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Well, not really......get there before the Fatcartpeople get it all.
HA! I had not eaten meat in a few days, and yesterday after sitting for three hours at the shop while my car was being serviced and having had no breakfast, I was craving protein. I stopped to get hamburger meat at my supermarket, and scored a package with a "Manager's Special" coupon slapped on the front because yesterday was the sell-by date. A pound and a half of 85% lean for $2.18. Burger was GOOD, too.
My question is on how to make the best of what little money I get each month? Does anyone have any ideas, books or sites that would be up this area? thanks yall
I generally shop the outer edges of the store - not much in the processed food sections.
One thing you should do is pace yourself. Don't be tempted to buy a mass quantity when you get your card filled or however they work it.
I always see families with overflowing carts at the beginning of the month. Does all that get eaten or does some go to waste? You always hear stories of people running out of funds before the month is over.
Don't take your kids to the store if you can avoid it.
Like someone else suggested - look for churches or other organizations that give out supplies and food to supplement your funds. We have two in our small town and no questions asked.
HA! I had not eaten meat in a few days, and yesterday after sitting for three hours at the shop while my car was being serviced and having had no breakfast, I was craving protein. I stopped to get hamburger meat at my supermarket, and scored a package with a "Manager's Special" coupon slapped on the front because yesterday was the sell-by date. A pound and a half of 85% lean for $2.18. Burger was GOOD, too.
they may as well have called that the "millionaires special" to pay 2.18 for ground beef. 1.99 is what common folk like me pay when we are patient and wait for a sale. these days its rare to find it at 85%, but 80% with patience and it has been done recently.
but I mostly eat chicken since you can find that for 1.69 a pound with patience. 1.99 without too much patience for b/s chicken breasts. I love beef but I don't love it as much as it costs. I just bought 85% lean ground turkey for 1.99 a pound. it definitely didn't make my tacos as yummy as the beef but it did the job.
have you spent a period of time where you used coupons often?
No, because it didn't take long for me to discover that nearly all coupons are valid only on name-brand products or uneconomical sizes. You don't have to actually USE the coupons to see how they compare with store-brand everyday pricing and economy sizing.
At the price of gas these days, the cost of going to several stores just to get their in-store specials might not save any money at all. In most cars, city driving costs 20-25c a mile. If the second store requires a 4 mile side trip, you need to save a buck there just to break even.
I generally shop the outer edges of the store - not much in the processed food sections.
One thing you should do is pace yourself. Don't be tempted to buy a mass quantity when you get your card filled or however they work it.
I always see families with overflowing carts at the beginning of the month. Does all that get eaten or does some go to waste? You always hear stories of people running out of funds before the month is over.
Don't take your kids to the store if you can avoid it.
Like someone else suggested - look for churches or other organizations that give out supplies and food to supplement your funds. We have two in our small town and no questions asked.
A lot of people on EBT have transportation issues and can't get to the store often. They frequently live far from good groceries too. So, they must fill up the cart when they do make it. Unfortunately, that also means they're eating almost exclusively processed foods that are less perishable. If I were king for a day, I'd disqualify all the soda and chips altogether, so corner stores would have an incentive to carry better foods, but nobody asked me :-)
No, because it didn't take long for me to discover that nearly all coupons are valid only on name-brand products or uneconomical sizes. You don't have to actually USE the coupons to see how they compare with store-brand everyday pricing and economy sizing.
At the price of gas these days, the cost of going to several stores just to get their in-store specials might not save any money at all. In most cars, city driving costs 20-25c a mile. If the second store requires a 4 mile side trip, you need to save a buck there just to break even.
Popping in occasionally to try and dissuade someone from trying to stretch their Supplemental Nutrition dollars with coupons is doing NO ONE any favors. Only the OP can decide if it's for her. You obviously don't understand the concepts of couponing and you're really not helping.
No, because it didn't take long for me to discover that nearly all coupons are valid only on name-brand products or uneconomical sizes.
so it didn't take you very long to come up with a wrong conclusion? congratulations!
I use coupons regularly and it has definitely reduced my costs to well below generic brand costs. also, I got better at it over time so I am able to save more than I did when I started. maybe if you put more time and effort into it, you could learn how to make it work.
your little bit on gas money varies greatly depending on the person and their available stores. sure, everyone should consider any expense that goes into the shopping but you don't know that gas expense will be more than their savings so you cant pretend it automatically does.
No, because it didn't take long for me to discover that nearly all coupons are valid only on name-brand products or uneconomical sizes. You don't have to actually USE the coupons to see how they compare with store-brand everyday pricing and economy sizing.
At the price of gas these days, the cost of going to several stores just to get their in-store specials might not save any money at all. In most cars, city driving costs 20-25c a mile. If the second store requires a 4 mile side trip, you need to save a buck there just to break even.
I understand where you are coming from - coupons seemed almost worthless to me until I found a website that taught me how to massively multiply their savings.
Use a crockpot. Buy some chicken (although those cooked chickens, unfortunately are not eligible for food stamps since they are considered a pre-cooked food)--but buy chicken parts and bake them or roast a chicken, eat the meat but freeze some, throw the bones in the crock pot to make soup. Just add some chopped carrots in along with some frozen peas. Maybe add some pasta or cut up potatoes and you have good-for-you-soup. Thicken it with flour and you have chicken stew. (You save some of the cooked chicken to add to the stew.)
Stock up on things like carrots, potatoes, onions, and a few frozen veggies like peas and maybe broccoli. Cans of kidney beans on sale. Things that won't spoil. Make your own desserts from scratch--just look in a cookbook or online so that you can have a well deserved treat once in a while. Never waste your money on soda and other junk that will just make you sick.
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thanks yall
