease your grocery spending.

1. Using the flyers weekly to buy on sale items

2. Knowing when items cycle down so you can always buy them at their lowest price

3. Menu planning(using the on sale items, your pantry, fridge and freezer stock)

4. Combining deals like sales, coupons, points offers and cash back apps

5. Using points to buy groceries(Air miles, Optimum, PC Plus)

6. Buying meat and produce from the discount area or when it's marked down for quick sale

This may not be an exhaustive list, but it's a start. The latest thing to add to the list is photo groceries. To become more conscious of where your grocery money goes resolve to take pictures of everything that comes into your house for one month. At the end of the month you can, if you so choose, arrange this into a nice collage.( I use picmonkey and befunky). Why would you do this you ask? Well, here's my story. 

In April of this year I decided to start posting a collage of our families grocery purchases each month. At the beginning of the year I had budgeted a lot more for groceries as I found last year I was having trouble staying on budget. We feed a family of 4 with our youngest being a 15 year old boy, my husband has Celiac disease and my daughter avoids gluten and milk products. The first 3 months I was pretty much on budget. April I decided to really keep an eye on things and be more creative with sale items. Since then our grocery spending has been pretty much half of our allotted budget! The accountability of posting so everyone can see has been a bonus for me! Because of the excess we were able to buy a new to us hot tub!(ours was on it's last legs). See my Instagram for that whole story if you are interested. 

So, what easy steps can you take? Maybe just starting by keeping a running tally of your grocery spending? I keep all the months receipts in an envelope marked August. On the front I tally up the spending weekly as I shop. At the end of the month I add up each stores receipts to see how much I spend at each store. 

Maybe a second step the following month could be to start getting in the habit of taking pictures of your purchases. I try to make sure our kitchen table is cleaned off before I shop so that upon arriving home I just place the items there quickly and take my pictures. I usually separate by store, but this is totally not necessary. 

The third month you could make your collage. It's quick,easy and free with Picmonkey or Befunky. 

Finally, if you are brave, you could share on Instagram, your blog or wherever. I'd love to see! :)

In the end by being more conscious you will find you'll spend less. You'll also have a neat way to go back and track when items cycle throughout  the year. I just make a separate folder for each month's grocery pics on my computer and then toss them all into This Year's Groceries folder at the end of the year. 

From April to July end we have shaved $1377.09 off our spending!

What do you think? Could this work for you?
Instagram @savingyourhardearnedmoney

Price Matching in Pictures

 First picture paid $33.42 should have paid $59.96.
Second picture I spent $46.66. I should have paid $110.55.
A total of $170.51 worth of groceries for $80.08! That's almost 47% savings!
Walmart's Canada wide price matching is a great way to save big on groceries! Last month we came in almost $100 under budget! This month looks good so far! As you can see there's lots of fruits and veggies! We are having fruit smoothies every morning!
I must say I am highly encouraged by our decreasing grocery bill. You heard me right, decreasing! If you don't already know we are a family of 5, 4 of us still living together. We have 2 teenagers(read: mom what can I eat?) and my husband has celiac disease. We like to eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies. We try and limit our processed food, something that has become even easier since hubby's diagnosis as he can't eat that anyways! You have probably already heard these tips for lowering your grocery bill but sometimes they are worth repeating.
1. Menu plan.
Yes, I've talked about it lots here. It's one of the biggest ways to slash your grocery bill. I do practice what I preach. Every week I menu plan(right Linda?)rarely do we ever miss.
A.Menu planning means going through the fridge, freezer and pantry and figuring out what you have on hand.
B. Going through the flyers to see what's on sale.
C. Sitting down and making a plan that fits your family's schedule and preferences. Some like to plan weeks, or months at a time. I find I can't stick to a long plan, I need to do it once a week. Do what works for you.
D. To make it easier try having theme nights, say pasta night, soup night, vegetarian night, pizza night
2. Try and eat less meat. 
Our portions are usually much higher than recommended. Meat is usually the central thing, and the other things are considered sides. Why not use meat as a add in? Suggestions:
1. spaghetti sauce, with some meat
2. tortillas with meat and beans or just beans
3. casseroles
4. stir fries
5.eggs
3. Keep track of what you spend
This year I will continue my habit of taking pictures of all I buy. I have found this super helpful in seeing exactly what we are eating. Also, I will continue to keep my receipts. I have added in a new habit of writing on my calendar my total spent each day. Instead of waiting till the end of the month to tally grocery receipts I do it minimum once a week.
4. Shop once a week
Shopping once a week is a great way to reduce your grocery bill! Being in the stores less often automatically means you spend less. I have found with the price matching once a week is just perfect.
Last year was a big adjustment for our family as we learned to eat gluten free. This year I hope to follow all the tips above and reduce or grocery bill. I will keep you updated. How about you? I love hearing from you. Go ahead and email me or comment here.


 

Saving on Groceries

When looking at your spending plan(budget is a word I try to avoid) you may notice that grocery spending probably is second only to your mortgage in the amount you spend. Most families of 4 find they spend $800-$1000 per month on groceries. For sake of this example, groceries are everything you buy at the grocery store. Food and toiletries as well as cleaners, etc. As a rule, people think this is not an area that could be trimmed. I want to tell you you can! You can shave this drastically and free up money for other areas, as well as eat better! Prepackaged, premade meals contain preservatives that would be missing if you can make it at home.
My idea of grocery shopping is a little different than the norm. I go to purchase the things on sale. Yes, I have to get milk weekly, but all other things can be negotiable. The veggies and fruits we buy are the ones on sale, or in season. For example, this Thursday, Friday, Sat, IGA marketplace has bananas for .39/lb!!! That is an olden days price! We will get lots and make banana bread, muffins and smoothies. The ones we won't use in time can be peeled(thanks Sylvia!)and popped into a Ziploc and frozen, to later be used in smoothies! Right now at Cooper's they have a coupon for buy one get one free cod. One family size serving is $10, so with the coupon, $5. It's frozen, there's a limit of 4 free, or 8 total, so we will stock up and make fish and chips(see America's test kitchen DVD season 7 available at www.orl.bc.ca ). Lean ground beef is also on sale at Cooper's. So, I bought 3 chubs and will break some down and freeze it raw. I will make homemade hamburgers and freeze them, as well as meatballs. Finally, I will precook some and freeze it so it's all ready to go. It doesn't take that long, but it saves me time in the long run! My price book(see an early post)helps me know when prices have reached their lowest and lets me know how much I need to stock up before it goes on sale again! Our family of 4 spends $450/month. Want to start saving right away? Start by menu planning one week from what you have on hand. Make it a game...what do you have already? What if you couldn't get out to the store? What could you make? Use the Internet, get ideas from cookbooks and magazines(hopefully your library is fully stocked!) One friend told me she saves best by keeping her grocery trips to a minimum..what if you only went once a week? What about a grocery envelope where you keep cash for the month? Every time you go to the store you take your money out of the envelope and put the receipt inside. On the front of the envelope you can keep a running tally, or just peak in the envelope to see where you are at! Don't want to use cash? Do the same thing with the receipts after you pay with your debit card! Start with something. Don't try and reinvent the wheel in 2 seconds, just change one thing..then next month another..watch your progress..and celebrate! Even keeping track of what you spend is an amazing step in the right direction!