Groceries 101

First of all, I don't get the deal with couponing. Well actually, scratch that. I do get it if you have a large family, or a large residence to store the 24,000 rolls of toilet paper that you bought at a nickel each.
But seeing as how I have neither, I think couponing is actually quite bogus. When that TLC show first came out, I wanted to quit my job and become a professional coup-er. No Lie.The idea of getting a free anything is almost better than sex to me, so needless to say, I was quite interested in the whole process of clipping and saving.
But after some further research, in most cases, it's just cheaper for me to buy the Store Brand. I'm single and I usually only need one of whatever item I'm buying. I get that I'm the exception and that most people operate on a multi-person lifestyle, but not me. I'm ridin solo, and gettin some sweet ass bargains on the way.

So here we go: A list of rules to follow when grocery shopping. In most cases, I get out of the store for 30 bucks or less and this lasts me about 2 weeks. I do eat out intermittently, cause I'm having a very serious love affair with Chipotle, but I figure no one eats EVERY meal at home, right?? (i hope?)

Rule #1. The Kroger Brand Rocks my Socks Off.
ok-- for those of you who don't have Kroger, insert Wal-Mart and move on with your day.
They make almost everything, and it's always just as good, if not better once you doctor it up with some spices.  Now, there is a smallll catch when using the Kroger Brand Specifically. They have 2 Store Brands. The Kroger Value Brand  and the other, more expensive Kroger Brand (I've linked, so if you don't know, you can check out the difference). Here's the catch: the cheaper brand is actually WAAAAAAAAYYY better quality in my experience. Perfect example, Peanut Butter. KVB tastes like Peter Pan, Regular Kroger Brand, tastes like carboard blended with Peanuts.

Rule #2. Know Your Stores
This may be hard for some of you who don't LOVE to shop like I do, but I highly recommend at least getting equipped with the bargain store landscape of your area. The more you frequent stores, the more you know what's cheaper, where. If you always went to Wal-Mart, you might not know, for example, that a bag of 8 frozen chicken breasts is almost a buck fifty cheaper at Aldi than at Roll Back Central. (Btw, the total price at Aldi is $5.84. totaling $1.36 per piece--I dare you to find a cheaper breast anywhere. Breast! hahahahaha- I kill myself!) And Ground Turkey is almost 3 bucks cheaper at Wal-Mart than at Kroger. If you plan your shopping trips and schedule accordingly, you can save some dough by traveling to the best place for the item you're looking for.

Rule #3. Plan Your Meals
Not only is this a money saver, but it's also a great time saver. I love it for just me, but I can only imagine the load it would take off if you had a family with a hectic schedule! I try to do it about two weeks at a time, but you can plan however fits your schedule best. For me it's easy to get 3 meals out of one dish, and if you plan, you don't have to eat them all right in a row, you can mix them up and then your tastebuds aren't sick of spaghetti 24/7. It's also great practice to turn leftovers into other meals. See my other blog for an example. as well as some additional laughs and general rowdiness. cheapcooking.com is a fantastic website that has great recipes, as well as money saving ideas, making Rule #3 an absolute breeze!

Of course I'll keep you updated on my specific fantastic finds, but these 3 rules are ones to live by, and a good foundation to build your bargain empire on. I like to refer to it as an "Empire", mainly because my pantry and my closet are the only "Empire's" I'll probably ever build....