Go With The Flow and Save Money!

One of the rules I live by is "Go With The Flow". In a nutshell, adapt your purchasing style to take advantage of the cheapest things that are offered to you. Today at the grocery store I found a special that I hadn't noticed in the flyer. London Broil roasts were on sale Buy 1, Get 1 Free. Well, I hadn't planned on spending any money on London Broil, but went ahead and purchased two nice-sized cuts of meat for a total of $9.37. One went into the freezer, another into the crockpot with a jar of pepperoncini (that I got at my discount grocery store for $.75) for pulled beef sandwiches. We will have the pulled beef sandwiches for dinner this week and take the leftovers for lunch or freeze them for a future meal. Another item I purchased today that was not planned was Italian sandwich rolls. They were also B1G1 and when I came across them I planned on using them for hamburgers later in the week and to freeze the second one. I now have enough for the pulled beef sandwiches too. One surprise London Broil let me make two meals for four people for a total of $11.28. That comes to $1.41 per person, per meal. We can certainly make cheaper meals...but not much cheaper using such a large amount of beef.

It's important to keep a half day or so in case you come across something that's discounted because it is near it's expiration date. That's why I do my grocery shopping early Sunday afternoons. My grocery discounts it's produce and meats on Sundays, the crowds are lighter and I then have the rest of the afternoon to prepare dishes for the week. This is also when I use my chopper to prepare other foods for the week. I chop salad ingredients as well as lunch items and staples that we use often, like onions. They are kept in the refrigerator so anyone can just grab and go. Saves a ton of time throughout the week.

Go with the flow also applies in other areas. For instance, let's say you're shopping for socks for your son's soccer practice. While there, you find an adorable pair of socks that you know your preteen neice will love and they're on sale. If you have the money, buy them and put them in an area that solely belongs to "stash" items and you already have something you know she'll love when her birthday or another special occasion comes up. That way, you will always have a gift ready to go when you need it most. This works especially well when you have preteen and teen girls. Scoop up all of those bath gift sets, lip glosses and novels when they're on deep clearance. Your daughter tells you about a birthday party at the last minute...head to the stash! Here's one of my stash drawers for girls and women (notice the 75% off sticker on the lip glosses). I will only buy stash items at a deep discount.

I use this theory with everything really...just bought a 50 count pack of paper plates for $.50 after coupon. We don't use them at home, but I will save them for our annual summer picnic. Off to the stash they go!

I'm sure you get the idea. If you have to budget for your stash, do so and stick to it. Maybe set aside $5 or $10 per week to use in case you see unplanned products or stash-worthy items. If you don't spend the entire amount (or any of it), put it into the vacation fund or something else you're saving for.

It works for me, and I'm sure it will work for you if you just "Go With The Flow".