Shopping on an EXTREME Budget 1

Ok so I know the word extreme is highly over used.  But I'm serious I have an extremely tight budget of $400 a month for food/paper products/ and cleaning products. This includes diapers, wipes, dog food, and pretty much anything else we need. I normally try to stay under that budget.  Here are the ways that help me stay under my budget.

• Shopping the sale ads!
• This is extremely important if you don't know what's on sale you can't make the best purchase for your money.
• Look for coupons
• I'm horrible when it comes to actually bringing coupons with me. When I found out my favorite grocery store lets you download them to your rewards card I was game.
• Look for coupons that will further discount what's on sale
• This is the time consuming part
• Also good to use if you shop at WalMart and price match
• Find a grocery store where you spend the least.
• Ok so here is the thing if I go to WalMart I get suckered into stuff that I really didn't need to buy. 
• Make a list
• stick to the list
• Don't bring the husband and kids
• Yeah seriously! They make me go over my budget every time.  So I try to leave them at home as much as possible.
• Shop Manager's Special's for meat and or shop at dollar stores.  
• 99 Cent only stores often have decent produce it's 99 cents a pound or 99 cents for a pint of strawberry's or blueberries.  
• Buy Meat you can use for multiple meals
• Whole chickens often are on sale for as low as 70 cents a lb. While roasts are normally more expensive can also be found for under $6 and make multiple meals.

I've been shopping this way for years now and it's saved me a good amount of money.  I will be offering more helpful tips and recipe ideas to keep your grocery bill low and ways to possibly cut what you are spending in future posts.