Groceries are one of our biggest monthly expenses, so it makes sense that we want to cut costs and save money where possible; while still eating well of course! Beyond clipping coupons and shopping discount grocers, we learned that tracking sales cycles can be a big money saver! Listen in as we chat about shopping in season and staying on top of discounts.
Special Announcement: Frugal Friends Meet Up in Washington DC, Sept 7 @ 5:30 at Kalorama Park
Sponsors:
Rakuten: We love and use Rakuten all the time so we wanted to give them a shout out. If you’ve never used it, Rakuten is a shopping portal where you can get cash-back on purchases from your favorite stores. We use it for Groupon, Amazon, Walmart, travel sites and more. And, if you haven’t tried Rakuten yet we’ve got a $10 welcome bonus for you on your first purchase of $25 or more when you sign up through frugalfriendspodcast.com/rakuten
Carpooling: This sounded fun as a kid – mostly because I expected an actual pool to be a part of the equation at some point – but really what I got were my friends parents scolding me for the way I climbed over their seats or the types of descriptor words I chose. Well, here you have it – we’re all adults now and carpooling is still a good idea! I’m sorry to report there is still no pool and your driver still may have very specific requests about what you do in their car BUT it’s the frugal way. Carpooling: If you’re both going there, travel together!
Notable Notes:
What the Internet has to say:
This article from Reader’s Digest provides a list of fruits and veggies and what’s in season (a.k.a. on sale!) month to month. And Inspiring Savings walks us through grocery store sales cycles and what to be purchasing each month.
What Jen+Jill have to say:
Produce
- Winter Produce: citrus fruit, root vegetables, brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower
- Spring Produce: Artichokes, Asparagus, lettuces, spring peas, berries, pineapple
- Summer Produce: berries, watermelon, cherries, mangoes, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, green beans
- Fall Produce: sweet potatoes, beets, apples, pumpkin, cranberries, squashes, pomegranates, eggplant
Groceries/Supplies
- January: Cold & flu products, health foods, “game day” type snacks, national oatmeal month, diapers
- February: Post valentine’s day chocolate, national canned food month
- March: Irish foods, national frozen food month, march madness snack foods
- April: easter sales on eggs, easter clearance sale on hams
- May: memorial day grilling foods, mexican foods, gardening supplies
- June: bbq items, national dairy month
- July: 4th of july sale and clearance, national ice cream month
- August: office/school supplies (tax free weekend), school lunch items
- September: labor day grilling & clearance, school supply clearance
- October: National seafood month
- November: halloween clearance candy, pantry staples, thanksgiving dinner and baking items
- December: baking supplies
BILL OF THE WEEK – Thank you Haven for sharing your bill! So glad you have paid off your credit card bill!
If you want to submit your bill of the week visit frugalfriendspodcast.com/bill to leave us a bill
Lightning Round
Our favorite seasonal recipes:
- Fall: Baked Acorn Squash with Apples & Leeks
- Winter: Butternut Squash Soup
- Spring: Carrot Cake AND Quinoa Gyro Bowls
- Summer: Mango Burrito Bowls
Checkout Cooksmarts for inspiration, get your first 3 weeks free, AND use code: frugal for 25% off!
Frugal Friends Book Club:
This month for book club we’re reading The Simple Path to Wealth by J.L. Collins
- If you want a free copy, leave us a review on iTunes or Stitcher, screenshot the review and send it to frugalfriendspodcast@gmail.com.
- We’ll select the winners at the end of the month.
See ya next week!
