Coupon clipping can influence meals and save money
I have three cardinal rules of grocery shopping. Never, ever go
shopping on an empty stomach. It leads to lots of impulse buys like
Haagen-Dazs ice cream bars and Chex party mix. Always make a list.
In my house, we plan out meals for weeknights so we can do one big
grocery shop for the week. Without one, I’m likely to forget some
key ingredient like, oh say, the lemons for the lemon spaghetti and
chicken or the cheese for macaroni and cheese. That leads to
mid-week trips to the grocery store after work, which often leads
to more impulse buys.
Coupon clipping can influence meals and save money
I have three cardinal rules of grocery shopping. Never, ever go shopping on an empty stomach. It leads to lots of impulse buys like Haagen-Dazs ice cream bars and Chex party mix. Always make a list. In my house, we plan out meals for weeknights so we can do one big grocery shop for the week. Without one, I’m likely to forget some key ingredient like, oh say, the lemons for the lemon spaghetti and chicken or the cheese for macaroni and cheese. That leads to mid-week trips to the grocery store after work, which often leads to more impulse buys.
The last rule is to use coupons whenever possible. Coupons are great for saving some money – Raley’s Nob Hill has one every few months that offers $20 off a $100 purchase, which is really easy to reach when buying a week’s worth of groceries. Coupons come free in most newspapers and many companies even offer them online. Most coupons offer 50 cents off here or 55 cents off there, but that really can add up. This week, I saved $1 on cherry tomatoes; $1 on dog food; 50 cents off frozen potatoes; and $1.50 off chicken broth, and with the savings from a few other items it added up to $10.
The things I bought with coupons are all items that were on the week’s menu – either for the humans in the house or the canine companion. The cherry tomatoes will be used in a tomato-basil pasta dish. The potatoes are a side for a night when we will grill chicken. And the broth will be used for rice pilaf.
Coupons are a great way to save, but in general can be a slippery slope. The first rule is not to clip out coupons for items that are not needed. Sure it might seem like a great idea to save $3 off an ice cream cake from Cold Stone Creamery, but unless a special occasion is on the horizon this is a coupon that can tempt spending that is not necessary. Ever since graduate school, I’ve stuck to not cutting out coupons for items I don’t buy on a regular basis. My mom, on the other hand, has been known to clip out almost anything and add it to the pile. That means we end up with coupons for things like Mighty Dog canned food and Cover Girl cover up, two products no one in the house has ever used.
The second thing to be wary of is the size or number of items required to save money. It makes sense to use a coupon to save 55 cents on two yogurts. But a savings of 55 cents for three cans of Pringles isn’t such a great deal. I always check the number or volume required before I cut out the coupon.
The last thing to keep in mind is that cutting out coupons is easy enough, but unless they are easy to find before heading to the store and to carry around at the store, it’s not likely that they will be used. While I was in graduate school, I found a coupon organizer that had multiple slots that I could label with stickers. Some of the labels included dairy products, frozen foods, pet items and restaurants, among others. It made it easy to find coupons for items I wanted to buy for the week.
Below is a recipe for taco salad, one of our go-to-meals for busy weeknights that I actually had two coupons for this week.
Homemade taco salad
Dressing:
8 oz. light sour cream
8 oz. salsa
8 oz. cream cheese
2 tbsp. taco seasoning
Salad:
2 tbsp. taco seasoning
1 head of lettuce, shredded
3 tomatoes diced
1 can sliced olives
1 package shredded cheese
1 lb. hamburger
1 can refried beans
1 bag tortilla chips of choice
In a skillet over medium heat, cook hamburger until no longer pink. Drain off excess fat if necessary. Add 2 tbsp. taco seasoning with ¼ c. of water. Cook for five minutes more. Set aside.
While cooking the hamburger, heat refried beans on stove top. Add taco seasoning for extra flavor, if desired.
In a large bowl combine the sour cream, cream cheese, salsa and 2 tbsp. taco seasoning. Whisk to mix well. Increase quantities if more dressing is desired.
In a large bowl, toss lettuce, tomatoes and olives. Mix in hamburger and beans. Top with cheese and dressing. Serve with tortilla chips.
