So I still have a VERY long way to go before TLC is calling and asking me to do a spot on their new show however, I learned quite a bit this week about saving money and I would like to share my new info with you!
There were a few sites I read to gather information. I found that some tips were common to all the sites and then some tips that you had to be a single person with no job or life in order to follow the tips (I have excluded those as I do not know anyone who fits this description).:-) I'm only including the tips I feel I can manage with a busy schedule.
1. Cut out EVERY coupon. Cut out the coupons that are for specific stores as well as the ones found in the Sunday paper. WHY? Some stores honor other store coupons! Another reason is that the week a coupon runs in the paper the item is usually not on sale, you want to hold that coupon till it IS on sale. Also, if it is something that you usually use a lot of during your week, buy several papers so you have several coupons for that item.
2. SAVE ALL COUPONS!!! Just because you are not going to use it this week doesn't mean you won't run out of it next week. It may be on sale by then so saving these coupons in a binder (organized by category that best fits your needs) will help you save money later!
3. Set aside time every Sunday to work on your shopping list.(discuss this with your spouse if you have kids to determine when is the best time for you to have peace and quiet) You will need scissors, pen, paper, newspaper (several if you would like to stock up on coupons), binder, computer, printer. You want to shop all the Sunday ads. Find products that you family uses all the time. You want to include cleaning supplies and health and beauty items.
Here is what I did. I found the Winn Dixie ad first and looked through for items on sale that we use all the time. I then matched these items up with coupons I had and then shopped on my website southernsavers.com for any printable coupons for those items. I wrote that item my notebook like this: Chunky soup (buy 4) BOGO in store plus 2 coupons. This told me while I was shopping that I needed to verify the coupons with the items before buying them. It also helped me with portion control. Obviously if you NEED more than you have coupons for then buy them on the BOGO and save money but if you are only adding to your pantry buy just what you have coupons for.
(here is a BOGO hint. If you have two coupons for that product you can use BOTH because you are actually scanning both items out of inventory. For example: BOGO Chunky soup rings up to be $1.99 at the register but I had 2 coupons that stated Save $.75 when you buy one. I used both which brought my total for 2 cans of Chunky soup to $.49!!!! Oh yeah, you read that right!)
Also, I made a list for each store (Winn Dixie, CVS, Walgreens and Publix). By separating each store it keeps things simple when you actually go in and do the shopping. I took an envelope and wrote the store name on the outside so that I could put coupons in it for that particular store. Once I finished my list I added it to my envelope and stacked it with the store ad. I did this for all stores before beginning my shopping trip. Once I was ready to shop I stacked my things on the front seat (instead of my purse where they could have been destroyed) and went on my way!
(If this part isn't clear let me know, it took me almost 40 min to do my first ad but once I figured out what I was doing the other ads didn't take much time at all. I also found out that by having everything sorted out my shopping trip took SOOOOOO much less time.)
4. Only buy things you need or things that are free!!!! If you are stocking up on stuff you will never use, you are wasting money. If it is free you need to get it and if you will never use it add it to a bag of things you can take to your church or an organization that helps lower income families. It never hurts to help others while taking care of your family!
5. Shop for free items. Sometimes coupons will say Save $.50 on ANY one ...... If it says this than chances are the travel size items are included. Most travel sections have items ranging from $.50 to $1.00. Your coupon may make this item free! This is a great way to stock up on your travel needs. (I also request free samples online and I have not purchased a single travel item for over 3 years!)
6. If there is something that you want to try but it is new and coupons don't seem to be out for it, write to the company and request a coupon. It never hurts to say, "Dear so and so, My family is trying to eat healthy but find it is very expensive. We would like to try your new product but wondered if you had money saving coupons to purchase that product. Thank you!" Most companies will send you a coupon for money off or even a free sample. You just have to ask.:-)
7. Don't plan your menu before shopping. (this is what I was doing wrong). You want to do your Sunday paper shopping before you make your menu. Chances are the things you would need for specific foods will not be on sale the week you are going to make that recipe. Do your shopping, stock up on food you use all the time and then create a menu around what you have in your pantry. Yes, you will need to buy some items to supplement what you have collected but I guarantee that you will spend a ton less shopping in your pantry before shopping in the store.
8. Stack your coupons. This means you can use multiple coupons for a single item. Most grocery stores print out their own coupon ads that you can use in their store. These coupons are coming out of the STORE'S bank. You can stack these with manufacturer's coupons which come out of the company bank. If Publix puts out a coupon to save $.50 on Crest toothpaste and you have a $1.00 off coupon from the Crest (P &G) company then you will save a total of $1.50!!! Today our Crest toothpaste was 2/ $3. You can usually buy only one of that item and still get the sale price honored. I got a free tube of toothpaste today!:-)
Those are the tips that I found most helpful. There are a ton of other tips out there but again, most of them required you to make couponing your full time job. Let me know if you have questions about any of the tips on here. Also, I never really knew that CVS was such a great place to shop for groceries. I found that they had better sales and the same prices as Publix. I actually spent more there than Winn Dixie and Walgreens combined. They just had more of what we use! Shop at these smaller stores when they have sales. I stocked up on my cleaning supplies at Walgreens. They had a BOGO on Lysol products. I had coupons and bought $25 of supplies for $8. It was all stuff I needed or was going to need in the next month. I don't feel bad stocking up on stuff like that as it tends to run your bill up quickly. Also, they had a sale on their Similac formula. $4.69 for a bottle of the pre-made stuff. I had a $5 off coupon so even though we don't buy formula anymore, IT WAS FREE!!!! I figure that it will be 8 bottles of milk that I don't have to buy for Bubba.:-)
Hope this helps! Here is the site that I found most helpful. If you live in the southern areas it will be most helpful for you but if not it does include Target and the pharmacy's . She pretty much does all your coupon shopping for you and has a link to print out your coupons. southernsavers.com is great! Enjoy saving money!
No comments:
Post a Comment