I saw this article about “young hipsters” who receive food stamps or public assistance who use their monthly allotment to buy higher end foods.

Checking out a dumpster may not be your idea of grocery shopping but check out this site by Allison Burtch. Before you frown at this, it may not be everyone’s cup of tea but seeing how much a throws away should be infuriating. Stores are either buying too much and companies producing too much, if  stores can throw out useable items that aren’t past their prime.

As I was making a purchase in Kohl’s last week, I had a coupon and was thrilled with my discounts. A lady came up to the cashier and asked how much the senior citizen’s discount was. The cashier said 15%.

The lady became indignant and said IS THAT ALL?

The cashier turned back to me and he said some people are never satisfied.

Getting deals for items or buying things that are sale is great especially when you can take advantage of discounts but have we become too accustomed to the discount and sales?

It would be nice to have lower prices for items and not have to worry about coupons to get “reasonable” prices but that isn’t happening so using a coupon to buy an item that you need frees up money to buy things that you want.

Be daring. Take a chance on rice.

Rice is very versatile and will work with many cuisines.

Preparing the foods that you really like from scratch can save you a lot of money but can be scary on your first attempt, especially if you are all thumbs in the kitchen. Don’t have a cookbook of your own that will give you directions? Look online until you find a recipe that you can make yourself.

Buying takeout may give you more sodium or fat than you want but by making your own favorite rice dishes at home you can control the amount of salt, make it healthier and as savory as you like it.

I made Mexican rice as a side dish for tacos last night. The greatest part about this is that now that I know how to make it I can make a smaller amount for a lot less than buying a prepacked mix with the seasonings and rice which will last for 4-5 servings. A three pound bag of rice cost less than one packaged of seasoned rice mix. Even if I experiment and make something that is a culinary dud have saved money by preparing one cup of rice. Another advantage is that I can make less than a cup of rice which is approximately the amount in a box of rice mix.

Experimenting with a cup of rice which costs less than a quarter with seasonings and spices you have at home is better than paying close to $2 for a boxed mix that you dislike.

If you are only spending a small amount and a coupon is burning a hole in your pocket then use it, but don’t just use a coupon when you are making a small purchase if you know you will return to the store before the coupon expires. If you have a coupon and are going to use it anyway… wait until there is a better sale so you can get more mileage out of your coupon. If you have a 20% off coupon and use it for one item that is not on sale that is less than $20 you won’t maximize your savings. Use the coupon when items you want are on sale and get an additional discount. Combine coupons with gift cards and rewards purchases and you can really save a bundle.