Why I Stopped Clipping Coupons (and How I Am Still Saving Money)

Long-time readers of Moms Need To Know will remember that I used to post a LOT more about grocery and drug store deals. As a matter of fact, that used to be the main focus of this site and was for almost 6 years. These days, I only post about anything coupon-related 2 days a week….on Tuesday when the Sunday Coupon Preview page has been updated and then on Saturday and Sunday morning when the drug and grocery store deals are entered.

But I will let you know something – I mostly stopped using coupons about a year ago. I stopped buying multiple copies of the newspaper – some weeks I don’t even buy a Sunday newspaper. I do still work the deals at the drug stores, but nearly as much and only for toiletries and cleaning products (which I still get very cheap).

What changed? We did! Our eating habits have changed drastically over the past several years and we are buying fewer processed foods and cooking from scratch. So – how are we still saving money without clipping coupons?

Shopping at Aldi – I talked about this before but I save a ton of money by shopping at Aldi. I am able to stock up on some of the few processed foods that we do still eat (cereal, crackers, etc) at ridiculously low prices.

Money Saving Apps On My Phone – I have a bunch of apps on my phone that give me rebates on my purchases with very little effort. SavingStar is my favorite for cleaning products as well as their weekly freebie and Ibotta always has great savings on organic products!

I buy store-brand and family packs at Wegmans – if you are lucky enough to live near a Wegmans, you really should read my post debunking the myth that Wegmans is a more expensive store. I haven’t paid more than $1.99 per lb for boneless skinless chicken breasts in years and their store-brands are really superior!

I use the Favado app – Favado allows me to compare prices at all of my local stores. If, for example, I know I am going to be needing toothpaste soon, I can just use the search function on Favado to see who has the lowest prices this week.

I got serious about meal planning – I had always done some meal planning, but was willing to throw the plan out the window if my kids wanted pizza one night and I was tired.  Now I create a meal plan each week and stick to it to ensure that we have less food going to waste (and yes – we still schedule pizza night!)

How are you saving money on groceries these days?

SOURCE: Moms Need To Know ™ – Read entire story here.