[MountainMomma]

I don't know about you ladies, but I am ALWAYS looking for a way to save a buck or two. Even a few cents here and there really adds up.

One thing I have found to help save money is that I shop around several different places. For example there are four stores here within a resonable distance to do our shopping in. HyVee is the local store (where I work). Dollar General is a few minutes from work. WalMart and Fareway are about 20 - 30 minutes away near where Matt works.

When we do our shopping I sit down and make a list first. I will ONLY buy things that are on the list, so we make sure it is very complete. If you want a snack for the day, it better be on the list BEFORE we leave the house. I then check the ads for the stores and see what is on sale and which store has the best price. Produce almost always comes from HyVee, and I also grab my milk and anything from my list that is on their sale list. Meat is always better prices at Fareway (unless HyVee was running a special) and that is just about the only thing I get there. At WalMart I get snacks, canned foods, cereal, and pet food. Then I go to Dollar General for cleaning supplies, paper products, and that sort of thing.

What are your money saving tips?

[MamaAnna]

Estimate on your list. I always put a cost estimate next to each item on my list and I round it up to the nearest dollar. So if I want to buy something I know is $1.19 I still mark it as $2 on the list. It's that estimate that I absolutely do not allow to go beyond our budget. That way I always come in under budget, sometimes by as much as $20-30.

[MountainMomma]

Oh thats a great idea Anna!

[~InHisHands~]

I do something similar to Anna. I actually go shopping & as I but things in the buggy, I put a tick mark corresponding to the cost of the item on my list to kinda get an estimate of what I am actually spending (so if something cost $2.50, I put 3 tick marks; if it cost $2.49 or below, I put 2 tick marks). This keeps me from going too far over $100 a week.

[MamaAnna]

$100 a week? Oh how I envy you. Diapers for 2, pull-ups for 1, wipes, formula for DD2... Baby stuff alone is killing me!

[SavaAngel]

My budget is between $120 and $140 every TWO weeks. My MIL doesn't know how we survive on that. Granted, there is some Raumen in there.

Every two weeks I sit down with the ads (two local stores) and I write down all the ad sales that we would be able to use and the price. Then I write my menu for 2 weeks taking in what is on sale and what I have in the pantry/freezer.

From there I write my list. If it is in the ad I highlight it on my list (with the price next to it) and each store gets it's own color highlighter. That way if I am at store 1 and I see a product on sale at store 2 and it is cheaper at store 1 I get it there instead. When I am done shopping at store 1 I go home and drop off the food/take care of the cold stuff. Then off to store 2 to finish the shopping.

I usually stick pretty close to my budget if not under. This past week I went over cause I needed things for AJ's birthday cake.

[MountainMomma]

I generally spend about $400 a month and that takes care of all groceries and toiletries for the 4 of us and the pet supplies for 3 cats and 3 dogs. I've had others say they don't know how we survive either. I just shop smart and watch for bargins. Sometimes I go over. This week for example I spent $24 on laundry detergent alone, but it was an awesome sale, so I stocked up. Each bottle is normally $4.50 and I bout then for $2. So, while I spent $24, I won't have to buy that again for quite a while, and I saved around $30 in the long run.