100% All Natural

In the mid-June, Tyson Foods,Inc. announced the first time in its history that the new product of chicken meat will be 100% natural - No antibiotics, No artificial ingredients, No hormones in U.S. market. (read news)

It is not a surprise to see large poultry company getting into the natural food business as a response to broad scale consumer demand and the higher pricing compared to regular poultry.

So, Grocery Surfers, what do you think?

For the consumers, more competition means more choices. As Tyson brand poultry product is distributed throughout the country, more families will be able to enjoy the natural food at more affordable price as well. Therefore, we consider it's a healthy news!

This is to say that Tyson brand fresh chicken “raised without antibiotics” is exactly what it says. We would love to see if they will stop adding salt to their chicken the way they do it now. This would make healthy and delicious meals easier.

As always, the new grocery product will be on sale for a period of time. If you are interested to give it a try, this would be the time. So far we'd seen sale terms as "buy one get one free" and "33% off." If you already had a taste, share your opinion with us.

Pricier than Ever!

The renowned advertisement may go like this -
Block of Cheddar cheese: $2.08
One gallon of milk: $3.40
Enjoy a homemade Pizza with milkshake: Pricier than ever!

If your family monthly budget is getting tighter than before, you are not alone. According to recent study (read it) , the price of dairy products, beef, and numerous grocery items reach record high this year. The rise of fuel price certainly started the chain reaction. But drought, cost of operations, and higher demand are also factors that boost this price rise. So what can we do? Rush to get bigger freezer? Maybe not a wise decision if you aim at saving money. Before you sell your car and buy that new freezer, consider other options.

This is what Grocery Surfers would do.

• Weed out: Instead of limiting the budget or changing the diet, start with decluttering the shopping list. Check your pantry room in GrocerySurf program for the right amount of food your family needs and the adequate frequency of your purchase.
• Target: List the items with brand names you cannot live without as a target to collect coupons or watch for sales. You can print GrocerySurf pantry list as a reference. (To know more...)
• Balance: Use the automatic reminder to make shopping list so the pantry stock is always enough but never too much.

GrocerySurf is a free online program that organizes the grocery shopping and pantry stock. Rather than having an extreme makeover in your lifestyle, it enables you to reach the goal of savings with less effort and down payment. The ultimate goal of using this program is not only to save money and time but also to do it with no compromise in lifestyle.

Grocery saving tip # 2: Use your grocery receipt

Except checking for the accuracy and amount of savings, you can also use receipt to keep track of fresh produce.

At checkout, separate the grocery items into groups - ex. meat, non-perishable goods, dairy, and vegetable/fruit. It can be in any order of your choice as long as it is in groups. Use the markers to keep track of fresh produce as follows:
Red dot - use within 3 days
Yellow dot - 3 to 7 days
Green dot - after 7 days


You can use a magnet and display the receipt on the refrigerator. Cross out the item after each use. This way, there is no surprising discovery of rotted treasure in the kitchen.

For more GrocerySurf saving tips, click here. You can also join GrocerySurf to save time and money with our online grocery organizer and receive the coupon alert for realtime grocery savings.

Grocery saving tips that work

Have you ever heard of people claiming that they spend less than 50 dollars or so weekly and feed the family of four well. Did you ever wonder how they could do it?

The truth is, there are numerous factors that lead to the differences in people's grocery expenses; for example, the physical location, the budget, family profile, and purchase habits. Therefore, comparing the real dollar amount of saving is not realistic and useful.

Here are some grocery saving tips that work for everyone regardless of the difference in lifestyle or budget.

• Collect sets of recipes and use them on regular basis. People waste a lot of money buying grocery items that are used only once or twice.
• Use coupons for items that you would purchase without a coupon. A coupon is not a reason to buy an item.
• Shop in the same grocery stores and get to know the people who work in the fresh produce / meat sections. They give great tips on storing food and the deal of the day as well as when to come in for the best selection during the week. Buying with quality in mind is also an underlying fact to save money.
• Making grocery shopping list is a great way to achieve the ultimate goal of living - healthy lifestyle and the balanced money/time management.
  

You can find more grocery saving tips by clicking on the tag "grocery saving tip". Upcoming grocery saving tips include "Freezer - the magic number 2.30 ", "Grocery Surfer's coupon guide." Subscribe "All about GrocerySurf" now, and you will receive all the grocery saving tips with RSS feeds automatically.

GrocerySurf 101 - Family shopping list

Genie, one of the grocery surfers, sent us a tip for making family shopping list with GrocerySurf. And we would like to share it with all surfers.

To make a family shopping list, you can sign up an account and share the account within family members. This way they also have access to the shopping list without chasing you around and telling you what they need. They can even update the list at work or anywhere the Internet is available. How do you know which one is for whom? Write the person's name in the "note" section! For instance, "toothbrush, for Jeff" and "toothbrush, for Jammy" will be counted as seperate items in the program. In addition, GrocerySurf team member came up with another idea for family shopping list.


Since GrocerySurf program is able to make multiple-store shopping lists. Why not use the store tag and add all your family members as tags for seperate shopping list?

To add individual name in the store tag, go to "add store" page. There you will find a box to enter the store name. Instead of the store name, input family members' names. This way, everyone has a shopping list seperate, but you can transfer their items into one list before you head for the store. Please note: Make sure the list is empty before you make changes to the store name tag. You may lose the data if you add or delete store names.

It is always fun to receive creative ideas from grocery surfers. Let us know if you have any suggestions as well.

Grocery saving tip # 1: Less is more

Are you playing the coupon game? How much time do you put into it and how much money do you save? Some people immediately shout that "Hey! I save 500 bucks this month. That is 50% savings." But wait! Do you have that 500 dollars in the bank account? Oh~ it is in your pantry and freezer. I see. If everything goes well as planned, eventually you will receive that 500 dollars in a year or two.

Using coupon is a well-known technique to save money. Manufacturers surely know about it. They use coupon to promote new products, and compete with others. But that does not mean you have to play their coupon games. Coupon is not a reason to buy things. Every coupon is another chance to overspending.

If you use GrocerySurf shopping list and unload the items into pantry room for few times, you would have a list of brand name items that are "the regular" in your shopping list. In other words, those items are the ones that you cannot live without. And those should be your target for coupon clipping. Based on the auto-reminder, you would know the "exact" quantity you actually use in a period of time. So you get the quantity plus the target. The only thing you will need is to compare the price between the stores for the best buy by reading the weekly ads.

Less work = Better approach. Our life is fully packed with the duty, the wanted, and the dreamed of. We should always be cautious to try any method that promises the return in the future. The uncertainty may not be a benefit for life but another add-on liability.