Debit Free Plan – Part 2

So a couple of weeks ago I posted on becoming financially free.

1 – Financial freedom our path and how we achieved it

2 – Debt free plan the begining

The second one was a bit more detail. Giving you a few steps on how to start a strategical plan to get debt free. Of course is this 100% accurate, no. Why? Because nothing in this life is perfect nor can it be guarantee. 
This post will be suggestions on what you can do to save on utility bills or shopping but saving more money. Of course depending on your family and yourself you need to consider these really hard.

Food:

I know everyong has a diet, either they are trying to lose weight, medical issues, organic fast food etc… Its hard to see how you can save money when you already have a pattern of eating. Its is easy to say “I’ll stop buying from here or I can change our eating habits”, truthfully it is much harder then that.

Pacakaged Food:

1. Look at all your food list, and list from the most common and frequestly foods bought being on the top and work yourself down.

2. Notice how if you have any foods that are pacakaged it could be a bit easier. Go to their website and see if there are any available coupons you could print out or email to your self.  If you don’t  see any coupons then sometimes sending the company an email letting them know that your family loves their brand they sometimes send you a blooklet of coupons you can use.

   2a. Go to coupons.com; redplum.com or any websites that you can sign up for free. They will send you coupons and you can print them out. Most of the time famous brands are listed. Their are websites that you can also “buy” coupons for specific brands but that means your spending more money (don’t do this).

Fresh Foods

If you like fresh produce it is not common to find coupons for these. They are out there but you have to look a bit harder. With fresh produce you want to bargain alot. If you like organic, go to the fresh market or have a grocery store, that is where the real challenge lies.

1. If you don’t mind wwhere your veggies and fruits come from… Look for grocery stores that have weekly specials and majority of them will have store points and/or additional coupons. Sometimes you have to travel a bit further from your local area to find a deal. As long as you aren’t using half the gas tank it can be worth it.

Vons, Albertsons, Ralphs and major grocery stores give discounts but your still paying to much.

2. Look for mom & pop that are NOT speciality stores tend to have lower prices then major stores. Here we have a grocery store that is called El Super. It is in an Hispanic neighborhood about 6 miles away from our home. It has great specials one time during the week and it beats out all my loca grocery stores to include mom & pop stores.

Of course going to the “cheaper” stores means you probably won’t find organic produced. You will have to search for the good fruits and veggies because there will be some not so fresh produced there too. The stores most likely will be packed and you will be standing in line for more then 30 minutes.

Example: We used to go to Vons. Our WEEKLY bill of PRODUCED ONLY we would spend around $100 – 130. That is not including meats or junk food. Going to El Super our WEEKLY bill became to $50 – 60. I get to buy MORE fruits ad veggies so now I buy produce BI-WEEKLY. On top of that I get to buy more of our “wants” and get to entertain more.

 Oganic / Fresh Market
This is a very few people that like to buy in these type of stores. Hubby and I do too! They are more expensive and you really don’t find hardly any coupons or store points that help you out. . If you don’t mind I suggest you switch and not buy your bulk produce here, you just buy some speciality or a few produce here.

Stores:

Here you have Costco, Sams Clubs and other I’m sure stores that you can buy in bulk. This is a bit tricky, because you not only have a yearly membership cost but at the same time you seem to be getting food at a “bargain”. Most of these branches do not accept ANY coupons. 

My suggestion for here is look at the points the store gives you. Example: Costco Amex, IF you are credit card debt free or you put the monthly “budget” into the card for the food cost this is possible. Amex gives you a percentage of the type of purchases you get. At the end of the year they send you a check (EXTRA MONEY!!),

Some foods are worth puchasing at these stores. Of course you should always I mean ALWAYS do the math, if the math tells you that you will save money then use these stores. If not then don’t.

EXAMPLE:

Membership fee: $110 a year                El Super: $1,200 yearly cost ($100 x 12mnths)

monthly fee: $9.70 

Monthly groceries: $200

Total cost: $2,510

***Remember that these are just estimates not actual numbers I am calculating here. These are as real numbers as what my own household is but not exactly.

If this seems that your household is saving then these bulk membership stores are a given for you and your family. IF not then it will be best to cancel the membership and use other stores that you can save more money.

Imagaine that now the $1,310 you are SAVING you can turn around and put it into a loan, credit card or other type of debit you might have. If not this will be extra cash that you have for a vacation, splurging on anything you and your family may want.

I know that I said I will put on how to save on Utilies but for today I will stop at groceries. I think this is enough information that can give everyone some food for thought. I have not added the meat portion because I only buy Halal meats. If you wish for me to add about meats then please let me know.

Please let me know if these post help you in any way. If you would like for me to continue or have any questions please email me or comment below. This is not a guarantee but I can promis it will help you and your family. The sooner you get out of debit the faster you can buy those organic foods again or go to that vacation you have always wanted..

Until Next Time,

LK