Eating on a budget doesn't have to be difficult

In today's economy, people are starting to tighten their pocketbooks. This includes deciding on how to spend less on groceries. I'm trying to primarily focus on how to save money when it comes to the foods you can buy. However, I have discovered that couponing can also help save some money. I went to a wonderful couponing seminar hosted by Kimberly McCormick because I am a college student on a limited budget. Her seminar teaches people how to coupon, as well as to help donate the extras to charities (such as local food banks). The website is listed below. However, I'm not going to go into full detail about couponing, but just to give a prime example.

I recently found a good deal on ragu pasta sauce and wish-bone salad dressing. I make spaghetti with a tossed salad as a side dish at least once every couple of weeks, so I like to stock up regularly on these items since I use them often. For example, I recently found that Jewel Osco had a special on when you purchase 10 items, you save five dollars. They had a variety of items to purchase, but I chose 6 ragu pasta sauces, and 4 wish-bone dressings. I had coupons for these items, which means that I am going to save money. This is how much I paid for these:

6 ragu pasta sauces at 99 cents each - $0.60 (I save $0.60 when I buy 3 jars)=
$0.99 X 6 = $5.94- $1.20 ($0.60 X 2=$1.20 since I had 2 coupons)= $4.74 for 6

4 wish-bone dressings at 99 cents each - $1.50 (I save $1.50 when I buy 2 bottles)=
$0.99 X 4= $3.96- $3.00($1.50X 2 since I had 2 coupons)= = $0.96 for 4

Additional coupon tips can be found by clicking on the below link

click here for couponing

This is just a prime example of how to save money while on a budget.

Here is how you can make the spaghetti that I make when I stock on Ragu:

To make this for 4 people:
Ingredients:
1 16 oz package spaghetti
1 jar Ragu pasta sauce (your choice of what kind)
1 lb hamburger (totally optional)

Directions:
1. In a large pot, boil some water. Add spaghetti. Cook 8 to 10 minutes.

2. In a saucepan, brown hamburger. (If you don't add hamburger, skip this step).

3. Add sauce to saucepan, heat to a simmer.

4. Add to pasta.

You now have a wonderful spaghetti. You can also serve it with an optional salad and your choice of wish-bone dressing. Enjoy!

I encourage you to come to check out my blogs and my website because I encourage people to enjoy the food that they cook, as well as be on a budget.