Guest Post: Couponing on a Special Diet

I remember at the class Angela mentioned how much a family should be spending monthly on food — $100 per month per adult, $50 per month per kiddo. I remember thinking at the class “this is really just for people who eat boxed meals & junk food, but I will try this out, and see if I can make it work for us.” As someone who is Gluten Intolerant and whose child is also Gluten Intolerant, I thought I would add a bit more to the budget and round it out to $300 a month for our family of three. Now a little more about our shopping habits: we eat only organic meats, buy mainly organic dairy, fruits, & veggies, and lean toward natural products in general.

I convinced my husband to try out a cash-based system, and we were off on our journey. The first few weeks were hard. I mean really really hard. I cried many times, and some days I just couldn’t figure out how people did this all the time. Looking back it seems so silly, but at the time it was hard because I was changing major spending habits and exercising self-control in areas that I had never practiced it before. I had always rationalized our spending so much on food because I felt paying more for organic and specialty items was just the way it had to be.

Fast forward to one year later, and I am suddenly “Hard Core” Laurie. I could not imagine ever going back to the way things used to be. I have made many mistakes in the past year learning to save money for our family, but we are now blessed with an overflowing pantry (not that I have an actual “pantry”) and we are spending much less than our $75 weekly allotment for all grocery and household purchases.So this is some of what I have learned in the last year about couponing with specialized dietary needs or preferences.

Be aware that this is not going to happen overnight. Your cupboards will not be overflowing in the first month of doing this, but over time you will be watching sales and building up a supply of what your family can use to make this work for you.

Don’t be afraid to stockpile things your family will use. If you can find 100% juice for free (as I did last year) think about how much your family will use in a year and purchase that amount. When Chex cereal went on sale last September for around $.60 cents per box (after coupons) you can bet that we brought home more than 20 boxes of their Gluten-Free varieties. We did not buy this in one transaction & clear the shelves at a store. I don’t think that is very thoughtful. Remember, it’s not bad to put a little time and effort into scoring a deal and actually visiting different stores throughout the week (you can also maximize your savings by doing smaller transactions and using doubles at Safeway or Albertsons this way). Many products have one or two big promotional pushes during the year. During this time multiple stores will run competing sales on these products. Don’t be fooled into thinking that this stuff will be on sale again next month, if you see a smoking deal that if good for your family, capitalize on it!

Look for markdowns and close-dated discounts on organic meat & dairy. I often find these items for 50% off what they regularly sell for. If I find organic meat on clearance, I buy it and put it in the freezer immediately. It will be planned into a future meal. All dairy is generally clearanced very close to the “sell by” date printed on it, however the “sell by” date is not a “use by” date. Milk does not go bad the day after the sell-by date. It is usually good for at least one week after it is opened.

Learn the sales cycles of natural grocery stores. For instance, New Seasons puts organic boneless skinless chicken breast on sale twice a year for $3.99 per pound. This product is normally $6.99 per pound. When it goes on sale, I stock up and freeze it. QFC puts wild salmon on sale for $3.99 per pound a few times a year and they will filet it and cut it to order for free. Fred Meyer has their Founder’s Day Sale one week per year. That is when we stock up on Tillamook cheese and the only time of year I will purchase Amy’s (gluten-free) frozen entrees (combining the FM sale price with manufacturer coupons to actually make the price somewhat reasonable).

Be on the lookout for natural and organic coupons available in the Fred Meyer Naturally Preferred magazine which is free and located in the nutrition center at Fred Meyer. Also look for tearpad coupons hanging on the shelves in Fred Meyer, Whole Foods, & New Seasons as well as conventional grocery stores. My three year old is trained to watch for these and is a wonderful helper when we are shopping! Whole foods also puts out the Whole Deal newsletter at the front of the store featuring coupons that are actually store coupons inside. This means that they can be stacked with manufacturer’s coupons to maximize your savings.

When you have a high-value coupon for an item, hang on to it as there almost always will be a great sale somewhere to match it up to. Just because you found a coupon today for $1 off product “x” does not mean that you need to use that coupon today unless you need the product right now. For instance, with the above Chex cereal sale that I mentioned I had multiple $3/3 manufacturer’s coupons for this that I found the previous January. I held on to them for nine months waiting for a sale. I was not sorry that I did.

Write or email companies that make you use and love. Praise the products or if you have a concern or issue, let the manufacturer know. Always include your mailing address. You will be surprised how often these companies will send you high value coupons or even coupons for free products. It’s awesome to get some coupons for free items in the mail instead of just a stack of bills and boring junk mail.

Know that not everything in your specialized diet can be brought home for free. It’s OK to pay full price on some things, but learn where the “best” full price is for that item by watching and comparing when you are out and about running your errands.