Every single day I see people saving money with coupons. I see them get great deals; sometimes paying as little as $25 for a cart full of groceries.
Once in awhile I think, WOW! I need to do that! and I begin looking for coupons…until I remember why it doesn’t work for me.
Simply, I don’t buy many convenience foods. And convenience food manufacturers are the ones that publish coupons. When’s that last time you saw a coupon for fresh broccoli?
Healthy eating is a lost art. We count calories, cut out fats, carbs, or use fake sugar but we still gravitate toward foods with chemicals instead of nutrients.
According to Forbes Magazine Americans spend less percentage of their income on food than ever before.The average American, middle class, spent a mere 9% of their income on groceries, or about $90 out of each $1,000 they make. The percentage is slightly more for lower income households (12%) and slightly less for high income homes (7%). And, that isn’t all. A little over 40% of that food money is spent on restaurants.
Compare that to the average American in 1901 who spent about 50% of his income on food. Europeans spend over 10% on average, according to the Atlantic Wire.
It is interesting that as the average expenditure for food has gone down the average cost of health has risen.
All together we spend, on average, 25% of our income on food, clothes and housing which leaves 75% that goes to cars credit card bills, entertainment and other expenses.
I am not a math freak, and this is not a math blog but someone needs to do THIS math. We try hard to eat cheap on the one hand while on the other we are perfectly willing to pay higher and higher health costs because we have diabetes, obesity, blood pressure issues, and other problems related to poor eating habits.
And yet, we still struggle to save a dime here and a dollar there. Lower income households buy less fresh produce and whole meats and rely on convenience foods, processed meats, and canned goods (when compared to higher income households). Lower income households use more snack foods and simple carbohydrates like pasta, white breads, boxed mixes… Why?
Because they seem to be less expensive and more convenient. And hey, you can save even more with coupons.
Over the next several weeks I am going to be posting a new series called, What’s In That? I will decipher ingredient labels on common foods but I won’t leave you hanging. I will also be giving you alternatives that are DO-ABLE.
Can you juggle things and give yourself a few more percentage points in your grocery budget? Can you steal a few more cooking minutes if I promise that it won’t be too many?
I promise I will help you with recipes that will not only taste great, be affordable, take as little time as possible, but also help your family to have a bit more quality time around the table. I would not tell you what is wrong with your diet and then not give you alternatives. And… I won’t stop being your friend if you continue to buy boxed mac and cheese.
Oh, I am still doing the great desserts. No worries there. I have no issues with sugar or butter or other nummy things – I just despise things like GMO based corn fibers, Abietic Acid (you’ ll love this – it’s in enriched rice), chalk, and other not so nummy things. That package of brownie mix can say homemade all it wants to… gramma would never have stuck cottonseed oil in her brownies (and cottonseed oil is not good for you, either).
Seriously? Too many companies watched Euell Gibbons ask if you ever ate a pine tree and decided to experiment for themselves.
Just give me one day a week to try to prove to you that you don’t need the packaged foods and that you can eat fresh, healthy, and delicious with out breaking your budget and without spending hours in the kitchen. The upside is that coupons will become quite useless and they aren’t very good for the environment anyway. It doesn’t mean you can’t ever have a rice krispie treat again…it just means that you will be able to choose when to eat “junk” and make informed choices about what you put in your mouth.
Are you up for the challenge?
bread image: marye audet (c) 2008
coins: via SXC
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Absolutely! I was just watching that crazy couponing show on TV (I forget the name)… Watching people pay $10 for $600 of groceries! But, as I watched, I was kind of horrified at the things they were buying… 100 packages of croutons, 50 two-liter bottles of soda. Umm, no thanks! Loved reading this post. I do clip coupons, but usually just for cleaning/bath products.
Thanks Jen. Although I never really used a lot of convenience foods I was horrified when I saw some of the ingredients (and researched them) in things people use commonly…
I am right there with you on this. Many times I have clipped coupons for things that are mainly name brand and usually higher in cost, thus increasing my grocery bill – even with the discount of the coupon. Store brands are usually cheaper and just as good as the name brand, I do agree that we, as a nation as a whole , have forgotten how to eat whole healthy foods. Even now, with recalls of vegetables from the supermarkets because of salmonella, e choli, etc., I prefer to grow what I can and eat from my garden.
So sad that we have gotten to the point where time is such a commodity that we cannot even make decent meals for our ever busy families. However, with careful planning – it can be done and I do believe you can help, Marye!! I commend you on your efforts and support you all the way!!
Thanks Lisa! I think I have some solid ideas..
Oh, I am so excited. I’ve found the same thing with coupons. Especially since Alaska doesn’t double at all. But you just don’t find coupons on single ingredient foods. I can get a coupon for a jar of spaghetti sauce loaded with high fructose corn syrup…or I can make my own from tomato puree & spices in my cabinet, no sugar. Good stuff.
Exactly..the thing is that we tend to think we are saving time, when in reality we aren’t saving that much…well, Rachel, pray for me as I get my notes together for this series.
I’m right there with ya. I remember trying to cut our grocery budget when Mike lost his job in 2009 and coupons just didn’t help… unless they were to the local produce market. Shop the perimeter is what I’ve always heard and tend to do and I walk out of the grocery store with ingredients. Keep it up, Marye.
Thanks Donna… I am trying to keep up with your kitchen remodel too..but haven’t looked in a bit..are you done?
That’s one of the huge reasons I only shop at Kroger now. They have these lovely little machines that spit out coupons for the store brand Items I buy, that I won’t find in a newspaper, and not for all the crap I don’t. I save a ton shopping at Kroger (with a Kroger Card) in the first place, but the huge coupons for the store brand items that are on sale at the time? serious budget aid. The more you purchase that item, the bigger the occasional coupon for it.
Yes, I’ve done the coupon thing….for household products. Whenever someone would ask me to teach them how to cut their grocery budget I’d have to explain that I don’t use coupons on food, mine was always shampoo, toilet paper, etc.
With all that said, I’m looking forward to this series because I know this is an area I can still use some improvement on and make some changes to in our family’s diet.
Thanks Wendy.. does that mean I should return the frozen dinners that I got especially for your visit?
You were gonna feed me?!?
well, just scraps.. we don’thave pigs…
There are also food deserts that contribute to the problem for some who might prefer more basic food choices:
http://www.cdc.gov/Features/FoodDeserts/
http://www.miller-mccune.com/health/usda-puts-food-deserts-on-the-map-30947/
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I love coupons… when they are for the store brand. Brand name coupons, nah, I’ll leave em. But when Target puts out a coupon for $1.50 off of their store brand boxed diapers I’m all over that! Looking forward to the future posts too! I found the easiest way for me to incorporate veggies and fresh foods is to eat Asian. Stir fry, pad thai, beef & broccoli, generally the stuff NOT deep fried and covered in MSG but more genuine Asian food. It’s easy for me because my caretaker when I was little is Japanese, but my husband had to adjust.
Hi there! I love your website…However, I do have something to say about the coupons…I started couponing a couple months ago and I can tell you I have saved at least over $200 and spent maybe $50. The trick is to combine a stores sale price with a coupon. Yes this does take time and effort. Some do not want to simply shop around, there for if you clip a coupon and use it that same week you will not save money. Also a lot of people don’t realize that you can get different “catalina coupons” for free produce and other printable coupons for organic or healthy food. No, I do not just buy processed food. In fact, my husband and myself are vegetarians and have still been able to save money on all of our purchases…laundry degerant, deoderant, medications…body wash, you name it…we have even been able to donate to a family member with severe MS, and other family members have gotten baskets of gifts they will actually use. I think responsible “couponers” out there know how to make use of what is provided. I can say for certain it is a good thing, people should take advantage of the billions of dollars these companies are putting toward their advertising (coupons) otherwise, we are the ones wasting money.
Abby, I am glad it works for you. I have not had that experience. Most of the coupons I have seen are for processed foods…Most of the people I know who use coupons buy tons of processed foods. You sound like a wonderful exception! I am glad it is working for you.
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