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Using coupons really does save a lot. When I take the time to do it, I save so much money. Grocery store sales run in cycles and so do the coupons. So, what you do is buy things that you have a coupon for that are also on sale. Also, find a store that doubles coupons and make that your store. Instead of buying meals and then shopping, go the store every week with your coupons and buy what is sale that you also have a coupon for and start to develop a stockpile of food. Then you plan meals from what you have in your stockpile and NOTHING is anything you paid full price for. As I said, it really does save a lot of money.
Of course, there aren't normally coupons for meat, produce and some dairy. So you buy whatever is on sale. If chicken is on sale one week, buy chicken and freeze it. Then the next week maybe beef will be on sale, so you buy that. Eat produce that is in season to save money on that. Usually there aren't coupons for milk (well, maybe soy milk/almond milk), but there are coupons for sour cream, cheese, etc. Cookies - they always have coupons for the refrigerated slice and bake cookie dough.
I have always found that I could buy brand names with a coupon and a store that doubles coupons cheaper than I can buy generic brands. And that's good, because I don't really like generic brands.
Some things you are better off buying at a warehouse club than the grocery store. I have a Costco membership and I get toilet paper, paper towels, trash bags, dryer sheets, laundry soap, paper plates, instant breakfast, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, Prilosec/omeprazole, vitamins, bath soap, body lotion, dishwasher soap, canned vegetables/soups/olives and Keurig coffee cups there. I don't buy that much food there because there are only 2 of us. But things that are divided into smaller packages I will buy there (like the instant breakfast packets). I would say you could buy protein supplements a lot cheaper at Costco than the grocery store.
If you are diligent about paying off CC each month, you can use a cash back card. I use an AMEX Blue Preferred, I get 6% cash back at grocery stores.
1. Regular Milk/Almond Milk/Organic Milk with Omega 3
2. Fruits (Farmers Market, buy what's in season)
3. Vegetables (Farmers Market, buy what's in season) Frozen
4. Breads (Bread Maker or day old bread if your bakery has such a thing)
5. Cleaning/Washing liquids (Make your own, lots of recipes online)
6. Yogurt, Butter
7. Juice (Empty calories)
8. Vitamin Tablets /Protein Supplements (Costco. I believe unless you've been diagnosed with some sort of deficiency, these are unnecessary)
9. Dental Care (Are you talking about toothpaste or going to the dentist?)
10. Soap/ Shampoo (Dollar Tree, sales)
11. Cereals (Buy generic)
12. Salt/Sugar etc., (Morton Salt is like 40 cents here)
13. Cookies (Make your own)
14. Tea (Regular/Green Tea) and Coffee (Lipton tea bags are BOGO alot where I live, I stock up) I buy my green tea on Amazon
15. Etc., Etc.,
Using coupons really does save a lot. When I take the time to do it, I save so much money. Grocery store sales run in cycles and so do the coupons. So, what you do is buy things that you have a coupon for that are also on sale. Also, find a store that doubles coupons and make that your store. Instead of buying meals and then shopping, go the store every week with your coupons and buy what is sale that you also have a coupon for and start to develop a stockpile of food. Then you plan meals from what you have in your stockpile and NOTHING is anything you paid full price for. As I said, it really does save a lot of money.
Of course, there aren't normally coupons for meat, produce and some dairy. So you buy whatever is on sale. If chicken is on sale one week, buy chicken and freeze it. Then the next week maybe beef will be on sale, so you buy that. Eat produce that is in season to save money on that. Usually there aren't coupons for milk (well, maybe soy milk/almond milk), but there are coupons for sour cream, cheese, etc. Cookies - they always have coupons for the refrigerated slice and bake cookie dough.
I have always found that I could buy brand names with a coupon and a store that doubles coupons cheaper than I can buy generic brands. And that's good, because I don't really like generic brands.
Some things you are better off buying at a warehouse club than the grocery store. I have a Costco membership and I get toilet paper, paper towels, trash bags, dryer sheets, laundry soap, paper plates, instant breakfast, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, Prilosec/omeprazole, vitamins, bath soap, body lotion, dishwasher soap, canned vegetables/soups/olives and Keurig coffee cups there. I don't buy that much food there because there are only 2 of us. But things that are divided into smaller packages I will buy there (like the instant breakfast packets). I would say you could buy protein supplements a lot cheaper at Costco than the grocery store.
Any strategies/suggestions on
1. To get paper coupons and online coupons?
2. To check which grocery store (before visiting grocery) has what items on sale?
3. To find a store that doubles coupons
BTW I do not subscribe to any news paper? Is it advisable to subscribe to newspaper just to get coupons.
I have Costco membership and regularly buy toilet paper, oats, cleaning/laundry liquids, soaps, body lotion, shampoo, cookies, tooth paste, tooth brush, coffee, regular 2% milk there...
I don't find Almond milk I like or Organic milk with omega 3 in Costco and also I dont see buying bread, vegetables or fruit feasible in Costco.
Will try to get check vitamins, protein supplement, trash bags from Costco going forward...
I never use coupons. When I retired, I went to one of those seminars with a coupon maven in Chicago. However, after buying the newspapers for weeks and scouring the on-line sites, I found that I was using maybe 5-10 coupons a MONTH as most items I buy are fresh food, not processed items.
To save money, I locate the cheapest markets in the area. For example, Aldi in Chicago and 99 Only in my current locale. I buy the good deals at those stores if they are of good quality.
I look at the grocery ads each week and buy the "loss leaders" in the ads. In general, for example, whole boneless pork loins go on sale for $1.69-1.99/ lb every six weeks. Ditto on ground beef. When the meat is on sale, I buy a minimum of four weeks supply.
I keep a price book so remind me of the last prices.
When I see a great deal, I am prepared to buy all of the item. For example, one of the local groceries was rebranding from Centrella to Piggly Wiggly. They were selling all of the remaining Centrella canned goods for 25 cents a can. I bought ALL of the tomatoes thy had. Two years ago, Walgreen's was selling canned salmon for 50 cents a can. I bought 48 cans. I just finished the last can.
I also shop at salvage groceries when I have one available.
Coupons are usually for stuff with a very high fru-fru factor......I rarely use for that reason.
01-05-2014, 08:53 PM
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n/a posts
Quote:
1. To get paper coupons and online coupons?
2. To check which grocery store (before visiting grocery) has what items on sale?
3. To find a store that doubles coupons
Online you can get from coupons.com or use your store's web site or app. I like the latter approach because you can load them directly onto your rewards card and not have to drag around a bunch of paper coupons with you.
Sales are often on their web sites.
I haven't seen a store that doubles coupons since I was a kid, and even then it was rare. Is this still a thing that happens?
For soap, toothpaste, etc, stop buying it at the grocery store. You can get it at Target for less money, and they pretty much always have a buy 3, get $5 back offer going. Get their debit card for an additional 5% off.
For organic milk, go to Whole Foods or a similar store. It's cheaper than buying it at a regular grocery store. Just don't get sucked in and buy a bunch of other stuff.
I gave up on coupons. Too much work. BUT, do you have a Grocery Outlet where you live? They don't accept coupons, but they are regularly at least 30% cheaper than other stores, and often 50% and even more.
I always go to Grocery Outlet before going anywhere else.
The thing about Grocery Outlet, and the reason they are so cheap, is because you never know what they will have. They buy lots and often, when that lot sells out, that's it. Although, they always have staples like milk, eggs, bread, veggies, etc.
EVERYTHING in their stores are cheaper than most other stores, including the staples they carry.
The store in my town offers organic goods above the freezer bins. The other day, they had tons of organic soy milk. A friend was with me who drinks it (I don't do soy milk) and she bought a cart full because the price was so amazing. Can't quote it because I didn't notice the price, but she was amazed.
I also saw soy milk at the Dollar store about a week ago.
They also have cleaning fluids, household goods, pet food, just lots of random stuff shows up.
My next favorite grocery store here is Food Maxx. Today they had 10 pound bags of chicken leg quarters for $7.98.
Trader Joes is a good place to find almond milk and some other things. I buy their green tea bags that are decaffeinated. Hard to find decaf green tea bags, and they're only about $2.50 for 20 bags, I think. Also, you can get a bottle of wine at Trader Joe's for only $2.50 (Two Buck Chuck - went up 50 cents lol!)
I hardly ever shop at Costco anymore. I can get smaller portions for less money at the stores mentioned, and without having to stand in long lines. I only have a membership card because a friend always puts me on her account.
BTW, there is even a Dollar store here that sells produce. I haven't checked it out yet. The Dollar stores (different companies) often have amazing deals, but they also often sell small packages of whatever.
I happen to qualify to go to food banks, so I get a lot of free food. But, I still have to buy the odd item, and I'm always on the hunt to find stuff cheap.
1. To get paper coupons and online coupons?
2. To check which grocery store (before visiting grocery) has what items on sale?
3. To find a store that doubles coupons
BTW I do not subscribe to any news paper? Is it advisable to subscribe to newspaper just to get coupons.
I have Costco membership and regularly buy toilet paper, oats, cleaning/laundry liquids, soaps, body lotion, shampoo, cookies, tooth paste, tooth brush, coffee, regular 2% milk there...
I don't find Almond milk I like or Organic milk with omega 3 in Costco and also I dont see buying bread, vegetables or fruit feasible in Costco.
Will try to get check vitamins, protein supplement, trash bags from Costco going forward?
1. I only used the coupons that come in the Sunday paper, because my store wouldn't take computer printed coupons. You don't have to subscribe. You can just get a Sunday paper out of the machine every week for $1.25 or however much it costs now.
2. You really just need to pick a store that doubles coupons and stick to that store, because stores have a lot of unadvertised specials every week that also coincide with coupons, and you wouldn't know unless you go there. I used to arrange my coupons in the order of the store aisles (I know my store well) and I would go through the aisles seeing what was on sale that I had a coupon for. You don't want to drive around to different stores to get the best deals. That takes too much time. You need to find a store that doubles couples and just stay with it.
3. You could call around to stores in your area and see which ones double coupons. Mine doubles coupons up to and including 50 cents. I happened to shop there before I started trying out the buying things on sale with double coupons things, so it worked great.
It does take a lot of time to clip the coupons and also to go through the store seeing what is on sale that you have a coupon for. But it is definitely worth it to save money if you have time to do it.
I don't buy bread at Costco because we don't use that much. I also don't usually buy fresh fruits or vegetables at Costco.
I gave up on coupons. Too much work. BUT, do you have a Grocery Outlet where you live? They don't accept coupons, but they are regularly at least 30% cheaper than other stores, and often 50% and even more.
I always go to Grocery Outlet before going anywhere else.
The thing about Grocery Outlet, and the reason they are so cheap, is because you never know what they will have. They buy lots and often, when that lot sells out, that's it. Although, they always have staples like milk, eggs, bread, veggies, etc.
EVERYTHING in their stores are cheaper than most other stores, including the staples they carry.
The store in my town offers organic goods above the freezer bins. The other day, they had tons of organic soy milk. A friend was with me who drinks it (I don't do soy milk) and she bought a cart full because the price was so amazing. Can't quote it because I didn't notice the price, but she was amazed.
I also saw soy milk at the Dollar store about a week ago.
They also have cleaning fluids, household goods, pet food, just lots of random stuff shows up.
My next favorite grocery store here is Food Maxx. Today they had 10 pound bags of chicken leg quarters for $7.98.
Trader Joes is a good place to find almond milk and some other things. I buy their green tea bags that are decaffeinated. Hard to find decaf green tea bags, and they're only about $2.50 for 20 bags, I think. Also, you can get a bottle of wine at Trader Joe's for only $2.50 (Two Buck Chuck - went up 50 cents lol!)
I hardly ever shop at Costco anymore. I can get smaller portions for less money at the stores mentioned, and without having to stand in long lines. I only have a membership card because a friend always puts me on her account.
BTW, there is even a Dollar store here that sells produce. I haven't checked it out yet. The Dollar stores (different companies) often have amazing deals, but they also often sell small packages of whatever.
I happen to qualify to go to food banks, so I get a lot of free food. But, I still have to buy the odd item, and I'm always on the hunt to find stuff cheap.
Happy deal hunting!
I am not sure what you mean by Grocery outlet? I don't see any Grocery outlet.. probably will check with my friends here... We don't have Trader Joe's in our area
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