The Coupon Queen Goes Organic....

      OMG I have been grocery shopping more in the last week than I have in the last 2 months combined.... Though I've only been on this kick for a week now I can tell you that there is a learning curve. It has been a little hard for me because I usually take my grocery budget quite seriously, and this month, well... some allowances had to be made. When I started out last year with a 400$ budget for groceries, including food, cleaning supplies, toiletries, pet needs, diapers, paper products, etc... it was tricky. (Yes... 400$ for EVERYTHING... ALL HOUSEHOLD NEEDS! INCLUDING DIAPERS!) But, I learned how to shop sales, coupon, take advantage of 15% off Tuesday and most recently, the deal that goes on at the beginning of the month at Superstore. If you are unaware, during the first week of the month, Superstore will give you a 25$ gift card when you spend over 250$ (which is easy to do, especially when buying diapers!).
      Normally what I have been doing is spending about 250$ in the first week at Superstore, then another 100$ the next week at Costco. That leaves me with 50$ for the next 2 or 3 weeks (depending what month it is) to buy things like milk and some produce. I am able to make it work because, when money is tight towards the end of the month, I can always go back to Superstore and use the 25$ gift card that I got at the beginning of the month. I am careful to check the flyers every week so as not to miss a deal anywhere, but really most of my shopping as of late has been happening at Superstore and Costco. And boy do I love my coupons! I am hoping that soon my same thrifty-ness (is that a word?) will be applied to our new lifestyle. Already I have learned so, so much in only a week. Here are my top tips thus far:

1. When making a switch like this, expect to spend about 100$ more the first month that you usually would due the change, for things like changing over to organic condiments and organic whole wheat flour, pasta, etc... as well as some new odds and ends such as coconut oil (something that I only learned about last week.) These are things that you don't necessarily buy every month, but you need them to get started. I suppose if you were less manic than I am you could just slowly make those changes, buying the new stuff as you run out of the old... I seem to like to jump into things head-first for some reason...

2. Costco has some great deals on organic stuff. My favorite so far? A toss up between the giant tub of coconut oil for 17$ (I saw one today that was the same price but less than half the size!) and my box of yummy Lara bars, 18 of them for less than 16$ (which works out to less than .90 a bar, when usually they are sold for 2$ a bar!)

3. Superstore has a surprisingly good selection of organic stuff... not so much produce but tones of baking supplies, cleaning and beauty products, dairy products, frozen stuff, etc... I was actually amazed a little today... and glad that I will still be able to do a lot of my shopping there!

4. It is very easy to go a little crazy at Bulk Barn... be warned!

5. You don't have to do all your shopping at Nutters, I actually have yet to go there!

6. Expect to spend more on your meat and cheese, you get what you pay for!

7. Organization at dinnertime is key. I was in the habit of planning dinners a week at a time, but now I am seeing that I will need to plan a little for lunches as well. I noticed when I cleaned out my fridge that I had two bad habits. Firstly, I tended to buy too much produce without much of a plan for it, and some of it would inevitably go bad (better meal planning needed!) Secondly, I have a habit of making too much for dinner, winding up with leftovers. Not such a bad thing, but if I didn't "revamp" them for lunch or dinner the next day or so, they wouldn't get eaten and would inevitably go to waste. Not only do I need to plan my dinners, but I need to plan my leftovers as well so that there is less waste!

8. Organization during shopping is also key. This one I already had down pat. My system is to, each month, put the 400$ in an envelope. As I shop, the money leaves the envelope and the receipts go in. This way I can keep track of everything. I also always shop with a list and my coupons. I am so proud of my little system that I just had to take some pictures!

The folder that my mom got me. I love it! 

I have it broken down into sections. The first part is where my grocery list and envelope with money goes (as you can see, no more money and lots of receipts!) The second section is for food coupons, the third for non-food coupons, and the fourth for coupons on baby or pet products. In the back of the folder is where I keep store-specific coupons. 

9. Lastly, you can't be afraid to bake or cook. Already in one week I have made banana bread (little dry but tasty), granola that turned out fabulous, berry sauce to flavor plain yogurt and a loaf of bread that resembles a hockey puck. The point is, there is a learning curve here too. In a way, you kind of have to learn how to bake all over again. Some of the things you make will turn out and some won't. The point is to just keep going until you get it right! (or at least until you husband will eat it!)

That's all for now. I will be back again in a few days to let you know in detail about all the shopping thus far!

PS... for all of you out there that are wondering about what I feed my fur babies, well, unfortunately right now it's Fancy Feast and Purina. I am hoping to convince hubby to let me buy them the good food soon, but first I have to convince him to let me buy it for us! It is on my radar to make this change as well, I am just trying to go about it in a way that will also keep my marriage intact!