Groceries

[ECrew28]

Ok so the wife and I started really watching what we were buying when I got laid off last year and this had continued on even now that I have a new job.  During this time we got hooked on that extreme coupon show.  While I don't feel the need to horde 150 bottles of BBQ sauce or purchase 500 bags of candy ("cuz they're free anyway, right?), I do like the idea of using some "hacks" to be able to acquire things like toilet paper, tooth paste, and other consumables.  We are nowhere near as good as some of these crazy folks, but we try to save where we can on those type of things.  We do splurge on meats and veggies and things like that, but the consumables, I just can wrap my mind around spending more money than I have to.

Looping in another topic as well, is that we do try and use some of these hacks to get additional food stuffs that we can then donate to food panties and local churches.  This way, although not truly donating our money, we are giving them the products they need by using our hacks and time.  Any good stories or ideas on how to increase the efficiency here? 

[kisserofsinners]

For couponing, i set up a separate gmail account just for that...then *when* i decide i'm over it it's easy to make things stop. I also use a slightly modified version of my mothers phone number for member accounts.

I would just go out there and get the info for stuff you actually use. Everything i have will be for the things that *I* use and won't be so helpful.

If you have the space and there's no expiration date, buying TP a year at a time to save 50% or more sounds genius to me. Keep in mind that nanny state rule mean the dates we have on canned goods are totally BS. You can easily add 3 years to the date on canned food, as long as there's no indication that the seal is compromised. ;o) please don't eat something that's clearly gone bad.