Grocery Savings

Today I want to talk about saving on groceries. In particular, couponing. I think the new TLC show Extreme Couponing will cause an upsurge in this once people realize the savings that are to be had if you play the game right. This is just one tool in the arsenal of savings techniques but it is a good one and fairly easy once you get started and learn the ropes.

The basics of being successful at couponing involve combining a store sale with a store coupon AND a manufacturer's coupon whenever possible. This works best at the higher end stores (like Randall's in our area) because their overall prices are higher but they have good sales to lure you into the store to spend on their higher priced items. These terrific sales are called "loss leaders" because the store takes a loss on that product to lead you into the store and spend MORE. These deals are usually on the front and back of the weekly grocery flier (in our Wednesday paper with the Food/Life section and also in Sunday's paper). In order to get the best coupons and deals, I always save both of those sections. The store coupons are printed in there as well. Manufacturer's coupons are in the Sunday paper in inserts. Our other store, the lower priced overall, offers in store coupons, but as I learned last night, does NOT allow them to be combined with a manufacturer's coupon (a practice called stacking) for the double savings. Nor do they double or triple coupons. At Randall's, they routinely triple any coupon up to $.35 and double those up to $.50. So the first thing you need to do is find out the policies at the store(s) where you'll likely be shopping.

So let's talk about the practical steps. To get the most savings, you'll need a backstock of coupons. Frequently a store will have a sale 2-3 weeks AFTER the coupon has been published. So having at least 2-3 months worth of the Sunday inserts will get the most bang for your buck. Different weeks have different paper inserts. The first Sunday of the month in our area has a Procter and Gamble insert. All of their most popular products will be represented but those coupons will only be good for that month. The other two main inserts are called Red Plum and Smart Source. Most weeks there will be one of each in the paper. Sometimes we get lucky and there are 2 of each. Most holiday weekends there are none. This past Sunday was a double day. On those days especially, it pays to buy extra papers just for the coupons. I bought 4 extra papers at a cost of $8 this time and had a savings of $119 in just coupons from that and past weeks.

When you save all these coupons, you'll need a way to organize them. I do not take the inserts apart. I write the date on the front in big marker (it's printed in tiny print in the outside edge, but that's very hard to read). Then I keep them sorted by month in an accordion file. About once a quarter, I sort through and toss the expired ones and ones I know I'll never use. If there's only one or two that I want to keep, then I cut those out and put them in one of the traditional coupon sorters I picked up at the Target dollar spot years ago. It's easy to look for a category when I know I have one but don't know when it was in the paper.

Now, once you have all your stash of organized coupons, you'll need to make a plan. There are several ways to do this. You can use the flier to see what's already on sale. But there are services, both free and subscription, that do all that legwork for you. I use The Grocery Game and it is well worth the small fee. I log in and check to see the new list on Sundays. These prices are good through Tuesdays here, so I have to shop Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday for most deals. They tell me the product, the price, the sale price, where to find the coupons (2/13 RP would mean Feb 13th's Red Plum insert), and the percent saved. I check the deals I am interested in and then there is a list of the coupons to collect. Last, I print the list sorted in any order I want. I rely on this for most of the deals but I also check the fliers for any not already listed.

Other sources are free. For instance Coupon Mom has two features that are wonderful. One is a listing of the deals just like above but for drug stores and discount stores rather than grocery stores. I use this for Walgreen's and CVS. I do not routinely shop at Wal Mart but if you do, they're represented as well. The other feature is a searchable database for the coupons. If I need something that week, but it's not already a special deal, I can find out if a coupon has been issued recently without sorting through every single insert I have in the collection.

Many people protest that coupons are for highly processed foods. Or that they are for brand names that will still be more expensive than the store brand equivalent. Both of these can be true. but you just have to look at the options for a while to see if they are products you will use. The nice thing about the Grocery Game is that it also lists the good deals on produce and meat. These are things we all can afford to save on. I always compare the store brand in the store and if it's not a savings, I pass on it and often leave the name brand coupon on the shelf for the next shopper to use.

Now that you have a list and your coupons, you need a plan. I highlight the deals I have a coupon for ( as opposed to the ones that are sale only). And I put all the coupons in the general order of the store in an envelope labeled with that store's name. Then as I use them, I separate the ones I do use from the ones I decide to pass on. A coupon trip will take longer since you need to make sure you have the exact product, size, and quantity listed on the coupon. A good tip is that if there is not a size requirement, go with the smallest possible package you can find. If you have multiple coupons, that can be a significant savings. Even trial sizes can sometimes qualify. If for instance the store offers 4 of something for $10 as a sale price, then you have 4 coupons for that product, you are in luck!

Cereal coupons are often $1.00 off 3 or some such. Just this week, many of our Kellogg's cereals were $1.99 for the large box if you bought 4 or more. So, I bought 6 of several brands, and used 2 - $1 off 3 coupons. That brings the cost for one box of cereal to $1.65. I got Rice Krispies, Special K, Fiber Plus, Oatmeal Squares, and Cheerios. The only junk cereal I got was Cap'n Crunch and my kids only eat that for dessert or snack, never as breakfast. The regular price for these was well over $3-4 a piece. That will last us several months until the cereal is on that great sale again.

Just a few other deals I got yesterday:

Duracell AAA 10 ct. - reg. price $6.99, sale price $5.49, store coupon $.75, manufacturer's coupon - $1.50............... final price $3.24

Brawny paper towels(6rolls) reg price $8.99, sale price $4.88, manufacturer's coupon $.50 - doubled.................. final price $3.88

Sister Schubert's frozen rolls - reg. price 3.69, sale price 2/$5 ($2.50). I had 6 coupons so I bought 6. They were MF coupons $.50 - doubled..................... final price $1.50/each

Propel Zero - reg. price $1.29, sale price $.79, $.75/2 coupon............. final price $ .42 each.

This is just a sampling of the many deals I found by using a little research and coordination. In total I saved just over $119 in actual coupons, and almost $400 overall on enough food and household to last us quite a while. I will give away some of the things that I had to buy in very large quantities to get that price. It allows me to give to charity some special things that aren't routinely found at the food bank.