Helping our money stretch.

 Last week on my "Better Safe Than Sorry" post - I had a comment that said that some people can not afford to bulk buy so I wanted to address this issue. 

Yes -I can totally understand this - I remember years where my husband and I did not have very much money at all. Most of our meals - were a noodle packet and a can of vegetables. Money was one reason and the other was I didn't know how to cook very many things. Slowly I learned, thankfully. So I can totally understand having a very small amount of money. 

There are several things that I think are important for us all - not matter our food budget - be mindful of where you shop. For example - Albertsons runs some really good sales of a few items here and there - and it is well worth stopping by to get these good deals - but their normal prices are quite high and I can not understand how people can afford to shop there. The same goes for Krogers. So we need to make sure that our money is stretching the most - by choosing stores that have better deals on the things we buy. 

Another way that people sometimes spend more money than they need to - buying bulk. It is a good idea to figure who much it costs per item or ounce or what ever - and then see which is the best deal. Sometimes the bigger packages are a better deal - more times than not - they are not. And also please remember that when you buy in bulk - many times a lot of the product is wasted because it is hard to use all the item up before it goes bad. You have to keep all these things in mind. 

HEB is a great store - and runs really good sales - but you have to take your time as you go through the store to see what has coupons and if it makes it a good deal. Many of their regular prices are higher than Walmart and Aldi's so is also not a store that I would buy all my groceries from. But I really appreciate them running their awesome sales. I wish Walmart would join in and run sales as well- it would make it a more one stop shopping store. 

Dollar Tree- Many people act like Dollar Tree is such a great place to go. I see many older people shopping at it and I wonder if they realize that the $1.25 price tag on a majority of the things - end up costing more than what you can get the same products at other stores - you have to know your prices. There are 2 main things that I like to go there for and that is for their boxed milk and canned tamales- that $1.25 IS cheaper than I can get these things at other stores. I usually kind of walk around and see if there are other deals I can get while I am there. But this is NOT a store to go do all your shopping - or stocking up. 

Be willing to try the off name brand things - most of them are as good as the name brand for less money. When you pay less money for the things you buy you can afford to get an extra one here and there. 

So these are just a few of my thoughts on people having a small budget for food. There are many ways you can stretch your money - you just have to pay attention and make smart choices. Sometimes our money isn't going as far because we are spending more than we need to on the things we get. I hope that this helps someone. 

I will be thinking of other hints and tips to share with you. I just have a few minutes while my grandson slept and thought I would share a few tips on helping our dollars stretch.