Eating healthy and fresh foods while couponing

I am not new to couponing though I have recently amped up my dedication to the organizing aspect so I can take advantage of more deals. Last night while I guided a newbie (thanks Cyn) around Publix for a late evening coupon stacking lesson, I ran into an old friend pushing a cart around the isles. She thought our couponing was a hoot. She also thought, like many, that her “unique” diet meant couponing was impossible.  So for those of you on the fence, who really want to coupon but think that all coupons are for chips, candy and cat food, here is some welcome news. You can eat fresh, healthy foods you love while using coupons.

Low gas prices won’t buy you a new pair of shoes.

Most people start with the fallacy that if there aren’t coupons for their specific dietary needs then coupons are useless for them. By saving on the everyday items that you use like toilet paper, deodorant, laundry soap, toothpaste, cosmetics, bath and hair products, restaurant meals and otc medication, there is money left for whatever you can’t coupon on.

Good food, good price, Win-Win!

Now back to that grocery cart. My intrepid friend gestured to her cart with wine, salad, sunflower seeds and other fairly familiar items and said…. “but there are NEVER coupons for GOOD food”. Well, I took a little issue with this. I write a clean eating page on Facebook. I do not eat highly processed food no matter how cheap and I find plenty of coupons and sales for the items I need. 

The first thing to remember is that buy one get ones are natures coupons. Organic Girl mixed salad greens were BOGO this week at Winn-Dixie. Fruit, in season, is often BOGO. The key is to “need” it when it is on sale. By alternating between fresh and frozen vegetables as seasons and sales wax and wane, I never pay for the privilege of having a winter fruit in July, but I do get year round good quality food.

But not meat, right?

It is true that meat can sometimes be the Lockness monster of coupons. They are not as prevalent as say BIG G cereal coupons or Colgate but they are out there. Again, the key is to be smart with them.  Buy a lot when you have coupons, buy additional coupons online and stack with store coupons and sales. Canned meats like tuna are fairly common coupon sightings and can fill in when other meat sources run low.  The great thing about even the freshest, leanest, most choice meat is that it can be frozen. Buy in bulk during BOGO, when coupons are available and when meats like turkey (around holidays), ham (around Easter), and ground beef (around summer), are deeply discounted.  Good quality lunch meats from Hormel, Hillshire Farms and Smithfield can be bought when sales and coupons line up and frozen in their original container. It really is that easy.

But brands MATTER!

I am very brand conscience. I am conscience of what brand is on sale.  If you HAVE to have only Oreo double stuff and no other will do then sometimes that is just the way it is. But is the brand of spices, cooking oil, salad dressing, rice, pasta, crackers, vitamins, paper products, dog food and other products a deal breaker? If not, than couponing can cut your spending significantly. 

Putting my coupons where my mouth is

 This week I got a rotisserie chicken from Winn-Dixie for $5.80 (it came with a free coke, I will save for my daughters graduation party), bagged spinach BOGO ( great choice since a bag of regular salad can go bad before you use it, spinach is great for salad and you can cook it and freeze if it won’t get eaten in time), Eggland’s best eggs at Publix with a coupon, Smart Balance milk with a coupon, whole wheat pasta BOGO w/coupon, Classico pasta sauce (free ground beef with 2), V8 vegetable juice BOGO w/coupon, Ken’s salad dressing and Starkist tuna(10 for $10 w/coupon).  These are all familiar brand name, high quality foods.

Throughout the week this has made spinach salad with tuna, chicken salad, countless breakfasts, pasta dinner, chicken soup and chili. Since I bought multiples, I still have a pantry full. 

So get out there —– eat well, save well and live cheap!