Illustration by OConnorCartoons.com

Cathy at Chief Family Officer shared four great grocery deals at Ralph’s this week. These prices assume coupon doubling up to $1. New to coupons? Check out my post on coupon clipping basics. If you want to take advantage of these deals, make sure to save the coupon inserts you receive in the mail or with your Sunday newspaper. Here’s a great suggestion for how to handle coupon organization.

And a few highlights:

Keep reading Cathy’s grocery deals at Ralphs.

avlxyz/Flickr

This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.

Farmer’s markets are a good source for fresh produce and quality homemade goods but can be pretty expensive if you don’t know how to score a deal.  Before I started to frequent them, I imagined farmer’s market were expensive because the produce is organic, but with a couple tricks I have been able to save money and so can you. Here’s what to do.

Meet the farmers. It has been my experience that this is the single best thing you can do at the farmer’s market if you want to save money. Instead of rushing through the market, take your time to do a meet and greet. Talk to the farmers and those selling their produce. Many times the farmer’s themselves will not be selling the produce so talking to whomever is in charge is best. One of the best ways to strike up a conversation is to ask questions about their produce and where they grown it. Becoming friends with them may provide you with discounts but it also allows you to learn where your food is coming from. This is also good if you want to know what the farmers will be selling in the weeks ahead. By becoming friends, they know you’ll become a loyal customer and will buy from them as much as possible.

Early bird doesn’t always get the worm. If you are looking for quality and a plentiful selection, you must hit the farmer’s market early in the day, but be warned that quality comes with a price. If bargains are what you want, then the best time to head to the market is later in the day. The selection will be limited but you’ll find the lowest prices during this time as farmers are trying to sell all of their merchandise so they can head home. If you are looking for something in particular, get there early and shop around.

Know what’s in season. When I first started going to farmer’s markets I made a big mistake that cost me greatly. I was paying $10 for out of season strawberries. They were delicious, but not worth all that money. Once I figured out I was overpaying, I vowed to learn in season fruits and vegetables to reduce my costs. I now pay $5 at most for strawberries when they are in season.

Haggle. Many vendors are open to negotiation, but you have to be respectful if you are going to take that approach. Not only is this their livelihood and they have to make a living, but it’s also up to their discretion if they want to give you a deal. I once asked for a deal when purchasing fruit from a farmer and I got it. Another customer overheard and demanded the same deal. She was only buying three apples while I bought an array of fruits for a salad from the farmer. He explained to her that he couldn’t give her a discount when she was buying so little and told her that if she bought more he would gladly extend the offer to her. She refused, left the apples and stormed off. In short, if you want a deal, politeness will get you further.

Do you have more tips on saving money at the farmer’s market?

Read the rest of Cathy’s Ralphs deals.

Wayne National Forest/Flickr

This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.

Green trends are everywhere these days – in the news, politics, fashion and even technology. Everyone is trying to be environmentally conscious and that’s great – but I am trying to be money conscious.

My family and I have been recycling since before it was the “in” thing to do. Recycling is one of the green changes that makes sense and cents. But when I think about changing my lifestyle to be more eco-friendly, the money adds up. Is being green actually frugal?

Organic Food

There are many benefits to organic food, like the fresh taste and lack of hormones and pesticides. With the high prices, however, not every one can afford it. Thankfully I have a garden that provides me some organic fruits and vegetables. I’ve learned to cut corners by using Organic.com’s Dirty Dozen list, which shares the 12 most and least contaminated produce items. The list helps me decide when it’s best to buy organic. Organic milk and meat are often twice as much as non-organic. Overall eating organic food, which is greener than non-organic, is not frugal.

Organic Beauty

Like organic food, the down side to organic beauty products is added expense. Organic shampoos and lotions can run anywhere from $10 to $20 a bottle and there aren’t a lot of coupons. Similar non-organic beauty products cost about $1-5. Unless prices drop, organic beauty products remain decidedly not frugal.

Alternative Energy

Solar panels are another green change that is too expensive for me to afford. Residential solar panels can cost tens of thousands of dollars and they generally pay for themselves in 10-20 years, but I just simply do not have the money to invest in them today. A cheaper alternative is changing incandescent light bulbs to florescent light bulbs around the home. Florescent light bulbs are a few dollars more than regular bulbs but will reduce your energy costs. A couple years ago, we changed out our bulbs for florescent bulbs and saw a major dip in our utilities bill, from $54 every two months to $33. Energy is one area that can be frugal.

How do you reduce the cost of being green?

Betty Crocker Cookie Mix on sale for $1.99
Use $0.50/1 Betty Crocker Cookie Mix from 5/30 GM coupon insert in your Sunday newspaper
$0.99 after coupon and Mix & Match discount

Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks on sale for $1.99
Buy 2 and use $0.50 off 2 printable coupon
$0.99 after coupon and Mix & Match discount

Tropicana Pure Premium or Trop50 on sale for $2.99
Use $1 off 1 Tropicana Trop50 from 6/6 Red Plum coupon insert
Or use $1/1 Tropicana Trop50 printable coupon
$1.99 after coupon and Mix & Match discount

Orville Redenbacher’s Popcorn on sale for $1.69
$0.40 off 1 Orville Redenbachers Gourmet Popping Corn from 5/16 Smart Source coupon insert
$0.89 after coupon and Mix & Match discount

Read the rest of Cathy’s Ralphs deals.

Farmer John Sliced Bacon on sale for $3.99
Use $1 off 1 Farmer John Bacon printable coupon
$2.99 after coupon

Green Giant Boxed Vegetables on sale for $1
Buy 2 and use $.50 off2 Green Giant Boxed Vegetables printable coupon
$.50 cents each after coupon

Pillsbury Sweet Moments Brownies on sale for $2.50
Use $1/1 Pillsbury Sweet Moments printable coupon
$1.50 after coupon

Ronzoni Pasta on sale for $1
Use $.75 off 1 Ronzoni Smart Taste printable coupon here and here
FREE after coupon

Read the rest of Cathy’s Ralph’s grocery deals.

Nabisco Snack Crackers on sale for $1.88
Buy 2 and use $1 off 2 Nabisco Crackers from 5/16 SmartSource newspaper coupon insert
$1.38 each after coupon

Wish-Bone Salad Dressing on sale for $1.50
Buy 2 and use $1.25 off 2 Wish Bone Dressing from 5/23 RedPlum insert
Or use $0.75 off 1 printable coupon
Final price: as low as $0.50 after coupon

Sobe Lifewater on sale for $0.88
Buy 2 and use Buy One, Get One Free printable coupon
Final price: $0.44 each after coupon

All or Surf Laundry Detergent or Snuggle Fabric Softener on sale for $2.99
Use $2 off 1 Surf Laundry Detergent from 5/16 RedPlum insert
Or use $2 off 1 All Oxi Liquid Laundry Detergent from 5/16 RedPlum insert
Or buy 2 and use $1 off 2 All Liquid Laundry Detergent 28 ld or larger from 5/16 RedPlum insert
Or use or $1 off 1 All Oxi printable coupon
Or use $0.75 off 1 Snuggle Liquid or Sheets from 5/16 Red Plum insert
Final price: as low as $0.99 after coupon

Read the rest of Cathy’s grocery deals at Ralphs.

Bruce Tuten/Flickr

Time again for a list of in-season fruits and vegetables to help you save money on groceries. Buying in-season produce is almost always cheaper than buying out-of-season produce. Greater supply…lower prices. Plus, in-season produce is often grown closer to home than out-of-season produce, which we import from Chile, Mexico, and other countries. Expect prices for spring fruits and vegetables to rise.

The following list of summer fruits and vegetables comes from FruitsAndVeggiesMoreMatters.org. The list includes some of my favorite foods, like beets, cantaloupe, corn, eggplant, grapes, limes, peaches, and watermelon. If you can’t remember what is in season, prices are a good indication.

Apricots
Beets
Bell Peppers
Blackberries
Blueberries
Boysenberries
Butter Lettuce
Cantaloupe
Casaba Melon
Chayote Squash
Cherries
Cherries, Sour
Corn
Crenshaw Melon
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Figs
Garlic
Grapefruit
Grapes
Green Beans
Honeydew Melons
Jalapeno Peppers
Lima Beans
Limes
Loganberries
Lychee
Nectarines
Olallieberries
Okra
Passion Fruit
Peaches
Peas
Persian Melons
Plums
Radishes
Raspberries
Strawberries
Summer Squash
Tomatillo
Tomatoes
Watermelon
Zucchini

qmnonics/flickr

By Mike Barclay of 10 Cents Worth

There are two ways to do your grocery shopping: buying in bulk on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, or shopping for things as needed. Both ways have pros and cons.

Weekly or bi-weekly shopping

Pro: gas expenses

If you drive 50 miles to hit multiple grocery stores every two weeks you will spend $8 on gas (roughly, based on a 20 mpg car and gas prices of $3 per gallon) per grocery run. Does making frequent trips raise your gas usage? You betcha. Scroll down for specifics.

Taking advantage of the lower prices for many bulk items can save you a ton of money in the long run. An article on Switchyard Media from MSN’s money central said:

Why pay $5.59 for a 25.25-ounce box of Honey Nut Cheerios at a typical grocery store when you can get a 49-ounce box for $6.67 at Sam’s Club? You’ll save 8.5 cents per ounce, or 39%. And the cereal in the club-size box comes in two bags rather than one to prevent it from getting stale. Keeping it from getting soggy in the milk is up to you.

Con: wasted food

Let’s say you go to Costco and buy 2 two-packs of Franz Premium White Bread at $3.87 per pack. Seems like a great deal because the average loaf of bread at a grocery store is about $2.50. But unless you have a bunch of kids who love to eat sandwiches or a huge freezer, at least one of those loaves will go stale before you use it. Saving money by buying in bulk comes down to eating the food before it expires. If you won’t eat it, don’t buy it, even if it’s a great deal.

Shopping for groceries as needed

Pro: super sales

Let’s take the bread example again. I know I said the average price was $2.50, but if you’re like me, you don’t have a problem paying $.99 for a cheap loaf of white bread. I’m not picky! I’ll go pick up a loaf as I need it, and I spend less. This also goes hand in hand with the idea of only buying certain things in bulk.  The stuff you shouldn’t buy you can go to your local grocery store for and use a coupon, buy it on sale, or stick to off brands.

A lot of times stores will have manager specials in the evening. At my local grocer, food that will probably go bad within a day or two is marked down by 50%. One thing I’ve learned is to freeze steeply discounted products to stretch their life for another day or so. If I can score a bag of my favorite cheese for $1 as opposed to the usual $4, I’m a happy camper.

Con: more gas money

If you grocery shop needed you will be making more trips, driving more miles, and using more gas. If I go to a grocery store that is 5 miles away and I visit it 8 out of 14 days, I will drive 80 miles on trips there and back. That is 30 miles more than hitting all the stores in one shot. Frequent trips averages out to be about $5 more in gas per two weeks. 

Con: more time spent

To go to the grocery store every time you need food might not be the most effective way to spend your time. Is it worth it to spend half an hour running to the store for one item today to save a couple bucks? Weigh your time carefully and if it doesn’t make sense, don’t do it!

There are pros and cons to both ways of grocery shopping. It’s a matter of weighing what is the best option for you. What other pros and cons can you see? Are there other factors that you consider that I haven’t touched on?

Cliff Mojo Bar on sale for $1
Use $0.50 off 1 coupon from Spring Mambo Sprouts booklet (look for one in the mail, at Sprouts stores, or at Ralphs)
Final price: FREE

Daisy Sour Cream on sale for $2
Use $0.50 off 1 from 3/28 Smart Source coupon insert
Final price: $1

Mission Flour Tortillas on sale for $1.50
Use $0.75 off 1 printable coupon
Final price: 50 cents

Tropicana Pure Premium Orange Juice on sale for $2.38, buy two
Use $1 off 2 Tropicana Pure Premium or Trop 50 from 4/25 Red Plum coupon insert
Use $1 off 1 Trop 50 from 3/14 Red Plum
Final price: as low as $1.38

Check out the rest of Cathy’s grocery deals at Ralphs.

Mentos Gum $1
Use $.55 off 1 Mentos Gum from 2/21 Smart Source coupon insert
Final price: FREE

Bumble Bee Seafood $1
Use $.55 off 1 Bumble Bee Premium Tuna Pouch 2.5 or 5 oz from 2/21 Smart Source
Final price: FREE

Vitaminwater Zero $1
Use $1 off 2 Vitaminwater or Vitaminwater Zero from 4/11 Smart Source
Final price: 50 cents each when you buy 2

Haagen-Dazs or Skinny Cow Ice Cream Cup $1
$1 off 2 Skinny Cow Cups printable (FF or IE)
$1 off 3 Skinny Cow, Haagen-Dazs, or Edy’s Cup from May All You
Final price: as low as 50 cents each when you buy 2

Read all Cathy’s deals and freebies at Ralphs. Thanks, Cathy!

hipsxxhearts/flickr

How many times when growing up did you hear, “Eat everything on your plate. There are starving people in Africa”? If it was anything like my household, it was almost daily. Interestingly enough, I recently had my own paradigm shift about food waste. What started out as “I don’t have the money to toss out food I don’t eat” has turned into a realization that none of us do!

Statistics show that Americans throw away about 25% of the food we prepare. That amounts to about 96 BILLION pounds of food tossed into a dumpster (video). The food service industry (restaurants) estimate that 4-10% of the food they prepare is wasted before it gets to you. That’s a lot of food! “There’s a huge disconnect,” says William Rathje, a Stanford archaeologist who ran the University of Arizona Garbage Project for years. “People don’t pay attention to their food waste because it goes straight into the garbage or disposal. It’s not like newspapers that stack up in the garage.”

According to the USDA, the average weekly amount spent on food for a family of four using a low cost plan (we’ll go with kids in the age range of 6-11) is about $170. That breaks down to about $24 per day. Remember that earlier stat that 25% of the food prepared in America is wasted? What’s a quarter of $24? $6. A family of four is essentially throwing away enough food for an entire person each day!

So how do we get that 25% waste down to zero? Recycle it! The most obvious option is just not to throw it away! If you have leftovers, think of ways to reuse them. Make sure they’re in a clear container so that you can see what’s in them, and try your best to keep them up in front. You’ll have a better chance of not forgetting about them that way. And who says you need to eat the same dish four nights in a row? I found a great site for leftover recipes that lets you plug in the main ingredients and populates a bunch of recipe ideas. (See BargainBabe.com site review here.)

Ripened fruit? No problem! Toss them in a blender with ice and make smoothies.

Obviously some things aren’t reusable and some food needs to be tossed. But even then, it doesn’t necessarily need to be wasted. You can easily make your own homemade kitchen composter which will allow you to save those scraps and turn them into fertilizer for plants around the house, or even your garden in the backyard.

So the next time you start to scrape your plate down the disposal, pretend it’s cold hard cash that you’re inserting down the drain, and think again.

If you spend $30 by April 18, 2010, use this $6 off coupon to reduce your tab. Alcohol, dairy, and gift cards do not count toward your total.

Fresh & Easy has locations in CA, NV, and AZ. The coupons are part of Fresh & Easy’s Earth Day celebrations. The store wants to encourage customers to use reusable bags instead of paper/plastic.

Thanks, Tina!