Like dropping pennies in a jar

Today is supposed to be ad day.   Because of the holiday, our mail is always behind .    Instead I'm switching Tuesday's theme for Wednesday's.   It's errand day at our house and it's going to be ideas day on the blog.

Groceries on the cheap is a mind set.  Often it's the little things that are almost invisible that can make a difference.  Like pennies in a jar, they all add up.

My mother had a friend that used her finger to get all the whites out of an egg shell.  I don't usually go that far...but, there are a lot of little things that can add up.

We touched a little on that subject yesterday.

• Two pounds of French fries are about a dollar at Winco.   They are not perfect fries.   They taste the same as perfect fries, but they are not all the same size.   They aren't huge.   Same nutrition, half the price or more.   
• Apples at Fred Meyer in Sunday were .88 a pound,   They did not look beautiful.   They appeared to be without bruises, so I bought four.   I cut one when o got home for us to have a snack.    They were fine and tasted good.    Same nutrition, after you peel them, no one would know the difference.  
• There are some food items at the dollar tree are the same brands and the same size as the grocery store, but a lot cheaper.   Hormel pepperoni is 1.69 even at Winco.   They are a dollar at DT and you can use a dollar off of two coupon and get them for .50.  Half a package is all you need if you pit enough other things on a pizza. Tortillas are 12 for a dollar.    Pizza sauce is a dollar .  A name brand and cheaper than any sauce I have found.   You can make sauce from a bit of tomato sauce and some Italian seasoning.  Pretzels are cheapest there.   It's hard to mess up with the simplicity of a pretzel.   Some dollar trees have a brand of bread that is upwards  of three dollars a pound elsewhere.    Read the labels.   Know your prices.   Some things are cheaper, some not.   I have found ore ida potatoes there. You never know.   Be a quality snow, not a dollar tree snob.   
•  Pick two stores with the best prices that week using the ads as a benchmark.  Plan your trip to maximize the shopping experience while minimizing the gas and time consumption.    You get the best prices on two stores.   Go with an idea of the category of foods you need and with an open mind.    If you insist in a particular thing, you are shooting yourself in the foot.   Being flexible can save a lot of money.  Hamburger was 5.00 a pound and ground pork was two dollars a pound.   By the time I got it into the slow cooker with enchilada sauce I got for a dime at the DT.  ( usually upwards.  of a dollar )  no one knew the difference.   
• Last night, I cut the red peppers I got at Winco for .68.  I also got a quarter off one on Ibotta.  I cut the top off of them, and sliced the rest of it into strips for the freezer.    The end caps I diced up for color on pizza or in a casserole.  I threw very little away.   
• Ibotta takes a few minutes.   It's just a way to make a few extra bucks on your food bill.    I look at the website after I shop for what I want where I want.  Ibotta does not influence where or what I buy.   But it does lower my food bill.   Those twenty bucks can snowball if you use the money to buy something, perhaps  in bulk.
• Buying things that are a staple you will use on a regular basis in bulk can save a lot of money.   Flour at the cheapest price on ten pound sacks ( two five pound sacks were cheaper ) was almost ten cents a cup.    Flour at Costco in twenty five pound sack was just under .07 a cup.   The attitude of "oh, wow, two cents. What are you going to do with two cents " will shoot you on the foot.    Two cents for a cup of flour compounded over a years worth of baking can amount to a lot.   It all adds up like the pennies in a jar.   

• Another blog ( "Living  on a dime ") is a good resource. They had a vlog yesterday on what you can give up and how much it saves in a year.   The totals were remarkable.   While it is Not practice to give up everything because sooner or later you will feel deprived and binge making all your sacrifice for not , some things can be eliminated and some scaled down to make a big difference.    A three dollar bag of chips a week will cost you 156.00 a year.  And, they aren't good for you.     
• Having a vegetarian meal once or twice a week can save a lot.   Breakfast for dinner can save a lot.    Last Sunday. We had French toast with the homemade bread that was going stale without any preservatives.  ( a good thing )  eggs were .79 a dozen and the bread cost .22.   I added berries that were two dollars a box.   Total cost .36 for the French toast and two dollars for the fruit.    2.36 cents.   Plus syrup pantry item.   
• Last one. Making meals that include pieces of meat instead of a whole piece of meat as an entree cuts your meal cost drastically . Children like it more and you are money ahead.   It's no secret why our grandmothers had speghetti with red sauce, green salad and French bread for family dinners.  It was and still is a way to feed masses for little money.