This are other great free samples sites:
Get Free Things
http://twitter.com/GetFreeThings

Where can I get Free Stuff?
http://wherecanigetfreestuff.com

Free Birthday Gifts
http://wherecanigetfreestuff.com/category/usa/usa-free-birthday-gifts/

I found some websites that give advice about cooking from scratch, which saves quite a bit, compared to convenience foods… One I like (and I know it sounds silly) is:

hillbillyhousewife.com

Type in menus on a dime, and they have some ebooks, which tell ways of saving money, too.

I always make a list, and try to stick to it… Without it, you’re much more likely to over-spend; tossing unnecessary things in the cart. I also see what weekly (I shop every Friday) specials they have, and try to plan menus around that.

I make every attempt to keep it *under* budget, so there’s a rollover fund, for next week; which helps when there’s ‘extras,’ such as trash bags, paper towels, etc., that suddenly need to be bought… When I find I have more money than usual (thanks to saving, the previous week), I buy more than usual, so there’s less to buy, next time… Makes it faster.

I buy noodles and gravy packets, and meats, and usually we have enough for lunch the next day, which cuts costs… I have 4 kids, so we’re a family of 6, and I manage to feed us all on $160 or less, a week. (True, the baby is nursing, but, still!) We also have two cats, two turtles, and 5 dogs!! None of us go hungry… We even had money for extras, before his hours got cut; now we use leftover grocery money, if we need it.

Buying in bulk can help, and I use powdered milk, at least half the time, which saves on milk costs… Powered milk is great in recipes, too! Pastas are really easy—and fairly cheap—to buy LOTS, and have plenty for another meal.

We even have take-out, one night a week; using coupons, or having it on their bargain night… We rarely drink pop; we all love water.

Good luck!

plus we butcher a beef and a hog every fall, so theres out meat for the year….145 dollars for a hog, around 300 usually for a beef, and thats enough meat to last till next fall. if you go buy it by the pack at the store, youre going to be hurting though.

-I look through all ads that come to my door and will go to a different grocery store if their weekly deals can be used.
-When I do find deals, I stock up. They had a 39 cent per pound sale on turkey. You better believe I took up that offer, cooked the bird, and froze the meat for later use.
-I buy bulk products that can be “mixed and matched.” Bargain bags/packages of meat, frozen veggies (or buy fresh and freeze yourself,) and staples like beans, rice, and noodles are cheap, store well, and like said, you can mix and match to make different recipies.
-And yes, I am a coupon master. Recently, I’ve been saving about 20% of my total bill just with the coupons I clip. With a typical bill of $100…I save $20. I get bragging rights for that!

Here are two sites to help:
Redplum is a coupon site. Sign up and you can have the circular sent to your home so you can clip coupons. http://www.redplum.com/ If you are military…http://www.militaryshopper.com

HillbillyHousewife is a site that offers all kinds of money saving tips (don’t let the name turn you off…it’s actually a great site.) http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/index1.htm

I’ve also found that we’re now buying fewer packaged products and making things from scratch more. This saves lots of money. On the weekend, we make two or three great main great dishes from scratch (vegetarian chili, lentil and mushroom soup, parmesean crusted chicken, lasagna, etc.) and eat the leftovers for several meals. This also saves us tons of time during the week.

Buying less meat saves a lot of money too. We’ve been using more beans and other proteins (Quinoa is great!) instead of meat, which is quite pricey.

I’ve read that if you stay around the perimeter of the store, you’ll eat more healthfully and reduce your grocery bill!

There are several coupon sites, but I’ve found that we don’t buy most of the items that the coupons are for because they’re mostly packaged stuff. Not that we don’t buy ANY packaged items. The store promos are usually pretty good, though. They include meat, eggs and produce, so I always look at what’s on sale at the store.