Why You Should Grocery Shop Online

Skillfull grocery shopping and reducing your grocery budget is one of the quickest places to cut your overall budget down to size. No doubt about it. Yet, grocery shopping is probably the most time consuming task we do every week, especially for the busy professional and those with large families. On average, families spend 1-2 hours per week shopping for food and 3-4 hours if you live in more rural areas and need to drive a ways to get to the supermarket.

How can we save both time and money while shopping for food?

Shopping online saves time, money and more importantly since the recent price increases, lots of gas.

Better still, online grocery shopping is for people like you and me. Busy people, frugal people, and those just looking to shop from the comfort of their own homes, Internet grocery shopping is for everyone.

With our popluation aging rapidly, online grocery shopping also makes sense for those caring for aging loved ones, or those who either lack mobility or are totally homebound.

The best two places to find deep discounts on groceries and gourmet food items?

Ebay grocery has a large selection of gourmet food items at reasonable prices anywhere. Bison burgers, smoked beef jerkey and delicious giant 225-count bags of Lindor Lindt truffles are just a few of the items I found recently at rock bottom prices. Prices so inexpensive that finding a seller you trust and shop with regularly makes sense.

Amazon grocery is still my favorite onlie money saver. Take a look at their monthly bargains and you won't be disappointed. With free shipping their products are always both reasonably and fairly priced, and sometimes a downright steal. Check the closeouts for $10 off $25 instant savings on coffee, tea, cereals, snacks and many other items. These prices are just too low to miss.

Delivery of groceries when purchased online can be expensive depending on the service or vendor. Amazon is, once again my favorite. They offer free delivery on all grocery items with a $25 minimum purchase.

Ebay's delivery charges vary by vendor but are also reasonble in comparison to most other online grocery shopping services.

While grocery shopping is one of the very least favorite tasks most of us need to accomplish in the course of our busy week. Using a good online shopping service can save you time, money, gas and the frustration of needing to shop when you would rather be at home.

Once you try it you will never go back!

Cheap Meal Ideas: The Best Meatballs and Meatloaf Ever!

Whew! End of the summer already and getting the kids ready to go off to school again. A really busy time of the year for us all. Need a cheap quick fix dinner? How about the best meatballs and meatloaf recipe ever?

I love meatloaf and meatballs, the price is right and the prep time and clean up is only about 10 minutes.

What I do it this....make the recipe above, it comes out perfect everytime. This recipe calls for 2 pounds of ground beef and makes 2 meals for the 5 of us. Mix the recipe as directed, and then bake half as a meatloaf and half as meatballs.

Freeze the leftover meatballs and store in a ziplock bag in the freezer. The next time you need fast food, the meatballs are already cooked. Just nuke to warm and toss into your spaghetti and you are good to go.

Make it once, clean it up once, eat twice, and no waste to boot. A truly frugal meal and great time saver for evenings when you are pressed for time.

Amazon Grocery Coupons and Promotion Codes for August 2008

Finally, here is an updated list of Amazon grocery coupon promtion codes for August 2008.

You'll notice a ton of savings here. Most have free shipping and offer savings over 35%. Some offers top 50% this month. Happy Savings!


August 2008 Amazon Grocery Coupon Codes and Special Promotions

$5 off Sun Crystals Natural Sweetener Expires 12/31/08

$5 off $19 Amazon coupon code Frito-Lay Snacks Assorted Varieties Use Amazon coupon promotion code TRUENRHT Expires 8/12/08

$5 off $29 Amazon coupon code for Timothy's World Coffee Use Amazon coupon promotion code KCUP4444 Expires 08/31/08

$10 off Amazon coupon code for Kraft Mac & Cheese-A-PaloozaUse Amazon coupon promotion code MACPRUIT Expires 08/31/08

$10 off $29 Amazon coupon promotion code for KA-ME Snack Mixes Use Amazon coupon promotion code KAME3333 Expires 08/31/08

$10 off $29 Amazon coupon promotion code for Stubb's Barbeque Sauces and Rubs Use Amazon coupon promotion code STUBBS29 Expires 08/15/08

$10 off $29 Amazon coupon promotion code for Sesmark Chips Use Amazon coupon promotion code SESMARK4 Expires 08/31/08

$10 off $29 Amazon coupon promotion code for Folgers, Millstone and Pringles Products Use Amazon coupon promotion code PRINGSTN Expires 08/31/08

$10 off $29 Amazon coupon promotion code for Izze Sparkling Juice Use Amazon coupon promotion code IZZEFIZZ Expires 08/31/08

$10 off $39 Amazon coupon promotion code for Jolly Time Popcorn Products Use Amazon coupon promotion code POPNJOLY Expires 08/31/08

$15 off $39 Amazon coupon promotion code for Mi-Del Cookies Use Amazon coupon promotion code MIDEL555 Expires 08/31/08

$20 off $49 Amazon coupon promtion code for G' Day Gourmet Canned Tuna and Salmon Use Amazon coupon promotion code SALMON08 Expires 08/16/08

$20 Instant Savings on Olay, Gillette, Secret, Crest, Prilosec, and More Use Amazon coupon promotion code AUG8PGOL Expires 08/31/08

15% Instant savings on Ito En Teas with Amazon coupon promotion code Use Amazon coupon promotion code TETEAS22 Expires 08/31/08

15% Instant savings on Silkenty Tea Gifts with Amazon coupon promotion code Amazon coupon promotion code CEYLONTE Expires 08/31/08

20% Instant savings on Haribo Candy with Amazon coupon promotion code Use Amazon coupon promotion code GUMM5555 Expires 08/31/08

25% Instant savings on Eden Grove Teas with Amazon coupon promotion code Use Amazon coupon promotion code TEALIFE4 Expires 08/31/08

35% Instant savings on Mrs. Leeper's & Eddie's Organic Pastas with Amazon coupon promotion code Use Amazon coupon promotion code GLFREE55 Expires 0831/08

35% Instant savings on Silk Soymillk Products with Amazon coupon promotion code Use Amazon coupon promotion code SILKSIL5 Expires 08/31/08

35% Instant Savings on Horizon Organic Milk Products with Amazon coupon promotion code Use Amazon promotion code MILKMIL6 Expires 08/31/08

50% Instant Savings on Two Tiger Tiger Asian Foods Products with Amazon coupon promotion code Use Amazon coupon promotion code TIGERT55 Expires 08/31/08

50% Instant Savings on Zico Pure Coconut Water with Amazon coupon promotion code Use Amazon coupon promotion code COCONUT5 Expires 08/31/08

25% Instant Savings on Henry and Lisa's Natural Seafood with Amazon coupon promotion code Use Amazon coupon code ZGB8BH6R Expires 08/31/08

$10 off $25 Clearance Event with Free shipping Amazon coupon promotion code Use Amazon coupon promotion code CLRANC78 Expiration: Limited to supplies on hand

$25 off $59 Back to Shcool Grocery Event with Amazon coupon promotion code Use Amazon coupon promotion code BTSBASIC Expires 08/31/08

I'll be posting a few more offers soon, but need to do a little more checking before I give them the thumbs up on savings. In the meantime, know that I'll be posting banners and offers for more free printable grocery coupons soon.

Liz

How Thrifty are Your Meals? Take the Foodstamp Challenge

While researching a few new posts for use supermarket coupons, I recently came across the website for the food stamp challenge.

The program asks participants to stick to the food stamp budget for all of your meals and snacks for one week. The figure given was $21 per person per week per person. The thrifty plan was intended to be an emergency source of food for a person until a more adequate food supply could be found. Get more information on the food stamp challenge here and learn how to participate.

I took the challenge myself this week to see how good my shopping and savings skills really were and was surprised at the outcome. I was able to feed myself and family within the guidelines, but have to admit that sticking to the program without the use of my well stocked pantry was a challenge in itself. Our diet was more limited than we were used to, mainly because we did not have a well stocked pantry to add the variety we were used to.

Beyond the limitations of our diet, I was also frustrated with the lack of fresh produce that our limited budget provided. Even I had to admit as an experienced shopper and saver that my shopping and cooking habits would need to change if I were forced to stay on the program for long.

Lessons Learned

-While I regularly feed my family at about $25-$30 per week per person, the savings from stockpiling and using grocery coupons aggressively is the main strategy I use to keep our expenses down. Buying ahead for pennies on the dollar allows room in our budget for more fresh fruit, vegetables and dairy than the food stamp allowance would for most who suddenly found themselves in this position.

-Grocery prices are regional. Folks living on either the East or West coasts would have a hard time keeping this budget while still meeting their nutritional needs. I spent 10 days recently in the Midwest and was surprised to see just how much less expensive food is there on some items (20%-30%), on others it is about the same as my hometown.

-You need good shopping skills and some knowledge of how to cook to have any variety at all with this limited of a budget. If you were to suddenly find yourself without more than $21 a week per person and no skills whatsoever in terms of grocery shopping and couponing you might very well find yourself eating a steady diet of tuna, mac and cheese, hot dogs and cereal. As of today, the food stamp allowance has not yet been adjusted to take into consideration the recent inflation we have been experiencing. That said, even the modest allowance allotted means that your dollars won't go as far.

My time spent on the food stamp challenge was an eye-opener to a well educated consumer like myself. I learned a lot about my own shopping habits and found myself looking for ever more creative ways to save at the grocery store. I urge you all to give it a try. I'm glad I did. While I learned that my skills are good enough survive if I needed to, I wouldn't want to have this limited of a budget for long.

In light of my recent discoveries of just how important maintaining a well stocked pantry is in lean times I'll be starting a multi-post series on how to maintain a well stocked pantry.

Cheap Cooking Ideas: Easy Crockpot BBQ Pulled Pork Recipe

I have the best recipe for easy crockpot barbeque pulled pork. Dinner is ready as soon as you walk through the door with this delicious and simple crockpot bbq pulled pork recipe. Just toss together the ingredients on your way out the door in the morning and dinner is ready in the early evening. Tender and juicy this barbeque pulled pork recipe is easy on the budget and a great option for a busy day with little time for cooking.

In a large crockpot, set to low, combine the following:

3 pounds boneless pork shoulder roast

1 bottle barbeque sauce

1 medium onion finely chopped

2 Tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

garlic salt (optional)

Cook on low for 8-9 hours without lifting the lid of the crockpot. Meat should have the appearance of shredded pork when done. Serve either alone or on hamburger buns.

Serves 6 adults at a cost of $.97 per serving.

I love to make this recipe when we are busy all day and have only an hour for dinner before evening activities. If you are really in a rush you can prepare a coleslaw or potato salad ahead to serve as a side dish with crockpot bbq pulled pork.

Enjoy!