Saturday Shopping

So I went shopping this past Saturday.  It was unusual that I ended up going so late in the week.  I regularly shop on Wednesdays or Thursdays right after the sale flyers come out, otherwise all the good coupon stuff is usually gone.  It still turned out to be a pretty good trip.  Our Harris Teeter store has been running a promotion where if you shop for 14 out of 16 weeks and spend 40 dollars at once and you also sign up your VIC card for their e-VIC program, at the end of your 14 weeks they will give you a 50 dollar gas card.   I decided to go for it.  I had missed the first week already when I heard about the promotion, but have successfully completed 12 shops.  Only 2 more to go over the next 3 weeks.   I decided in order to make this most worthwhile I needed to try to spend as close to the 40 dollars as I could each week.  With the exception of triples week where I did multiple shopping trips, I have pretty much done that. This week was no different.  I spent $41.65.  $1.05 of that was tax.  (You have to be over the 40 dollars after coupons and before taxes.)  During this process I have discovered several things that I feel will come in handy even when this promotion is over.   Here they are and hopefully they will help you too.

-Plan a menu.  If you start with what you have at home, you are most likely going to spend less.  Only buy what you need to fill in for your meals.  I often check the ads to see what is on sale that would compliment what I already have at home. This way you are going to get more bang for your buck.

-Shop for good coupon deals.  After I have my menu decided, I use the leftover money to see what good deals I can get with my coupons. I look for items that are free or close to free.  Many times these are things like salad dressings, sauces, side items that can be used later on to help make meals.   Cereal is also a good coupon item.  I don't buy cereal unless it is on sale, I have a coupon,  and it is less than a dollar a box. 

 

-Look for on sale stock-up items.   After I have figured out what coupons I am going to use.  If there is still room to play in the budget, I look for items that are on sale that I can stock up on.  These are things like flour, sugar, chocolate chips, oatmeal, pasta, etc.  Stuff that won't go bad.  It is much better to get these things when they are on sale than to have to buy it at regular price when you have run out.  Stocking up is very beneficial when it comes to help saving money.  

-Look for discounts in your store.  I often leave about 5 dollars of play room in my grocery list for bargains that can be found at the store.  You can often find discounted meats, salads, produce items, etc.  The meat can be eaten right away or frozen.  There have been times when we have gone to the store and found bananas on sale for 19 cents a pound.  That is a lot of bananas for five dollars.  We bought them though, cut them up and froze them.  Our 11 month old daughter loves to eat them.  Just pop them in the microwave for a few seconds and they are good to go.  This was A LOT cheaper than buying baby food bananas.  We saved a ton of money right there. 

-Stick to your plan.   It definitely helps when you go to the store knowing what you are going to buy. I am fortunate that our store has an online shopping program where I can go to their website and check the prices of items before I ever leave the house.  I go, knowing exactly what I am going to buy and how much it is going to be. I don't alter my list unless something that I planned on purchasing is out or unless I have left room to shop for meat or produce that is discounted once I get to the store.  Even then, I know how much I have to spend on that, and I stick to it.

I am considering sticking to the 40 dollar a week grocery budget even when this promotion is over.  Even on 5 week shopping months, that is only 200 dollars a month for food.  (My husband gets all the other stuff with his drug store shopping.)  This is way under our allotted food budget for the month and leaves room for emergencies or special sales (like triples) once they come up.  

Do you have any good ideas for saving money when you go to the grocery store?? What kind of plan do you have/use?

Coupon Organization Tips

There are many different ways to organize your coupons and I am not sure whether there is any one way that is better than the other.  You just have to work with whatever fits you and your personality best.  For me, I like to have the coupons where I can see them as I am going through the store or comparing them to the ads when I am at home. I don't like to have to shuffle through a handful at a time. So I keep my coupons in a photo album, the kind with multiple slots per page for pictures that you can just slide them into.  I have them organized according by categories such as baking items, frozen foods, salad stuff, etc.  This works great too for going to the grocery store. I just stick the book in the cart and if I run across a sale, I have all of my coupons right there with me.   You can also use a three ring binder with baseball card holders.  This is what my husband does with all of his coupons.  (Yes, he does couponing too!!)  He does all of our shopping at CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid for drug items, paper items, and personal care items.  He has baseball card holders for each letter of the alphabet and puts the coupons in there by the first letter of the product name.  

What about you? Do you have any ideas for organizing coupons or tricks you are willing to share with us??