SAVING TIME AND MONEY

I'm in the same frame of mind as I was in the last entry, so I think I'll just share a few more of my quick and low cost tips that have saved me time and money!

Ever since I was a little girl, I have watched as my mother carefully saved money every shopping trip with coupons, deals, and her nose for a good buy.  Now you would think I would have just naturally followed in these footsteps, but it took me a couple years of marriage before I realized this was something I really needed to look into. Plus the addition of our new little boy and the loss of half our income (the result of my resignation as an elementary school teacher to come home with our son) put the fact right in my face that we needed to save money!!  Before this, we were your typical 'go out to eat on the weekend and sometimes during the week' couple with easy processed boxed meals in between.  We spent a large amount of money in the area of food so I knew this was one thing I could pare down.  And I'm a research person, so off to the books and computer I went.....and then found out exactly what my mother had been showing me all those years. But I was too much in my own little bubble to pay attention!

The first BIG thing I learned about was Loss Leaders.  This is where a lot of your money goes without you realizing it.  Loss Leaders are the store's ploy to get you in.....and spend!  It's kind of like the piece of cheese in a mousetrap....it looks so good but you have to be careful what surrounds it!  Loss Leaders are usually on the front page of a store's ad....all those items that showcase such great cost-cutting deals.  They are there to lure you into the store so you will not only buy those items, but also other items you see as you make your journey around the perimeter of the store. Keep in mind the placement of high priced items are carefully chosen and are always at eye level.  Many times you end up spending more money in that particular store than you would elsewhere, and all because the Loss Leaders looked sooo good.

Now a smart shopper is going to look at these loss leaders....and carefully make a list of what they need.  Yes, a list is another thing that will save you money...but that's another post for later! :)  Back to the grocery ad page.

Many times there are excellent deals on meats. This is where you will save the most money since protein is one of the major chunks of the grocery bill.  So, for instance, if Ground Round is on sale for a great price (and if  you begin to pay attention to the prices, you will know when it is!), don't buy just a pound or two.  The way to save money is to buy ahead when it's on sale.  I will usually buy 10 or more pounds of ground meat or chicken breasts on sale, and then bring them home to get ready for quick to eat meals.....basically what the freezer section tries to sell you but for a whole lot more money!

The day after my shopping trip, I usually plan to cook large portions of meat.  From the ground meat, I will take a couple pounds of raw meat and put in freezer bags to use later for meatloaf or hamburger patties (or pre-make the patties so it is already done!), and the rest of the meat I will put in a BIG skillet and cook with a large onion or two, some garlic, and whatever seasonings I want.  Then I drain it and measure two cups (2 cups is the basic equivalent of one pound) of the meat mixture and put it into quart size freezer bags and FLATTEN it trying to press out as much air as possible to avoid freezer burn.  You can add taco seasoning to some if you want ready made taco meat or experiment as you like.  The important thing is that you now have several bags of cooked hamburger meat ready to make a quick meal! 

My favorite easy, easy thing to do is throw a bag of meat in my crockpot and pour a few cans of spaghetti sauce, (when I don't have my homemade sauce available!).....let it simmer and permeate the house all day with it's wonderful aroma....YUM!   If a recipe calls for 1 1/2 pound of meat, you can break a frozen bar of meat in half (reason to flatten them!).  I make SEVERAL casserole type meals that I can throw together at the three or even 4 o'clock hour and have it ready to bake in the oven in minutes!

Chicken can be done the same way.  I save some raw breasts and freeze them, cut up some raw pieces of chicken and put in marinades for stir fry, and then simmer the rest and fill my freezer bags with cooked chopped chicken in pound size increments (remember, 2 cups!)....the water you use to simmer can also be used for your own homemade chicken broth!

Now, this might seem like a lot of work but seriously, it only takes about an hour to cut everything and you can put the meat on the burners to cook while you are doing a quick housecleaning on Saturday morning!  The result?  You now have access to a bounty of quick to make meals with a few extra ingredients that will carry you for a couple weeks or more, depending on how much you buy......and you're saving money because you are buying meat when it is on SALE instead of running to the store and just grabbing a pound or two at a time!  The little amounts add up to saving you a ton of money every month!

I'll be posting some of my favorite healthy or quick freezer meals every Monday on my blog, so be sure and look me up then. Oh, and if you have any questions or comments, please post them! I would love to get some great hints from you to share with others here on the blog.


Happy shopping!