Guest Spotlight: Sisters With Stuff " Some simple changes you can make to your buying habits to save money! "

I love my job. Working and networking with bloggers from across the country is fun. I learn a lot along the way.  Today my spotlight goes out to Sisters with Stuff. I have had the pleasure of working with this Pacific Northwest Blogger (come to find out they are only a few hours away from me) on fun giveaways in the past. I hope you enjoy this article she wrote and gleen on it as much as I did! It really makes you stop and think about some simple changes your can make in your own kitchen.

Some simple changes you can make to your buying habits to save money!

If you are really trying to cut back on your spending here's a few things that you could take a look at, I realize everyone's situation is different and sometimes the time savings and convenience are worth more to you so do what works best for you.

Instead of buying prepackaged precut servings of carrots, peel and cut your own carrots into snack size pieces and keep in a container in the fridge for quick snacking or put in your own small containers to take to work or school. I buy 2lb bags of organic carrots for $1.49, that works out to $ .75 per lb, I checked the price of the little pre peeled and cut organic baby carrots they sell 24/2.25oz bags for $5.99 that works out to $1.93 per lb.

Packaged $1.93 - DIY $ .75 = $1.18 per lb savings

Cut your own apples, I can always find organic apples for $ .99 on sale, If you buy the prepackaged sliced organic apples you get 8/6oz bags for $6.99 that works out to $2.33 per lb.

Packaged $2.33 -  DIY $ .99 = $1.34 per lb savings

Make your own hashbrowns instead of buying the frozen packages, the cheapest I can find shredded frozen hash browns is a 30oz bag of store brand for $1.75, non store brands are at least $3.00 but we'll use the store brand price, it works out to $ .93 lb. I can buy a 10 lb bag of potatoes for $2.38 right now, when I make baked potatoes I just make several extra and then we have hashbrowns the next morning. They shred super easy when they are cold and you are getting the skin which has most of the nutrients.

Packaged $ .93 lb - DIY $ .24 lb = $ .69 lb savings

Get jugs of juice instead of juice boxes, I can buy store brand 100% apple juice 64oz for $2.00 that works out to $ .031 per oz, I found online 40/6.75oz 100% juice boxes for $31.78 that works out to $ .11 per oz. If you got a 64 oz bottle of juice for $ .11 per oz you would end up paying $7.04 for that bottle, there is no way you would pay $7.04 for a bottle of apple juice.

Now I'm not cutting on prepackaged convenience foods, I use them at times myself but if your budget is tight you can stretch your money a little farther paying attention to stuff like this, I was shopping the other day and saw a Mom with a newborn and a toddler and her cart was filled with those gerber graduate meals and gerber graduate snacks, please don't be offended if you buy the gerber graduate stuff, I'm not saying there is anything wrong with it, I just know that you can buy all the ingredients and make those things yourself for so much less and it's freshly prepared as opposed to all kinds of preservatives, check out my post How to Make Your Own Babyfood.

These are just a few ideas, I know the dollar amounts aren't huge but I still thing every penny counts right!

To learn more about Sisters With Stuff, you can follow them on Facebook and Twitter as well!