Tight Budget....

Don't you hate it when the budget is tight!  When it is, the first place we cut back in is our food and household budget.  That is the one area with the most flexibility. If you are just beginning this world of couponing it can seem overwhelming and not worth it.  But it is!
Rather than being depressed and wondering if my family will be able to eat,  I find it a challenge.  I have to take my lists and my coupons and stretch it to the limit.  How do I do it?

• Inventory:  I would like to say I have a categorized, alphabetized list of my food storage but sadly I don't.  So before beginning my shopping list I take inventory of what I have.

1. Meat:  Check the freezer.  Canned goods.  Start there because meat can be one of the most costly items.
2. Scan the shelves:  What do you have?  Pastas?  Rice?  Canned Vegetables?  Get a feel for what you have.
1. Scan the fridge.  The goal is to never throw anything out. 

• Now you look the lists over.  Usually a big chunk of our budget goes to meat, dairy and produce. Look at the big categories on sale and plan your menu based on those items and what you have.
• If you are not a price matcher at Walmart,  then look the lists over and whoever has the most items you need on sale plan your trip at that store.  If you need to pinch every single penny then  I highly recommend price-matching at Walmart.
• Price-Matching: Walmart will price match any advertized price (food or non-food item).  It must be the same brand and size.  Produce, meat, dairy, all these items in addition to any other grocery item can be price matched.  You can match store-brand items to Walmart brand.  
• I take all my lists and combine in it to one master list in Word.  
• Then I remove any items I don't need.
•   It saves me hundreds of dollars.  I am able to combine all the super duper prices into one store.  I am not saying this because I am a Walmart advocate.  I just do it because I have to.  Not to mention I want to spend the least amount of money I can for something that is just going in my mouth.

• I go over my list and see if there are any coupons I need.  I clip all my coupons and put it in a sheet protector along with:
• My grocery list
• The grocery ads
•  A pen and post it notes
• While I am shopping every time I have a price match item, I write down the price match price on the sticky note and attach it to the item.
• Then when it comes to check out, I simply put my items on the conveyer belt,  the cashier has all my price match items ready to go.  Cashiers love it.  
• Once everything is scanned then I hand them my stack of coupons.  That's it.