subject: Printable Coupons Can Help You Stock Up Your Pantry & Freezer [print this page] If you seem to spend a lot of time trying to figure out what to fix for dinner, but don't really have any ingredients on hand, you are not alone. But with a little effort, you can stock up your pantry and freezer and always have something to prepare.
Use Printable Coupons Never pay full price for name brands! If there was ever a cardinal rule of grocery shopping, that should be it. Check online and you will find free printable coupons for just about everything you might need. Simply type the product you want into a search engine and add the phrase "printable coupon" or "printable grocery store coupon" and you will be amazed at the results.
Buy Store Brands Store brands are usually your best bet, costwise. It is rare that the store brand not taste as good as the Brand Name version. In fact, there are a few store-brand items that I found that are superior to their more expensive cousins. Use coupons and wait for those "stock and save" specials where you can buy 10 items at a time at a huge savings. Many items can be stored for quite awhile, as well, so you can really stock up for less. If you do opt for the name brand, don't forget to bring your online grocery store coupons with you!
Is The Warehouse Store Worth It? They're huge, offer huge quantities and often huge discounts (and often huge lines). But sometimes warehouse shopping is the way to go. Unless you have a large family and an extra freezer, consider only buying items with a long shelf life. For instance tuna fish, chicken stock and canned tomatoes are great choices. Staples such as shampoo and toilet paper are other good choices, as well. Some warehouse stores will take your printable coupons, so bring them along. Be sure to figure in the cost of a warehouse membership, if you aren't going to shop there a lot, you might not really enjoy a huge savings.
Invest In Storage Buying items in bulk is great, but not if they spoil or end up with pesky little bugs, such as ants or moths (or worse, but we won't speak of that). Investing in some plastic or glass containers with air-tight lids is an excellent way to preserve items, such as cereal, opened crackers, pastas, rice, dried beans and lentils, etc. For example, you can store cereal and keep it fresh and pest-free in a good quality container. If there is a two-for-one cereal sale, a good container can hold both boxes and preserve the food so it doesn't spoil.
What To Buy When trying to figure out what items to stock up on, it's great to work off of a list of your favorite meals. Make a list of pantry and freezer items that work with meals you make. Items such as flour, sugar, canned tomatoes, soup stock, pasta and rice are common items, but also consider adding a few helpful items you might not ordinarily buy. For instance, evaporated milk is an excellent staple. While you might not drink it, it is perfect for recipes and great to have when you are out of perishable, refrigerated milk.
