Challenge: To trim down the grocery bills by at least 33%

According to the US Department of Labor, the average American family of four spends $8,513 per year on groceries. This statistic breaks down to $177 per person a month. My family is not the traditional nuclear family. In addition to me and my husband, we have four children -- three teenagers, a two-year-old, and a mother-in-law. Applying the above figures, our grocery bill for a family of seven should approximate to $1239 per month. And astonishingly, it has regularly fluctuated in the range of $1000- $1300. My goal is to trim this monthly pile of receipts down to $830,(including diapers, wipes, hygiene products, and restaurant bills) if not less. Being able to frugally feed my nutrition-conscious husband and appease the voracious appetites of my teenagers will be my main challenge!

Monday, August 1, 2011

Turning Red After a Trip to Red Lobster

I turned red last week after going out to lunch with my mom and brother.  We each went for the awesome $14 deal, which included soup, salad, an entree (I chose tilapia with rice pilaf and a veggie side), and an absolutely delicious, soft, warm brownie a la mode.  My mother, who donates blood regularly, had received for her donation two $10 gift certificates to the restaurant, so with that, the bill came out to only around $25.  Had I only been organized, I would have remembered and found a $3 Red Lobster coupon right there in my purse.  It's only $3, but it sure was a waste not using it.  I basically tossed out cash (the coupon expired the other day) into the trash can!

Moral of the story:  Get organized.  Know what coupons you are carrying. Separate your restaurant coupons from the grocery ones and keep them handy!

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