Image Courtesy of digitalart/freedigitalphotos.net
Buy now or buy later is something that runs through our minds when we are looking at the weekly flyers or when we are inundated with bargains at the shop that were unadvertised or are too good to pass up.
We ask ourselves 3 questions
- Is this the best price?
- Do we really need it?
- Can we afford it in the grocery budget?
Often we are faced with these dilemmas because we don’t want to pass up an opportunity to save our family some money. Earlier in 2012 we had guest blogger who shared their thoughts on knowing prices and how to that’s the key to saving money on your grocery bill which leads us to wonder whether we are taking the time to learn them. This week the milk is on sale at Food Basics for example for $3.88 and we have a $1.00 coupon off when you purchase any Lactancia milk. We use milk mainly for coffee, tea and cooking and typically will pay $4.19 at Shoppers Drug Mart to purchase our 4 litres of milk so we can get Shoppers Optimum points fast. With the $1.00 off coupon this week we would pay $2.88 for 4 litres of milk. So, we ask ourselves should we buy now or buy it later and how much should we get. The only problem is the coupon expires at the end of February 2013 and we don’t know if they will release another. We have the space in our freezer but we don’t have any money left in our stockpiling budget because we used it up on Black Diamond cheese bars.
We completed a freezer inventory on Family Day yesterday to refresh our list and to make sure the numbers were accurate. We decided that the milk is an amazing deal, we will use it and we have the coupons to make it an even better price likely the best we’d ever seen. We don’t need much this week by way of groceries as we have enough to create good food in our weekly meal plan. It’s not easy to decide sometimes what we should do but the point is that we are thinking and not impulse shopping tossing in all sorts into our grocery cart. When we let the great deals take over our minds and the feel good psychological effect starts to happen we tend to forget about the end result which could mean we spend more than anticipated.
Don’t let this happen to you as we’ve experienced it on many occasions and vow to never let it happen again. If you want to stock up, have a stockpile budget like we started in 2013 for the best bargains we can find and talk it out. Basically a stockpile budget is just some money we set aside every month in case of a good bargain comes up that we want to buy in bulk. If we don’t use the money one month it goes back into savings, we don’t carry it over. If you used up your stockpile budget like we have already we had to cut back on what we would purchase this week. So, stocking up at the best price is good but make sure you balance the extras so you aren’t spending money you will later regret.
How do you decide whether to buy nor or buy later when you are presented with a deal?
If you missed the awesome post on Canadian Budget Binder by our fellow grocery game player Pauline from Reach Financial Independence give it a read. Her post will not disappoint and you will learn what grocery shopping and food is like in Guatemala where she currently resides. She tells us how important it is to make the best of what is available when grocery shopping. The pictures are phenomenal….. just check it out.. you’ll love it.
Our Grocery Game Challenge Results
Food Basics
- 8 x Lactancia Milk 4 Litres Sale $3.88-$1.00 coupons
- 4 x 2 kg Granulated Sugar Sale $1.77
- 2 x 220g of white mushrooms Sale $0.88
- 1 x Broccoli Sale $0.88
- Reduced pack of 6 Avocados Sale $2.49 (Yes I’m making Guacamole this week, oh ya!)
- Reduced Pack of Tomatoes Sale $1.79
- Reduced Pack of Limes and Lemons Sale $1.29
- 5lbs of Onions Sale $2.97
- 2 x Pita $0.99
- 1 x Selection Sour Cream $1.99
Total Out of Pocket $45.27
Total Grocery Amount Budgeted For the Year : $2819.38
- Total Grocery Budget for the Month: $235.00 or $78.33 week with one no shop week per month or $58.75 for 4 weeks per month. (During the months with 5 weeks we just make it work)
- Total Coupons Used this Week : $8.00
- Total Discounts this Week: $0
- Total Checkout 51 rebates this Week: $0 Don’t Use this service
- Total Checkout 51 rebates this Month: $0 Don’t Use this service
- Total Colleague Discounts (CD) this Week: $0 I wish I had a discount
- Total Colleague Discounts (CD) this Month:$0 see above
- Total Gift Cards Given Used this Week: $0
- Total Rewards Points Used: $0
- Stockpile Budget: $20.00 Used: $20.00
- Total Spent This Week:$ 45.27
- Total Spent So Far for (Feb): $26.27+41.50 +45.27= $113.04
- Total Over/Under spend this shop: $33.06 under
- Total Over/Under spend for the month of (Feb): $ under 121.96 (so far)
- Total Left to Spend for the Month: $121.96
- Total Coupons Used This Month :$6.00+8.00+8.00
- Total to Carry Over Next Month : $ n/a We don’t carry over + only -
- Total Spent To Date This Year: $206.95 (Jan)+
Weekly Overview: Well we spent more than anticipated this week because of the milk and sugar being on sale but we still came in under budget. Next week is supposed to be a no-shop week for us so let’s see if we can pull that off, although anything could happen as there is still a healthy amount left in the budget to spend for February. Next week is the last shop for February ending Sunday, March 3, 2013.
Some Coupons We Found This Week
How was your grocery shop this week? Post your shop exactly like how I did and let us all know.
FAQ’s- Grocery Game Challenge RULES…..
- Do I have to be Canadian to post my Grocery Shop? No, you don’t have to be Canadian to post your shops only to win a monthly prize. We have a few players from around the world.
- When does the Grocery Game Close each month? The Grocery Game Challenge Closes at Midnight of the last Sunday of the last post for the month. You can post your shops all month-long.
- Does Your Grocery Budget Include Health and Beauty and Laundry? Yes our Grocery Budget includes such items as shampoo, conditioner, laundry soap, fabric softener, dish soap etc. We don’t mind stockpiling items that won’t be effected by expiry dates or have long expiry dates but not so much food any more. It’s just one way to help cut your budget to save money.
- Where can I find Canadian Coupons? Here are your latest Coupon Match-ups of the week including Checkout 51 from 25 Newspaper Inserts around Canada compliments of Save Big Live Better that you can use to help you save money in the Grocery Game Challenge.
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- If You Don’t See a Payoff with Coupons, You Won’t Use Them. So, Stop Beating Yourself Up! (twofrugalfairfielders.com)
- Are Coupons Really Worth All That Time And Effort (nationaldebtrelief.com)
- Best Day to Buy Groceries for a Bargain — Savings Experiment (dailyfinance.com)
