Sunday, September 20, 2009

Three weeks ago I detailed a plan for saving money on my grocery bill. As it turn out, it's one of the best things I've done since quitting smoking in college.

Would you believe I've gotten $351 in free food this month by using coupons and comparison shopping? I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't lived it.

In my last column I told you about the online sites I'd discovered for free coupons. While these certainly have been helpful, what has been equally if not more successful has been my focus on buying only items that are on sale, especially "buy one, get one."

Every Tuesday when two of my three grocery fliers come in the mail, I diligently sat down and made a list for each store of the sale items that I like and could use to make meals. I had no idea there were so many buy-one-get-one-free deals.

I can't believe I have gone eight years of my adult life without taking advantage of this. Ketchup, mayonnaise, green beans, instant rice, creamer, shredded cheese, cereal, English muffins, deli meat, granola bars -- you name it, I've been able to BOGO my way to a freezer and pantry full of free food.

This has presented a small problem in that there is very limited storage space in my Key West apartment. The closet in my second bedroom has become an annex for many of these free condiments, canned goods and cases of bottled water.

I think I may never buy meat if it's not on sale again. There are amazing deals to be had. If you thought buying one pack of meat to get another one free was good, consider the buy-one-get-two deals on sirloin, chicken breasts, pork loin, tilapia fillets and more. I've got enough chicken and steak in my freezer to last me until next year.

I've gotten great suggestions from helpful readers about freezing meat, including breaking the meat into meal-sized portions and repackaging it in a layer of plastic wrap, then aluminum foil then a freezer bag to prevent freezer burn. This is especially helpful since there are only two of us in my household.

"Karen" e-mailed me to say she even puts marinades in with some bags before freezing so all she had to do is take a bag out of the freezer the night before, and it's ready to be cooked when she gets home from work the next day.

She also buys fruits and veggies on sale, then cuts them up and stores them in GladWare.

"That way it's all ready to go when I need a snack," she wrote. "If I don't chop it up, I always feel like there's nothing to eat because I don't want to take time to prepare it."

By doing this for six months or so, she's cut her grocery bill down to $90 a week for her and her husband and their two cats.

I am getting so good at the sale shopping that on recent trips have been able to save more money than I am spending. For example, I recently spent $55.40 at Albertsons but saved $69.34. On another trip I spent $22.03 and saved $42.29 -- essentially only paying for one-third of the food in my cart.

Yes, all this planning and running around takes extra time. But I'd say saving more than $300 in three weeks is well worth it.

Not to mention the money I've saved on dining out. There is so much food in my house and so many dinner options on any given night that my husband and I have dined out only once since I started this project (and that was only because we had friends from Ohio in town this week).

I also want to thank those readers who e-mailed to tell me about the coupons in the Sunday Miami Herald. There often are $300 to $400 worth of savings in there. A six-month subscription will run you about $20. I actually now look forward to spending an hour or so Sunday mornings with my scissors, going through the coupons.

For those of you who were looking for coupon organizers, they have them at Office Max in the storage/organization section. Look on the bottom shelf. There are a variety of sizes and colors from which to choose.

Thanks to all who called or e-mailed with this information, including Susan, a self-proclaimed coupon "fanatic." She told me she has a coupon organizer for every grocery store in Key West and one for the drug stores. She organizes each one according to the layout of the store.

I got a huge kick at the checkout aisle last week when I noticed the woman in front of me had a cartful of the same sale items I had, and a handful of computer-printed coupons. I excitedly waved my coupons at her and told her about my project. Like me, she had coupons for many of the items that already were on sale or buy one, get one -- meaning we were getting some things for free or only $1. Her groceries totaled $112; she saved $109. Tell me that's not worth the effort.

I don't know if this new obsession about grocery shopping and coupons makes me "lame" or "domesticated" as some of my unmarried friends have suggested, but it definitely makes me a woman with more money in my bank account.

My colleagues teased me a little bit when I first embarked on this project, laughing when they would find my coupons lying on the printer tray. Undeterred, I have been proudly announcing after each shopping trip how much I've saved. They're not laughing anymore.

Anne-Margaret Swary is The Citizen's business editor. Her column runs exclusively every other Sunday. She can be reached at amswary@keysnews.com.