The Domestic Diva First Installment!

I am so excited for today's post!  Today is the first ever tips from the Domestic Diva!  I was extremely excited when I brought up this idea to Sam, and even more excited when she said she would love to do Domestic Diva tips!  Pretty soon the Domestic Diva will be an up and running blog (very excited for this).  I am looking forward to learning new and exciting tips from Sam!  She has lots of great money saving Ideas, recipes and so much more!  So without further delay lets here from the Domestic Diva!

Hello!  I am so happy to be able to post on Happily Ever Healthy!  With all the great recipes that come from this website comes a large cost in groceries.  So I thought for my first guest post would be the “Domestic Diva Grocery Shopper”.  I love grocery shopping.  My mom always use to take me grocery shopping when I was little.  She would make us our own lists to help her with her shopping.  It was my favorite thing to do.  She would give us enough stuff around the store to keep us entertained, but also taught us how to shop while saving money.  Since then, I have become frugal in my grocery shopping.  I love to save money and I have some helpful tips on how to save a great deal of money on your weekly grocery shopping list!

I live in the northern suburbs of Chicago and I shop at Dominicks.  This is a Chicago based store so I know not everyone will be able to shop here, but I also do some grocery shopping at Jewel and Target.  Dominicks has become my store to shop at because of the fabulous program that they have. They have the “Just for U” deals.  Dominicks has a club card that you use to save money.  The way the “Just for U” deals work is that you scan your card and then they will start recognizing what you buy from the store.  You can then use their website and pick out items that will be a “Just for U” price.  The price is going to be lower than what they advertise for, and the items are the same if not similar items that you typically buy at the store.  For example, I love baked potatoes.  In the store they have them on sale for 99 cents per pound, my “Just for U” price is 79 cents per pound.  For those who do not live in or near Chicago, look for stores near you that might have this deal!

Now here are some other helpful ways to be a Domestic Diva Grocery Shopper!

1.       If there is a particular item on sale that you eat frequently, stock up!  Typically the sale prices occur about every six weeks to three months, so if you use that product enough, I definitely recommend buying more! Right now, Dominicks has a sale on Gatorade.  Ryan and I drink a good amount of it so we stocked up. Typically Gatorade is $1.89 for a 32 ounce bottle, but between sale prices and my “Just for U” price, we pay .41 cents a bottle!  That is literally a steal, so this week, we stocked up.  Gatorade does not go bad for quite a while, so you might as well buy a lot, right?? We only drink G2 because they have less calories, so we bought a few of our favorite flavors…

2.       I am not embarrassed to use coupons.  I am not a crazy coupon lady, but if I have the right coupons, I might as well use them.  I usually look online for coupons for certain items and sometimes have some great luck in finding them.  A great place to find coupons is actually on the Krazy Koupon Lady website,http://thekrazycouponlady.com/ 

3.       Finally, buying meats and fish can get pricey sometimes.  I HIGHLY recommend buying them on sale and then freezing them.  Some people tend to argue that once you freeze the meats they are not as good, but they are usually good for up to three months.  I buy a lot of burgers, shrimp, and chicken in my house, and if you wrap them up with a plastic wrap and put them in a freezer bag then they will stay fresh for a longer time.  It is very easy to buy a lot of an item and then store it in the freezer!

Enjoy cooking these fabulous recipes, and hopefully these grocery shopping suggestions will save you a bit of money! 

-The Domestic Diva

Thanks Sam for the wonderful tips!  Check out the Domestic Diva Page on the Blog! Click Here!

Have a fabulous Friday and as always Remember to live Happily Ever Healthy!

Words to enter the weekend with!  Have a fabulous one!