Once you get your meat home, do not just throw your meat into your freezer. Remember that your grocery store packages the meats for refrigeration in their cases, not freezing in your home. Also, you have probably bought your meat in bulk; it takes a long time to thaw ten chicken breasts. If you only need four per meal, shouldn’t you freeze them to meet your serving needs? You need to make a few modifications to get them freezer ready:

• Invest less than fifteen dollars in Reynold’s Handi-Vac Vacuum Food Storage System. You’ll get a battery-operated, hand-held device that removes air out from specially designed zip-top freezer bags. Of the systems readily available at this price point, I think it is the best. Air is your enemy when it comes to freezing foods, and this system gets the air out.
• Open each package of meat and discard the grocery store packaging as well as any fat you wish to trim off.
• Consider how you’ll use each cut of meat. For example, if you plan to serve some chicken in a marinade, go ahead and mix the marinade now and put it into your freezer bag with the meat. When you are ready to thaw it, your meat will be completely marinated and ready to cook.
• With chicken pieces, either freeze in one bag what you will eat at one meal, or to use fewer freezer bags, use this simple technique:
  • Find the largest shallow dish that will fit in your freezer, either a 9 x 13 casserole or a cookie sheet.
  • Place the chicken pieces on it, being careful that they do not touch each other. Place them in the freezer until they are hardened on the outside, usually about two hours. Then put them in your freezer bag and remove all the air.
  • When you are ready to use them, open your bag and easily remove just the pieces you need; they will not freeze together in one huge lump because you individually froze them first. With the Reynolds Handi-Vac System, you can reseal your bag and place it back in the freezer for your next meal.
• After you seal and remove the air from each bag, use a permanent marker (not a ballpoint pen) to write the date and contents on the bag. Gently smooth the contents out so the bag is flat. Stack them in your freezer, and enjoy the convenience of pulling out meat that is ready to cook. Plan on thawing each bag overnight in your refrigerator before use.
• Keep your frozen meats on the freezer shelves, not in the door. Plan on using them in no more than two to three months.

You can also use your Reynolds Handi-Vac System to save space. When I buy frozen garlic bread, the box used to take up space for weeks in my freezer as I used a few slices here and there. Now, I take the slices out and freeze them in a bag as noted above; I copy the cooking instructions on the bag in permanent marker and recycle the cardboard box. You save freezer space while keeping the food fresher, and you can easily reseal the bag after removing what you need for a meal.

• No matter how low the sale price, it is only a deal if you can afford to pay for it today. Instead of stocking up on everything that is on sale this week, start small if that is what your budget permits. If milk, cheese and butter are all on sale, but you only have $10 extra to spend on groceries, just pick one item and buy the extra inventory you can. If you do this each week as you have extra money and as things are on sale, eventually you will have a freezer full of things you can use that you bought for way below retail.
• With dairy items, only buy what you will realistically use in the next two months. According to Kraft’s website, their block and shredded cheeses may safely be frozen that long in the original, unopened packages.  Schepp’s Dairy’s customer service line confirmed that their milk and butter can be frozen safely for up to two months. On milk, take these simple precautions before freezing:
  • Open the container and pour out one cup per gallon, as the milk expands as it freezes. Place a small piece of plastic wrap over the container opening, and then put the lid back on.
  • Freeze in an upright position.
  • Thaw in the refrigerator over several days. Once thawed, use within one week.
  • In whole milk, fats may separate slightly upon thawing. Shake well before serving. This is not an issue with low-fat or fat-free varieties.

Take a few minutes to seriously look inside and see what you have. You do not have to clean out the entire freezer at once; commit to cleaning out one shelf a day, fifteen minutes at a time. Throw away anything that you know you will not use or that has spoiled due to freezer burn. As you find things frozen in large plastic containers or cardboard boxes, re-package them in smaller freezer zip-top bags.

Take stock. Once you know what you have, make a list. If you have a freezer full of chicken breasts, it does not matter how cheaply you can find them on sale if you do not need them. Consider keeping a short list on the front of your freezer that lists your “extra stock” of items you find on sale. This helps you remember to only buy what you need and can readily use.

Did you know your freezer could be saving you money every week on your grocery bills? Even if you do not have a deep freezer, you can stock up on basic essentials at rock bottom sale prices.

A few simple steps will be helpful to get you in saving shape. I will post one each day this week.

Here is another way to use the grocery stores’ sales circulars…

Make Your Own Sale at Wal-Mart. For my family, I do the majority of our shopping at Wal-Mart. Many people do not realize that Wal-Mart will match other store’s advertised prices with a few qualifications. Start by asking to speak to the store manager or the grocery manager and make sure you understand the policy at your local Wal-Mart before you load your grocery cart. The following is based on my consistent experience, as well as the experience of other “ad comparison shoppers” I know.

• You must present the ad at check-out, and expect to show the cashier the ad’s date to prove the sale price is current. So take the entire ad with you, not just the page featuring the items you want.
• Wal-Mart will match actual sale prices, but not “buy one, get one” or “percent off” sales.
• Brands and sizes matter, so if the competitor’s ad offers their store-brand sixteen ounce jar of pickles on sale, do not expect to get that same price on a national brand or a different size jar. You would need to purchase Wal-Mart’s store brand to get the sale price.
• Some locations honor sale prices on meats and some do not. Be sure you understand your location’s policies.
• My experience has been that Wal-Mart’s every day price often beats a competitor’s sale price, so that is why I write the details about the competitor’s price on my grocery list. If Wal-Mart’s price is cheaper and you still decide to buy it, cross the item off your list and toss it into your basket. If the competitor’s ad price is cheaper, circle it on your list and place it in a special area of your basket (I use the front area of the basket for this) so at check-out, I can easily find the items and my notes on which ad features the better price.
• Take a clipboard with you. It seems like a small point, but having your ads and your list clipped together on a firm writing surface makes all of this much simpler.

It may take you a few trips to get comfortable with using competitor’s ads at Wal-Mart; I have been doing it for a few years now, and I regularly save at least $10 – $20 every week just by using competitor’s ads. Add to that the savings in time and gasoline because I do not make multiple trips to multiple stores, and my savings go up even more.

If someone offered you $10 to $20 each week to make one small change to your grocery shopping, would you do it? That could be $500 to $1,000 per year. That is what I save for my family each week by using this tip. Commit to trying it for the next four weeks and see how much you save.

Check the sales. Each week, grocery stores compete for your hard-earned shopping dollars by printing flyers that show all their sales. If you are in the DFW area and would like to receive these flyers delivered to your home for free, go to www.DallasNews.com/briefing.  The Dallas Morning News recently started printing “The Briefing,” a smaller scaled-down version of their traditional paper. Instead of daily delivery, “The Briefing” is only delivered Wednesday thru Saturday. If your home is within the delivery area, you may be able to receive it for free. Why does this matter? The Wednesday edition of “The Briefing” contains the grocery store ads, which are like gold to the shopper who has learned to use them.

We discussed in a prior posting the importance of making a list before shopping. It keeps you focused in the store and helps you buy only what you need, not what the grocery store wants you to take home. Hopefully you have adopted this habit and are considering each week what you need for the meals you plan to cook as well as for special items, like cookies for the potluck at your office or poster board for your child’s school project.

After your essentials are on your list, sit down for fifteen minutes with a marker and pen and go thru each store’s ad. Even if you do not regularly shop that store, still go thru the ad. You are looking in particular for anything that your family use regularly, which includes paper goods, cleaning products, dairy items and meats, produce…you name it.  As you find an item on sale that you use regularly, make a note on your grocery list of which store (I abbreviate with the first letter of the store’s name), the item, the item’s size (the nine ounce bag of your favorite chips may be on sale, not the sixteen ounce size), and price.

Grocery shopping is something most of us do on “auto-pilot.” We go through the motions each week and often give little thought to the investment we are making. Your grocery dollars add up, quickly. Are you doing everything you can to make the most of them?

Know Your Competitor.

Begin to see grocery shopping as a competition between you and the grocery store; they want you spend every dollar you have-and even dollars you don’t have if you use a credit card-while you want to only leave as little money as possible while still getting what you need. Unless you have been seriously studying your grocery purchases for a while, the grocery store is more skilled than you realize.

If you have never compared prices between grocery chains, know that regular, every day prices vary widely. Make sure you use the grocery chain that has the best every day prices. If you have two or three stores near your home or office, pick five or six items you buy every week and make a point to notice what each store charges for them.

Write It Down.

Shop from a written list to avoid the temptation of impulse buys. Nothing about your local grocery store is accidental. Ever notice you have to go to the back of the store to get milk? The store wants you to spend as much time inside as possible so you will buy as much as possible. Be smart and be armed: have a written list!

As you make your list (preferably at home, not in the store parking lot), think ahead to the meals you would like to eat at home in the coming week. What will you prepare for main dishes? Side dishes? Review your recipes for these items and make sure you have everything you will need. Nothing sabotages your plan to eat at home like getting halfway through a recipe and realizing you do not have everything you need. So as you make your menu plan for the week, if a recipe calls for flour, take a moment to open the flour canister and make sure you have enough.  Eating meals at home saves money (and is almost always more nutritious, too), so build your grocery list around your menu for the week.

Take a moment to review your calendar for the coming week. Is there anything that will require special groceries?  Are you making cookies for the PTA bake sale?  Do you need special snacks for your child’s friend spending the night? Did you sign-up to take a dish to work or to a social event? Does your child have a school project that will require special supplies?  Write it all down on your grocery list. Think ahead for anything you might need. Remember, anything you forget on your main, weekly shopping trip means an extra trip to the grocery store later in the week. Extra trips cost time and gas, plus they put you at risk for spending more than you need to at the grocery store.

Get in Shopping Shape.

You may have heard it before, but it makes a difference: never shop while you are hungry. Studies prove that hungry shoppers buy more, so eat before you shop.

Take what you need.  Make sure you take your written list, your coupons and grocery store ads (more on these in future articles), and something to sip on while you shop. Ladies, if you plan to shop on the way home from work and you know your feet will be aching from wearing heels all day, toss a more comfortable pair of shoes into your bag just for shopping.

Whenever possible, if you have children, leave them at home while you shop. If you do not have childcare for them, consider swapping childcare with a neighbor so you can each shop alone. Groceries are a major chunk of any family’s budget, and the more you can focus on your shopping decisions, the better use you will make of your money. Even if it means a neighbor comes over to your home after your children are asleep so you can go to the store alone, it is worth it.

Take the time to think about the changes you need to make.

If you think you can shop well without a list or that some of these suggestions seem “over the top,” stop for a moment and consider how much money you spend in a week on groceries. Hypothetically, if you spent just $100 every week, that adds up quickly to over $5,000 per year. Can you really afford to handle a $5,000 investment without planning and forethought? Grocery shopping is a major investment. Treat it like a major investment. Take steps to put the odds in your favor that you will make wise choices each time you shop.

First we should define living expenses. Generally it is the minimum payments and amount of cash needed for food and fuel that you must have to support you and your family.

In the current economy, many people have been foregoing saving in order to pay down debt. Financial advisors suggest that you should continue to save until you have enough to sustain your family for one year in the event that a wage earner in your home loses their job.

The new conventional-wisdom is that you should not overpay your mortgage or pay down credit card debt, until you have enough cash in your emergency fund.