Busy Mommy Media » Frugal Grocery Shopping

Cookbook Review: The $5 Dinner Mom

Lorie — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:38:11 +0000

Do you think feeding your family well and staying on budget is even possible? Are you having a hard time coming up with ideas for dinners for your family? Well, I have found the cure for you, The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook.

Creation of $5 Dinner Mom

The $5 Dinner Mom is Erin Chase. I have enjoyed reading her blog since its inception. The blog started when the country was going through a recession and the cost of food was at an all time high. My family was no different and we were also having problems finding enough money to buy food. I started reading Erin’s blog and found a wealth of information. Erin, like many other bloggers today, started putting her ideas down and wrote a cookbook known as The $5 Dinner Mom.

Inside The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook

The $5 Dinner Mom has 200 recipes for quick, easy, healthy and budget friendly meal ideas that cost less than $5 a meal. The cookbook starts out with three whole chapters on Strategic Grocery Shopping, Strategic Couponing, and Strategic Meal Planning. Erin packs in all the information and tips that she has learned in her own experience of trying to feed her family healthy, budget friendly meals. I really enjoyed these chapters. It was like talking with a good friend who was sharing tips. The rest of the cookbook is broken down into several chapters of recipes for different food categories including; Pasta and Pizza, Chicken and Turkey, Beef, Pork, Soups and Stews, and Vegetarian. The last chapter is devoted to homemade recipes like dressings, sauces and breads. Many of these recipes are used in other recipes found in the cookbook. The recipes all contain price breakdowns by ingredients, which is very helpful for planning your own recipes. At the end of each recipe is a frugal fact that will help you and your family save money in the grocery store as well as time saving meal preparation tips. The really neat thing about the recipes is that they are an entire meal in one recipe and again all are $5 or less.

Testing $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook Recipes

I decided to review this cookbook so I really needed to test some of the recipes. The first recipe we tried was the Potato Pizza Pie on page 248. I think that the main reason I decided to try this recipe was because the picture in the book looked so yummy. I never really realized it was a recipe from the vegetarian chapter. This recipe was really interesting because it showed a different way to use potatoes. I had a lot on-hand that needed to be used so it made it a perfect choice for me. This recipe also uses the homemade pizza sauce found in the homemade chapter. Making your own sauces can really save you some money! According to the recipe, the total cost was $4.34. I had everything on-hand except the carrots, so this meal was pretty inexpensive to make. The Pizza Pie tasted a lot like pizza and was liked by the whole family. I also liked that her bread recipes included bread machine instructions.

$5 Dinner Mom Blog

You should check out Erin’s blog($5 Dinners), it is full of information on how to save money on healthy family meals, and she has lots of recipes. Most of the recipes in the cookbook are not listed on her blog so you need to buy the cookbook to get those recipes.

How Can I Get $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook?

I received a cookbook to review, but was not compensated for writing a review of the book by the author or publisher. If you are interested in buying a cookbook for yourself, you can find it on Amazon for $10.19, at the time of this writing. I have found the cookbook very helpful for my family and I hope each of you get the chance to check it out to help your family eat healthy, easy, budget friendly dinners.

Meatless Meals-Lentils

Lorie — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 23:23:17 +0000

My family has had to cut back a lot since I started staying home with my children. One of the first areas we looked to cut was our food budget. We went from buying a lot of convenience foods to making our meals from scratch. Not only did we save money, but the meals were better tasting and we were actually eating healthier. One way I have saved on our food budget is by serving a meatless meal once a week. For most meals, the biggest expense comes from the meat, but you can still have a delicious, tasteful, and healthy meal by going meatless. One thing I like to substitute for meat is lentils. I buy lentils for about $0.89 a bag, so you can see the budget benefits. If you have had them and you didn’t like them then you need to give them another chance. I think the right recipe makes all the difference.

What are Lentils?

Lentils are a member of the legume family and can be found with other dried beans in your grocery store. They have health benefits such as lowering cholesterol and preventing blood sugar levels from rising rapidly after a meal. Lentils also provide six important minerals, two B-vitamins, and protein, all with virtually no fat. The calorie content is 230 calories for a one cup serving. Lentils come in green and brown colors among others.

How Do You Prepare Lentils?

One of the great things about lentils is unlike other types of beans they do not require soaking and therefore are quicker to prepare. Sort through your lentils to make sure they are free of any stones or debris and then put them in a strainer and rinse thoroughly under cool water. Place the lentils in boiling water, this helps the lentils to digest more easily. Use three cups of water for one cup of lentils. Next, turn the heat to simmer. Cover and cook for 20-30 minutes. Some recipes will recommend cooking the lentils differently based on the texture that is desired for the recipe (such as the Lentil Tacos below), so make sure you read your recipe.

Lentil Recipes

I found that these two recipes are the easiest way to get your family to enjoy lentils. So, try these with your family this week and save some money on your meals.

Lentil Tacos

3/4 cup dry lentils(brown ones)

3/4 cup dry brown rice

4 cups water

4 beef bouillon cubes (substitute chicken or vegetable, if desired)

4 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

2 teaspoons onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Dump everything in a medium pot and boil. Turn down the heat to a little lower than medium and cook covered (just like rice) until done. I usually stir every 5-6 minutes, but you probably don’t need to once the spices are well mixed! Use just like regular taco filling.

Note: You can eat this on soft tortillas or hard taco shells and add tomatoes cheese lettuce and sour cream as desired.

Lentil and Brown Rice Casserole

3 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)

3/4 cup lentils

1/2 cup brown rice

3/4 cup chopped onion

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 cup grated cheese

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Mix all ingredients except the cheese in a baking dish (I use an 11 x 7). Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes. Then remove the foil, add the cheese, and bake for an additional 20 minutes.

Note: You can jazz this up by adding barbeque sauce, spaghetti sauce, or salsa.

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes

Lorie — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:53:37 +0000

About a month ago, I bought a wheat grinder. I felt like I was saving money by buying one because I could get wheat kernels from my church cannery for a lot cheaper price than at the store. I also don’t have to pay a lot of money for prepackaged mixes with whole wheat. Whole Wheat ones seem to cost at least twice as much. Now I have a ton of whole wheat flour and I am looking for what to do with it. I decided to make pancakes since my family really likes those. We even have them for dinner sometimes.

Why Eat Whole Wheat

There has been a lot of research about whole grains and whole wheat and I have read about lots of health benefits. Some of those include; women who eat whole grains weigh less, lowers our risk for type 2 diabetes, help prevent gallstones, are preventative against breast cancer, are also highly protective against childhood asthma, and not to mention they keep you going. With all of those benefits why not choose whole wheat?

Getting Your Family Used to Whole Wheat

My family has not really been used to eating whole wheat. My husband says he hates it. When you buy wheat kernels, they come in hard red or hard white. The hard white seems to have a taste that is more acceptable to people. I also have started my family out slow by using a 50/50 mix of white and wheat flour. I feel better knowing I am at least getting some whole grains in them. They have really seemed to accept this alternative and they are really shocked that they like the foods I am serving with the added wheat in it. I think this helps get them used to whole wheat instead of adding it all at once.

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes

These pancakes are adapted from a Cooking Light recipe. I do not know why they called them Whole Wheat pancakes because they do have the white flour in them too. I do know that they are really good. I think you could add all wheat flour and these would still be good.

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes

¾ cup whole wheat flour

¾ cup all-purpose flour

3 Tablespoons sugar

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups buttermilk (see note below)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 Tablespoon canola oil

1 large egg

1 large egg white

Cooking spray

Combine flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl and whisk together. In a separate bowl combine buttermilk, eggs, oil, and vanilla and whisk well. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and mix just until moistened and combined. Heat a nonstick griddle or skillet to medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray and then pour on pancake batter. Use about ¼ cup batter. Wait until bubbles form and edges are set and then flip.

Makes 12 pancakes.

Note: As a substitute for 1 cup butter milk, place 1 tbs lemon juice in a 1 cup measuring cup and then fill the remaining with milk. Just ½ those amounts to get the other ½ cup. Let the milk mixture sit for a couple of minutes before using.

Syrup For My Pancakes

If you want to make the perfect pancake, you need good syrup to top it. I try not to buy any syrup anymore because I have the basic ingredients already in my kitchen and it really is so easy to make. Here are two I use a lot:

Homemade Maple Syrup
4 cups white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
2 cups water
2 teaspoons maple flavoring (or vanilla)
Mix the water and sugars in a pot and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the flavoring. Cool and pour into container. You do not need to refrigerate the syrup.

Buttermilk Syrup

1 ½ cups sugar

¾ cup buttermilk

½ cup butter

2 Tablespoons corn syrup

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons vanilla

Place first 5 ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for 7 minutes stirring to prevent scorching. (Mixture will foam.) Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Note: Don’t let the name scare you, this taste like a caramel sauce and you will not want to go back to maple syrup after trying it.

Saving Time with Pancakes

I like to make pancake mixes. I just take all the dry ingredients in the recipe and place them in a zip lock bag and label it. This makes it real easy; all I have to do is add the wet ingredients. These pancakes also freeze well. I like to double the recipe and I use them for a quick breakfast during the week. Just lay out the pancakes in a single layer on a baking sheet or another pan. Freeze until solid and then place in a zip lock bag and label what it is and the date you froze them. To serve, I just reheat in the microwave.

Coupon Clipping 101

Pamela — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 08:19:01 +0000

We all know that coupons are a great way to save money. But do you know the right was to utilize these moneysaving miracles to your best advantage?

Why Use Coupons?

Let’s face it – unless you are independently wealthy or your hubby is bringing in several hundred thousand dollars a year, you are probably living on a budget, especially if you are a stay at home mom. Anytime you can save a couple bucks is usually a welcome one. Some people (myself included) think that coupons are issued just help us save money. This is not at all the case, but rather a bonus bi-product of humongous marketing plan for national brand products. The real reason the Sunday paper, our mailboxes and now our inboxes and web browsers are stuffed with coupons is to get you to try something new. The key is to use coupons to your advantage – so you can both try something new and save a buck or two.

Don’t Make This Common Mistake

One of the biggest “coupon-clipping faux pas” is to buy something you do not really need just because you have a coupon. If you have no use for it, would not otherwise purchase the product and/or already have a sufficient supply, toss the coupon!

Making the Most of Coupons

Check with your regular grocery store about their coupon redemption policy. For example, Costco Wharehouse does not accept manufacture’s coupons, but only their own in house versions. Find out about special double coupon days, and using coupons in conjunction with their store sale prices. Then when you get the weekly specials insert in the mailbox or newspaper sit down with your coupons and figure out what super deals are available. If you play your cards right you can get items for shear pennies – and I have even ended up “getting paid” for buy an item after all the discounts. Always read the fine print on coupons. They often list very specific items for which the coupon is valid – like only the new sugar-free version, or you have to buy 2 to get the deal. And please do a little math for heaven’s sake. If the price after coupon and sale is not equal to or less than the price of the brand you usually get or generic it is not really worth it.
You may consider signing up for one of the many online free coupon websites – Eversave, or Smartsource. They often have coupons for hundreds of name brand items at your fingertips. They also usually allow you to set up some criteria to insure that you only get coupons for products you will actually use. A word of caution though, these sites often sell their email lists and suddenly your inbox is jammed with ridiculous amount of junk mail for services and products you have no interest in whatsoever. There are also many blogs out there that focus on letting you know when an awesome coupon is available. You can also go directly to the companies that manufacture the products that you use most. For example Betty Crocker has an email sign up that comes with weekly coupons, as well as Kraft Foods.
Another great way to save when stores have sales is to plan your grocery list based on what is on sale. Take a look at the grocery store sale circular you get in the mail before you plan out your week’s meals.

You also want to keep your coupons well organized. You should sort them by section in teh grocery store. You should also set up a time each month to go through and toss the expired ones as well as get out hte ones that will soon expire. Here is a super cute coupon organizer – just because you are saving a buck doesn’t mean you can’t be chic!

Time and Money Saving Breakfast Sandwiches

Lorie — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 22:37:42 +0000

My husband has to be at work at 7 am (he has a 35 minute commute) and he is always running late and never has time to eat breakfast. So, he has to end up taking something for breakfast with him to eat at work. He loves the biscuits that you buy for the freezer that already have eggs etc on them. He asked me the other day to buy him some more, but those things are expensive and eat into our grocery budget. They also are not the healthiest breakfast in the world. So, one day I was browsing through Heather’s cooking videos and found these Easy Breakfast Sandwiches. These are great because you can be creative and put whatever you like on them. They also save time in the morning because you make them ahead and then just toss them in the microwave for a quick and HOT breakfast. My husband loves them and so do I! So, here is a recipe but you will have to decide on the ingredients you want. This mean you could use healthies ingredients, like egg beaters and you get to be creative. I have been trying to loss weight and these make the perfect breakfast for me. You must have some type of cheese though because it is like the glue that sticks them together. The ones that you buy in the store cost $7-$8. These can be made for so much less and only take about 15 minutes to whip up.

Easy Breakfast Sandwich

1 1/2 cup of Egg Beaters (or a generic brand of them) or 6 regular eggs
1 Weight Watchers Cheese Single (or another cheese slice, even fat free)
6 slices of precooked bacon, cut in two (like Oscar Meyer, comes in box)
6 (100 calorie) English Muffins (like Weight Watchers, Thomas’ light, or another 100 calorie one)

Spray a skillet with cooking spray. Scramble the eggs in a skillet until done. Separate the eggs into 6 equal parts. Cut the cheese slices and bacon slices in half. Open the English Muffins and place one of the separated scrambled eggs onto the bottom of the muffin. Add half piece of cheese on top of this. Next, place your bacon onto the English Muffin side by side (this will be one piece sliced in half which you have previously done.) Then place the other half of the cheese on top of the bacon going the opposite direction of the first piece of cheese. Place the top of the English muffin on top and wrap tightly in a microwave safe plastic wrap. If freezing make sure you place them in a freezer safe container or freezer safe zip lock bag. Don’t forget to label and mark the points on your product. Refrigerate or freeze until ready to use.
To Reheat: Place wrapped sandwich in microwave on a microwave safe plate. Microwaves will differ in times to cook, but I placed my refrigerator ones in for 20-30 seconds and my freezer ones, I put on 50% power for 2-3 minutes.
Makes 6 servings
Point will vary depending on ingredients used. Using my ingredients this was 3 points.
Note: To change this up, I have used different types of meats. I like the Oscar Meyer fully cooked Canadian bacon and lean ham. Be creative and design your own!

Heather makes these in her video here if you want to go check it out.

Save A Lot Offers Coupons

Lorie — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:57:35 +0000

Save A Lot is a store that I use a lot to save money. While most of the items are generic, I have found some of those to be just as good as the higher priced name brands. I also like the meat ,fruit and vegetable selections at the store. They also have some name brand items for a great low price but they usually do not have those for very long, so you have to grab those when you see them, they call those Temporary and Terrific deals. I also like that the flyers have ideas for meals to be made using Save-A-Lot products and even include recipes. So, when I found that the website is now offering some great coupons, I just had to share.

Get Your Save A Lot Coupons

If you go to the Save-a-Lot website and join the Smart Shoppers club, you can get a coupon for $5 off a $20 purchase. This would be perfect for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. The Save A Lot I go to had a flyer promoting that you could have a Thanksgiving dinner for $20. They also have some other coupons on there for money off products such as Country Crock, Ragu, Breyers, and Hellmanns just to name a few. There are also some coupons for a free pink reusable shopping bag when you buy certain items. So, if you have a Save-a-Lot store near you, go print out these wonderful coupons and start saving a lot today!

Frugal Homemade Pancake Syrup

Lorie — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:31:26 +0000

With a family of 6, I am always looking for ideas to save money on my grocery bill. A few months ago, I found this recipe online for homemade pancake syrup and thought, I just have to try that! I ran out the other day and remembered that recipe and decided to give it a try. All I did was fill the old pancake syrup bottle up. Nobody even noticed. It is a super easy recipe to make and I had all of the ingredients on hand! Here is the recipe. Enjoy!

Frugal Homemade Maple Syrup

4 cups white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
2 cups water
2 teaspoons maple flavoring (or vanilla)

Mix the water and sugars in a pot and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the flavoring. Cool and pour into container. You do not need to refrigerate the syrup.

Sack Lunches that Save Time and Money

Guest Writer — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:24:26 +0000

It’s that time of year again. It’s time to think about going back to school, and what to pack in your child’s sack lunches. Many families choose to send their child’s lunch to school with them to save money, but even sack lunches can get expensive. This is especially true when buying those pre-packaged individual serving size packages and containers. So, how can you save money with sack lunches, without sacrificing nutrition and without spending lots of time in the kitchen?

Plan for the Week Ahead

Plan your child’s lunch menu for the week, and before a trip to the grocery store. Check out grocery sale ads, too. Plan for both nutrition and foods your child enjoys. Some moms find it helpful to keep a master list of sack lunch menu ideas to choose from for quick planning.

Once home from the grocery store, get your child involved by having him help you prepare some of his lunch items for the coming week. By getting your child involved with the preparation, you teach your child lessons in cooking, and the value of a dollar saved. Best of all, you will spend quality time together, and may even have fun!

Make Your Own Individual Serving Size Packages

You can buy reusable, individual serving size containers at Wal-Mart or other discount stores, and use these to make your own pudding and fruit cups, store dip for veggie sticks, and many other foods. Just make sure the lids fit snuggly and won’t leak.

You can also save money by making your own individual size packages of chips, veggie sticks, trail mix, and so forth. Your biggest expense will come from purchasing snack-size bags, however, you will be saving money by putting a little effort into making your own and not buying pre-packaged goods.

Money-Saving Sack Lunch Ideas

To get you started, here are some ideas to make your child’s sack lunch nutritious and appealing:

Sandwiches prepared on different breads: as a wrap in a tortilla; in a pita; on an English muffin, croissant, bagel, or biscuit.
Sandwich fillings: bologna, turkey, ham, beef, tuna, tuna salad, chicken salad, egg salad, BLT, peanut butter and jelly, peanut butter and banana slices, or a variety of cheeses.
Individual serving-size containers or packages: pudding, fruit, jell-o, fruit or veggie dips, cheese cubes, baked beans, chips, vegetables or veggie sticks, pretzels.
Other main-dish ideas: use leftovers, chili, soup, stew, chowder, macaroni and cheese, macaroni salad, potato salad, stir-fry, or fried rice.

Not Just for Sack Lunches

These ideas aren’t just for school lunches. Save money on picnics, camping trips, road trips and even vacations! Make ahead and pack into a cooler for a quick, easy and cheap snack or lunch.

by Crystal Killion

Saving Money on Groceries

Guest Writer — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:10:11 +0000

Most people are aware that a great way to save money on groceries is to focus your shopping on what is listed as on sale in the weekly ad for your local grocery stores and by using coupons. However, some people get overzealous in their purchasing and end up disposing of outdated items that either expire, like packaged perishable items, or items that lose their freshness quickly, such as produce. Putting forethought into your shopping and also what you do once you get home from that shopping trip can make a big difference in what you’re putting in the trash or down the disposal after a few weeks.

Saving Money by Paying Attention at the Store

It’s easy to take a sale for what it is-a great bargain, but in some cases, the store is attempting to get rid of what is on their shelves in excess. This can mean expired or soon to be expired products ending up in your cart because you couldn’t resist the deal. It is very important to be conscientious of expiration dates-even on dry packaged items-because they are they for a reason. It can be disappointing to stock up on an item that seemed like a wonderful deal, only to have to throw out the majority of what you bought since it outdated quickly after you bought it. Always weigh the benefit versus the cost-price is a factor, but a deal is only a deal if you’re going to utilize what you’re buying!

Saving Money on Groceries While Saving Time

Most people are aware that a great way to save money on groceries is to focus your shopping on what is listed as on sale in the weekly ad for your local grocery stores. However, some people get overzealous in their purchasing and end up disposing of outdated items that either expire, like packaged perishable items, or items that lose their freshness quickly, such as produce. Putting forethought into your shopping and also what you do once you get home from that shopping trip can make a big difference in what you’re putting in the trash or down the disposal after a few weeks.

Saving Money by Preparing Produce Ahead of Time

One way that my family has utilized great sales on produce items is by buying in bulk, and freezing (in some cases, cooking then freezing) fruits and vegetables. Although it takes about a 30 minute commitment to, say, cut up 30 green peppers into strips for freezing (which I have done!), it is not only a great way to utilize a sale (in my case, 3 peppers for $1). This habit will also make your dinner preparation a breeze for weeks to come! Onions, peppers, carrots, zucchini, green beans, and other vegetables can be easily tossed into a casserole, tomato sauce, stir fry, or taco seasoning as part of a dinner. In terms of freezing fresh fruits, they are great for packing (then thawing) in kids’ lunches, as well as tossing into smoothies, milkshakes, hot oatmeal, etc.

Saving Money and Time by Preparing Meat Ahead of Time

You can also separate out family packs of meat (which generally have a lower price per pound) into freezer bags for portions that best serve your family. There are times where I have cleaned, cubed, or cut chicken into strips before freezing so dinner preparation is even easier. Tossing my frozen cubed chicken in with my frozen vegetables and some teriyaki marinade makes the easiest stir fry! Meal prep can be one of the biggest reasons why parents often opt for restaurant, fast food, or other unhealthy, costly meal options.

Having a marathon prep session will give you no reason to avoid cooking at home, and you’ll save yourself from wasting groceries you have purchased. Sales and discounts are a wonderful way to maximize your family’s grocery budget. Following tips that stretch those dollars even further and prevent them from going into the garbage are important to your success in sticking to your budget and keeping your family happy and well-fed.

by Carly Fortin

Saving Money on Your Grocery Bill: Make your Shopping Smart and Thrifty

Guest Writer — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 03:36:42 +0000

There are several areas in which to save money in your family’s finances. Everyone is always looking for a simple way to save without compromising quality. A great place to start looking for ways to save is your grocery store spending.

Cutting Costs at the Grocery Store

A first step for any family is to set a weekly budget for grocery shopping. In addition, shopping sales and clipping coupons are the two biggest ways to cut your grocery bill. My husband and I love to see our ‘spent versus saved’ at the bottom of our receipt. We attempt to get the two numbers as close as possible. I remember one grocery trip during which I actually saved $20 more than I spent!

Using Grocery Store Ads to Save Money

Grocery ads are easy to find and free. I get several in my mailbox every week. However, if you’re looking to eliminate clutter on your countertops and streamline the process, recycle those ads and get online! A great online resource for grocery ads is MyGroceryDeals.com. This site offers a comprehensive look at all of the grocery ads for stores in your area, allowing you to choose a ‘main’ store (as well as several others), shop the ads, add items to your shopping list on the site, and then print the list. The shopping list keeps all of your selected stores separate, and even includes a total at the bottom for the amount your items cost as well as the money you’re saving with the sale prices. The part I dislike most about grocery shopping is digging through multiple ads and writing out lists, so this site is really a time and sanity saver.

Where to Find Coupons

Accessing coupons has become easier than ever with the legion of places in which they are available. There’s the Sunday newspaper, which can be delivered relatively inexpensively. Our local paper costs $8 a month for Sunday-only delivery, and we clip and ‘spend’ about $150-200 worth of grocery and restaurant coupons out of it every month.

Where to Find Coupons Online

Coupons are also available in multiple places online. There are several sites on which grocery coupons can be selected for printing at home. Sites such as Coupons.com, CouponMom.com, and Wow-Coupons.com carry coupons that you select, print, and use at a local grocery store. Upromise.com even offers eCoupons, which are loaded onto the frequent shopper cards most grocery stores provide, so you have nothing to clip and carry. This is convenient for unplanned trips to the store, as well as busy moms who don’t want to be digging through their purses for coupons in the checkout lane.

Take advantage of the free and low cost resources that are out there, and you can save a large amount in the grocery shopping portion of your household spending!

by Carly Fortin