Beating Broke

Save on Groceries by Limiting Junk Food

October 14, 2019 By MelissaB 1 Comment

Almost all kids love to eat junk food, and if they have unlimited access to it, they can plow through a surprising amount of it in very little time. This is especially true if your kids are teenagers. However, you can save on groceries by limiting junk food.

limit junk food — photo courtesy of idpinthat.com

Some people do this by simply not buying junk food. Instead, they give their kids regular meals and fruits or veggies for snacks. While this is the healthiest way to feed your kids, they may feel deprived if they don’t get some of the fun snacks that their peers get.

However, there are several strategies you can use to give your kids the snacks that they want without compromising their health or your grocery budget.

Will Work for Snacks

Recently, I learned this ingenious trick from an experienced mom. She has created a win-win situation for herself and her kids. Each time a child completes a chore, he earns a ticket. He can then use the ticket to buy snacks from mom that he enjoys such as granola bars, chips, cookies, Popsicles, etc. Once he runs out of tickets for the week, he doesn’t get these types of snacks anymore. Instead mom will give him fruit or veggies for snacks, no tickets required.

Using this technique, the kids are happy because they have some control over how many snacks they get, and mom has noticed that the snacks are lasting a lot longer in her house.

No More When They’re Gone

Another mom buys a set amount of junk food treats a week for her family to eat. When they’re gone, she doesn’t buy anymore until the next grocery shopping trip. If kids eat all the treats in one day, they have to wait six more days until the next grocery trip.

Lock Up Junk Food

Some parents have even taken the extreme route of locking up treats so that the kids don’t eat all of the stash. This is more likely to work if your kids are younger and are used to this type of system.

Hide Them Away

A similar, though less extreme, practice is when parents hide away goodies. Then, they can slowly bring them out so the kids get treats little by little. This was the technique that my mom used. She had a friend who worked at Hostess, and she could get us treats at a steep discount. My mom would buy two cases and hide them, bringing them out slowly for lunches. For many kids, out of sight means out of mind.

Make Homemade Treats

Another idea is to make homemade treats like granola bars, brownies, cookies, etc. While these taste good and are often healthier than the pre-made counterparts, kids may still feel slighted if all of their friends are eating packaged junk food. A way to avoid this is to give them some prepackaged junk food and supplement with homemade treats.

There’s nothing wrong with giving your kids a little junk food, but if they’re devouring it the minute you bring it home, you may want to save on groceries by limiting junk food consumption in your home.

Is junk food killing your grocery budget? If so, which of these strategies do you use, or do you have a different technique to keep your kids happy and your budget in line?

4 Easy Ways to Slash Your Grocery Bill

October 7, 2019 By MelissaB Leave a Comment

Is it just me, or does it seem to you, too, that your grocery money doesn’t stretch as far these days? We’re on a tight grocery budget, and every week, I feel like I’m getting less and less for my money. Since my family wants to eat, especially the three growing kids that eat a lot, I’ve found 4 easy ways to slash the grocery bill despite the rising cost of food, no coupons required.

4 Ways to Slash the Grocery Bill — Photo via idpinthat.com

Find Good Recipe Resources

The first of the 4 easy ways to slash the grocery bill happens before I even set foot in the grocery store. I start by choosing my meals for the week at some of my favorite frugal recipe sites. I love Budget Bytes, Struggle Meals, and $5 Dinners. When I choose recipes from one of these sites, I know I’ll be preparing food for my family that is healthy and low cost.

4 ways to cut the grocery budget — Photo via idpinthat.com

Substitutions Are Key

Another way to save money is to freely make substitutions to a recipe based on what you have on hand. This week, we’re having navy bean soup in the slow cooker. The original recipe called for ham, but at $6 per thick slice of ham, that wasn’t in the budget. Instead, I found Polish sausage on sale for $3.50 a pound. That will be going in the soup instead of ham.

By making substitutions based on what you have on hand and what is on a sale, you can make your grocery dollars stretch further.

Shred Food Yourself

Buying food that is already shredded is convenient, but you can save a lot of money by shredding the food yourself. A head of cabbage might only cost $1, but buying a bag of shredded cabbage costs $1.50. I’d estimate that the bag contains about ½ of a head of cabbage, so I’m paying an additional $2 just for the convenience of not shredding the cabbage myself. Since I have a food processor with a shred blade, I don’t feel the need to pay the extra money when shredding the cabbage would only add about 5 minutes to my food prep time.

Likewise, cheese as well as chicken, especially when bought in bulk, is much cheaper if you shred it yourself at home.

Buy in Bulk When on Sale

Finally, make buying in bulk a habit. When an item that you use frequently goes on sale or is on clearance, stock up. This summer, salad dressing was on clearance for .99 a bottle. I bought 10 bottles, so we won’t need to buy salad dressing for the next few months.

Likewise, I only buy the crackers we like when they go on sale Buy One, Get Two free. This sale runs two to three times a year, so I buy enough to get us through until the next sale.

By buying in bulk when items are on sale, I’m able to pay the lowest grocery price possible for the items we eat.

Sometimes, saving money at the grocery store just requires a mental shift and the development of new habits. Make these small changes, and you’ll see your grocery bill drop.

Have you noticed the price of groceries increasing recently? What strategies do you use to keep your grocery bill in check?

The Dangers of Buying Used

September 30, 2019 By MelissaB Leave a Comment

Right before going to grad school, I went to my first garage sale. I bought a blender for $3, which I still have today, 20 years later. That was my first garage sale, and I became a fan of buying used from that moment on – mainly because it helped me stretch my meager income. However, there are also dangers of buying used. In certain situations, buying secondhand can cost you more money or compromise your health.

Bugs

Furniture is expensive, so buying used can be enticing. After all, you could save quite a bit of money. Instead of buying a $900 sofa, you could get it from the classifieds for $100 or so. But often, the savings isn’t worth it. Buying couches, mattresses, and other soft furniture can potentially give you bedbugs or fleas.

While this isn’t very likely, buying furniture contaminated with bedbugs or fleas is a possibility. If you are one of the unfortunate ones who buys used furniture with bugs, you could be paying much more out of pocket than you would if you had just bought the furniture new.

“A full bed bug removal, expect to pay anywhere from $500 to $1,500 depending on the method you choose and the experience of the exterminator,” according to Angie’s list.

Safety Issues

There are also other items you can buy used that pose significant safety hazards, such as used car seats and helmets. Did you know that car seats have an expiration date? They do, and using them beyond that point may mean that they’re less sturdy and reliable.

Dangers of Buying Used — Photo via idpinthat.com

In addition, you cannot always tell if a car seat has been in an accident. If it has, the recommendation is to buy a new one because it may no longer provide adequate safety if it’s in another crash. Buying used helmets is risky for the exact same reason.

Mold

This is not a topic that many people are aware of, but 24 percent of the population is mold-susceptible. That means, if they’re exposed to toxic mold, their bodies have difficulty getting rid of the mold internally. Often, these people become ill – depending on the level of exposure. Obviously, when you buy used, you don’t know what kind of house and environment the item has come from. Furniture, books, clothes, anything that is soft or made of paper, may harbor toxic mold spores, which could make you, or any member of your family that is mold-susceptible, sick.

While most people who enjoy buying second hand have no difficulties, there are obviously dangers of buying used as stated above. You can avoid these by being picky about the items that you buy, or you can choose to stop buying used at all.

I, and two of my children, found out this year that we’re mold susceptible, which has caused a few of our health issues. I’m no longer buying most products, especially those that can harbor mold spores, used. It’s either spending good money on a product that will last, or buying the most frugal option for something such as kids’ shoes that my children will grow out of quickly.

Do you have limits on what you will buy used? If so, what are those limits?