[kris23_2000]

So, I have been using coupons for about 3 weeks now but I have a few questions:

1) How do I save on my meat purchases? Where is the best place to find coupons for meat?

2) From what I gather, the best way to shop is to buy a little at a time (i.e. what is on sale, not necessarily what you need at the time). Do most people shop multiple times a week and just get what is on sale this week?

3) Is there a place to find out what is freezable (yogurt? Milk? sour cream? etc.)

Any help you can give me would be great. Thanks in advance.

[robinb1]

This is what works for me.

1. I try to buy meat when it's on sale. That includes lunch meat, hot dogs, chicken, and beef or pork. And I freeze alot. I like B1G1's on roasts. Several weeks ago Meijer had frozen chicken breasts on sale and a good price. I bought a couple of packages and froze them. I'm very grateful for my chest freezer, it gets a lot of use.

2. I have not done this in the past. But, I'm saving more money and getting better use of my coupons by shopping in smaller batches. I have a friend who has taught me this. But, I've found that for me it can be time consuming and I think that how often I will shop multiple times a week depends on what the sale is and if it's something that I'll use enough to make it worth my time to stop frequently for the week.

3. I am unaware of a website that has information like this. You could google the question and see what you find. I have frozen both milk and yogurt successfully. However, when I froze a container of plain yogurt, I didn't care for the consistency when I unthawed it. I have had good luck with Danactive shots. When they thaw they taste the same to me. I found them on a manager markdown where they were trying to move a flavor and I had $1 coupons. Luckily, it was the flavor I liked and I stocked up. I removed them from the little cartons but them in a plastic grocery bag and didn’t have to buy anymore for a couple of months. Milk freezes well but, you’ll need to pour or drink a couple of inches off of the top for expansion. My husband also eats a lot of cheese. Whenever I catch bars or shreds on sale and I have room I load up and freeze.

Hope this helps.

[stefani1]

1) How do I save on my meat purchases? Where is the best place to find coupons for meat? I know some people get wine tags for some of these things (I'm not a lucky one). I use my overage on things or just the best sales I can. Sometimes my stores have great catalina deals where I make money on buying other stuff and then I use my "cats" for buying my meat. I find that Meat and produce are the toughest things to save on here - but it can be done. Once you have stock on everything else, then you'll spend less every week just because your not buying that stuff all the time.

2) From what I gather, the best way to shop is to buy a little at a time (i.e. what is on sale, not necessarily what you need at the time). Do most people shop multiple times a week and just get what is on sale this week? I think this depends. If there is a good sale I will go multiple times a week. I don't usually buy a little at a time, I actually do the opposite on things that are a GREAT sale (free or REALLY cheap after coupons and sale). That's the time to stock up!!! I have about 40 boxes of different cereal right now because my store just had a killer deal and I had coupons. Now I won't buy that for a while until the next awesome sale comes along!! I have tons of potatoes in the bags and rice and those things as well. I don't like to buy things that we don't eat, unless it makes me money. For example there was a sale on frosting and cookies and cakes a few months ago. Although we could use some of this, I didn't need the amount that I "bought", but it paid me to take it, so i kept going back for more. I donated most of it and they were too ecstatic!! Don't spend money on things you won't use or don't need, but if you can get it free or as a money maker then it's probably worth it and you can always donate stuff to local food banks!!!

3) Is there a place to find out what is freezable (yogurt? Milk? sour cream? etc.) You can do a search on here. I think that there is a post about this and I think it has a direct link to what you can freeze and how long things are good for and all that jazz. If your unsure, you can always post the question and people are more than willing to answer.