shoppingonabudget

I know that a large number of students have already returned to school, but it does not start until September for my daughter (we live in the Northeast). So, this weekend we shopped for back to school. One of the first places we headed was our local outlet stores, about an hour away.

If you want to save money shopping at outlet stores, you need to be careful. There are some stores were you can find AMAZING deals and then others where you may actually end up paying more.

My three favorite stores were OshKosh, Carter’s, and VF Outlets. At OshKosh, a lot of their clothes were on sale, including their jeans for $12 each. At Carter’s, it seemed like more than half the store was 50% off. I was just shocked at the VF Outlet. Not only did I get back-to-school clothes for my daughter, but jeans for $5.97 for me!

However, I will say that I was less than pleased with the Old Navy and Gymboree outlet stores. I know that Gymboree is already an expensive brand, but many items in their store were regular price and not on sale. As for Old Navy, I visited their website before I left. I was surprised to see that some of the t-shirts available online were on sale, but not in their store. Although I did make a few purchases, I was careful with what I bought.

So, if you decide to shop at an outlet mall, remember that you may not always receive the best price. If you know what stores you intend to shop at, visit their websites first. This will allow you to quickly compare prices in-store to make sure that you actually walk away saving money.

In the past, I was under the assumption that coupon inserts were only found in the Sunday newspaper. I learned this wasn’t the case when I needed to pick up a Friday paper for an article that was about a family member. Inside, I was thrilled to find a coupon booklet. I paid .50 cents for that newspaper.

That Sunday, I still went and bought the Sunday paper. To my surprise, the coupons were all the same. They weren’t different and there wasn’t additional grocery coupons inside. So, on Friday I paid only .50 cents for the newspaper and grocery coupons inside. However, on Sunday, the paper cost $1.75.

By seeing if any of your Friday or Saturday newspapers carry coupons, you could easily save yourself a $1 or more each week. Remember, that $1 will add up overtime.

Online, you will find moneysaving suggestions that outline making some of your own products or variations of them, but can you really save money? In all honesty, it depends on the product in question, as well as your own personal preferences.

One easy way that you can save money is if your family drinks chocolate milk. I do not recommended buying a premade gallon of chocolate milk. It is expensive and doesn’t always last long. Instead, buy a bottle of chocolate mix. This will save you money and your chocolate milk will last longer.

Orange juice is another tip. Instead of buying premade orange juice, you can buy the frozen ones and mix your own. In our home, however, this tends to be a problem. My partner is picky with his orange juice. So, we tend to alternate between the two.

Another tip that I have seen is shredding your own cheese. Some people recommend buying the brinks of cheese and then shredding your own. This is only a good idea if your shredded cheese prices are a lot higher. In my local grocery store, the prices run the same on the two, unless there is a sale.

When you start saving money on groceries, possibly by implementing a few of the steps outlined here, you may notice extra money accumulating. While that money may only be $10 or $20 a week, remember that it can add up over time. So, what should you do with it?

The best way to tell if you are saving money on groceries is to create a reasonable budget for yourself. For example, make your grocery list and estimate the amount of money that you will spend. If you plan on spending $150, but only walk away spending $125, you have an extra $25.

What you choose to do with that saved money is your choice to make, but consider depositing it into your savings account. If you don’t have a savings account, open one. Many banks now offer free saving accounts. Overtime, you may have enough money to take a short vacation or money to pay off your outstanding debts, should you have them.

Although saving money on groceries is easy with coupons, there is another easy step that you can take. That step involves choosing the right store. Personally, I am a fan of larger supermarkets. I do want to support locally owned and operated stores, but I also need to keep an eye on my wallet.

I saw a flier tucked into one of our weekly newspapers for a smaller grocery store nearby. I really liked their sales, so I stopped by. Yes, the items that were on sale were a really good price, but I was not happy with the regular priced items. They ranged anywhere from .50 cents to a $1 more than at the larger grocery store I shop at.

So, be sure to keep an eye on the regular prices at your local grocery stores. In fact, it is always a good idea to occasionally shop around to make sure that you really are getting the better prices.

If you are looking to save money on groceries, you are likely looking to save money in other areas as well. That is why I like to focus on other moneysaving tips from time to time. So today, I would like to focus on how owning a digital camera can save you money.

What made me think of this post is seeing my grandma’s digital camera. I bought it for her birthday. She would always have a camera in hand; however, it would always be a disposable camera. Yes, they are convenient to have, but they shouldn’t be relied on for an “everyday,” camera.

Digital cameras have come down in price significantly since I purchased our digital camera and the one for my grandma. I paid $150 each. That same camera is now sold for $100. Yes, buying a digital camera can be expensive, but you can save for it. That is what I did. I simply put a few extra dollars aside each week until I had enough money.

There are a number of things that I like about owning a digital camera. First, I can print pictures right from my computer. Next, I get to pick and choose which pictures I want to print. In fact, pictures that are out of focus can be deleted, without costing me a penny. There are also free photo editing software programs, like Kodak EasyShare, that allows you to edit, crop, and eliminate red eye.

Most importantly, the pictures from a digital camera can not only be printed, but they can also be stored on the computer or burned to a blank CD, always ensuring I have an extra copy on hand.

In my last post, I outlined a few ways that coffee drinkers can save money when outside of the home, namely at work. If you prefer to get your caffeine through soda instead of coffee, there are still ways that you can save money.

For starters, try to avoid the sodas in vending machines. They are usually more expensive, especially where cans are concerned. The only times that I have seen sodas affordable in the vending machines is with the bottles outside of some retailers, like Wal-Mart.

Instead of getting your soda in a convenient 20-ounce size, consider buying the multiple packages at the grocery store, especially when they are on sale. They come in 6 packs, 12 packs, and even 24 packs for bottles and cans.

You also have the option of buying a 2-litter bottle of soda and using that to refill an empty 20-ounce bottle.

In my last post, I discussed how you can save money at work by avoiding snacks in the vending machines. Instead, you can buy the full size bag at the grocery store and make your own convenience size packs for a very affordable price. You can also do the same with your drinks.

If you find yourself buying a cup of coffee on the way to work in the morning, consider making your own coffee at home. A large size can of coffee typically costs around $5 and it may last you up to a month. If you drink multiple cups of coffee a day, invest in a thermos. At Wal-Mart, they tend to run between $9 and $20. A good travel coffee mug can cost around $5, but they are also available for sale in many dollar stores.

Yes, this seems like a large investment, but remember that you will save overtime. The only monthly expense you will have is the coffee itself. If you are concerned with time, start your coffee pot before you hop in the shower.

This approach is much cheaper than paying around $1 to $2 five days a week for a cup of coffee at a convenience store or coffee shop.

Tomorrow, I will have some moneysaving tips if you are a soda drinker.

When it comes to saving money on food, you not only need to examine your shopping habits at the grocery store. If you work outside of the home, you may opt for nearby convenience stores or vending machines. Yes, they are convenient, but they can be costing you a lot of extra money.

As for snacks, bring snacks from home. A small package of chips or crackers from the vending machine can cost between .75 cents and $1 (on average). For about $2 to $3 (depending on the brand), you can get the full size product at the grocery store or even Wal-Mart. You also get much more. You can buy plastic baggies and make your own convenience packs.

As a reminder, it is important to keep your grocery shopping bill low, but remember the other unnecessary purchases that are costing you money.

In my last post, I discussed how many grocery stores are rewarding consumers with gasoline discounts. Around here, two stores are doing so, but they are using two different formulas. If you are faced with the same situation, you may be wondering which is the best.

For starters, choose the grocery store with the lowest prices or the best sales. You can save more money this way, even if you walk away with a smaller gas discount.

Next, look at how you are rewarded. One of my grocery stores gives you .10 cents off a gallon of gas for every $50 you spend. The second, (which I shop at) I haven’t quite figured out their formula. I do know that I spent $134 and walked away with only a .10 discount. So, technically, the $50 for .10 cents off a gallon of gas is best.

But, there are still other factors you want to take into consideration. Do any of your stores offer extra savings? For example, I earned .20 cents off a gallon of gas for purchasing items from a specific list. These were items that we buy anyway, so it was easy to save money.

Generally speaking, your best bet is to go with the grocery store you frequent, but if you have another store in your area with great prices who is also offering gasoline discounts, it may be worth the look.