Thrifty Donating for the Holidays
As you may know by now, I’m a big fan of The Grocery Game. Even though the program does cost a few dollars a month, I like the format and particularly like that the lists are laid out in the same order as the store - a big time saver that is worth a few bucks in exchange for not having to trek back and forth across the store.
Although I generally wouldn’t suggest buying stuff that you won’t use even if it’s a Great Deal, I do want to take this opportunity to remind you that there are people in need all year round and using some of these fantastic savings opportunities is a way to donate frugally and therefore stretch your generosity.
If you attend a church that has a soup kitchen, you might be able to work out a regular communication with whoever runs it to see if particular sale items from the produce section or other areas might be of use every week. Homeless shelters might also find particular use from fresh produce. You can also bring non-perishables to food banks, and I’ve noticed that holiday cooking needs are already starting to show up on special. For example, this week I saw that Carnation Evaporated Milk was on sale with a coupon for $.50 per can, down from $1.79 - that’s someone’s pumpkin pie. A few weeks ago I remember seeing those crunchy onions on crazy sale, and I’d bet next week or the week after there will be a few great deals on canned pumpkin.
So, if you’re using the Grocery Game or some other coupon site to help you save money - and I highly recommend it, 50% off your grocery bill is really not hard to do - keep an eye out for those non-perishable goods, toiletries for shelters, and even fresh food for soup kitchens and shelters if you know what they need.
