A Place to Start

My life has changed drastically in the past two years. I have had to learn to live frugally and more thoughtfully. I would like to pass on a few of the lessons I've learned so that maybe someone else can skip a few of the mistakes I had to make along the way.
My favorite money saving projects are coupon clipping and grocery bargain hunting. There are tons of easy ways to save money at the grocery store and most are pretty simple to do. The first step is to stock up. Keep a well stocked pantry and freezer so that you are not forced to purchase items on the spur of the moment when they are at full price. Nearly every item in the grocery store goes on sale at some time. Use this fact to your advantage and buy a few extra items when they are on sale. Keep an eye out for closeout items, discounted foods, and mismarked products. Stores frequently mismark hand priced items such as meats and bakery items. Everyone makes mistakes and someone is going to profit from it, it might as well be you. Many stores mark meat down when it nears its sell-by date and if you're freezing it anyway, the short dates will not be an issue. On average I pay less than $1.25 per pound for all the meat I buy including steaks, chicken, and pork.

Next post.....coupons!!