Some $$$ Savers!

So I tried a couple things recently that have potential to save me some grocery moola which is my expense area so to say. I wanted to share them.

1. "Pinching Your Pennies" website - link on the right-hand side of my blog.

The moderators in Arizona ROCK and do a great job. They list what's on sale and what coupons (where and when) match up. They also rate the item from so-so deal to "stock-up". You can take the sale list, highlight what you want and then re-format the list to print just those things all by clicking. Awesome!

My personal best was a 71% savings at Basha's recently - I got a couple items for free, thus 71%.

2. Yogurt - My kiddos inhale the stuff and with Lily needing whole milk (and quite frankly Amelia too), I decided to try and make my own. It turned out really good and I had to hold myself off from eating it (I DON'T need the whole milk part ;) .

I found a great step by step .pdf file and website at http://www.makeyourownyogurt.com/. LOTS cheaper than buying a yogurt maker and easy.

The 1/2 gallon of whole milk for .77, "starter" cup of plain yogurt was .50, pound of strawberries I added was $1.50, and finally half cup of honey .50 (???) = $3.27 for 1/2 gallon of yogurt = 12 BIG "cups". I made frozen yogurt pops for Amelia. I plan to use whatever fruit is on it's way out in the future.

3. Bountifulbaskets.com This food co-op is REALLY popular around Phoenix and Utah. It started about 4 years ago and has spread to most of AZ and UT.

Every other week (every week in BIG cities), you can go online and pay $16.50 for a basket/"spot". Show up at the pick-up location (one of two local parks here) Saturday morning and get a giant laundry basket of 1/2 fruit and 1/2 veggies. I think there are around 80 "spots" available at each site. In Phoenix they even have an organic option. I like that I get my produce shopping done in one trip!

What I like about this program versus others, like our local CSA, is that I can choose whether or not to participate each cycle (again every other week) and you get the 1/2 fruit and 1/2 veggies for a balance. Our CSA makes us pay for 6 months at a time (which is a couple hundred dollars for every week pick-up) and the quality and quantity has been uneven.

I find it cool not knowing what I'll get because it forces me to get creative with recipes and eat more of and a bigger variety of fruits and veggies. I also ended up saving money on my produce because it is bought in bulk. I calculated a 22% savings this cycle taking into account the cheapest prices and sales currently. Someone had a 48% saving a month ago before I started Bountiful Baskets.

Hope you can use one or more of these! Let me know your money saver tips.