It’s finally giveaway time!!
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For all of our married lives, we’ve lived on two part-time salaries. We have learned to live wisely, making the most of our income and learning to live without certain things.
I have had a passion for learning to make things from scratch and eating healthier. This has also helped save money on groceries. I have enjoyed reading others blogs and soaking up as much about my newest passions that I can. That’s why I was so excited to hear that Anne from Quick and Easy, Cheap and Healthy was going to be writing an ebook on a grocery budget. She has a wealth of knowledge on this subject and has gathered great resources for this ebook. Anne teaches you what to prioritize and gives a lot of information on finding affordable healthy food!!
She gave me a copy her book Your Grocery Budget Toolbox when I offered to write a review, is also allowing me to give away one free book, and offer a 20% discount code!!
I absolutely enjoyed this book and gleaned so much new information. I was taking notes (and not just for this review). I’m going to break down some of the sections of this 150-page resource and tell you some of what I learned.
Summary & Grocery Budget Tips
1) The Budget – how to make one and a sample of a $250/month budget. This is SO helpful to those of us who are starting out.
2) The Price List – how to make a price sheet and then she listed a large amount of items and what price she pays for them.
3) Sourcing Healthy Food – this is what I LOVED so much about Anne’s book. She is focused on healthy food and offers a lot of specific examples of what items to buy at certain stores. I found this very helpful!
She has challenged me to go out and try different stores & farmers markets.
TIP #1: Anne advised to make pricing part of your shopping routine. I’ve saved receipts and have had it as my goal to enter the price I’ve paid into a spreadsheet, but it hasn’t really happened. The receipts just keep piling up. I definitely need to take this tip to heart.
TIP #2: If you are buying from the farmer’s market, shop near the end of the day so that you can buy up things the farmers are discounting (since they don’t want to take a lot home).
4) Once a Month Shopping – I’ve tried to do this the past 4 months. But Anne has renewed my strategy and interest in shopping this way. She also gives some great reasons on why you should try it.
I thought it was very interesting that she uses Google Docs to make up her monthly shopping list. I might have to try it…. As she makes her list, she calculates about how much she would spend to buy everything on the list. If the list is over her budget, she edits and writes a final draft. This allows her to stay within a budget.
5) Price Caps – this is what I would call my buy-price list.
6) Coupons – the basics on coupons, sources to find them and how to use them. Thankfully, she focuses on healthy food coupons!
7) Do it Yourself Food – I found so many recipes that I’m REALLY excited to try!! Here is a list of a few of her easy recipes:
- Wacky Cake
- Whole Wheat Pizza Crust
- Rice Milk
- Tortillas
- Lemonade
- Berry Jam
She also listed some tools that make cooking from scratch a LOT easier. It’s going to take a bit of time before we can afford some of these things, but it’s fun to dream, right?
8) Take it to the Next Level – one of my favorite chapters! This chapter showed practical ways to save food scraps and what they are useful for. She also offers up several more recipes that you can make from practically nothing!
TIP #3: Collect grease from bacon or other meats and place into jar, then store in fridge. This can be used in place of butter, shortening, or oil! This was an eye-opener. I grew up with my mom pouring the grease into a glass jar that she stored under the sink. Then, when it was full, she would just through it out! Now I can save it!!
9) Saving in the Internet Age – so many great resources here!!
I love that Anne makes this books easy to read, practical, and easy to apply. She has written several action steps sections within the book that challenges you .
I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to save a little money, even if you are just starting out!! Even if you live in the middle of nowhere, you will find great tips in the book.
Save 20%!!
Normally Your Grocery Budget Toolbox is $4.99 – which is a really good price for all the resources you receive! And now Anne is offering a coupon code for 20%, making this book only $3.99! Use coupon code “dime” when adding to cart. Coupon is good to use for a weeks’ time (until Aug. 4th). But if you purchase the book then win the giveaway, Anne will simply refund your purchase. Easy.
So, buy the book here (affiliate link) and/or enter the giveaway below.
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Giveaway
To enter the giveaway, just tell me what chapter you would find most valuable OR what you find most challenging about grocery shopping on a budget.
This giveaway will be open until Wednesday, August 1st!
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Hope you enjoy this book as much as I did!!
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© 2012, Betsy Pool. All rights reserved.
The post Giveaway: Your Grocery Budget Toolbox by Anne Simpson appeared first on Romance on a Dime.