Shopping Savvy Tips

So I was recently asked how I do what I do. How can I buy so much for so many mouths and spend so little? I do use coupons but more often than not I take advantage of the sales. I try to spend close to $400 a month on groceries 10 months of the year. And for 12 weeks in the summer my goal is to spend $0. I allow myself to buy eggs, dairy, bread and produce with a credit card but I try hard to keep it to that. I decided to make a basic list to be shopping savvy.  These are the general rules I live by.

• I am a loyal ShopRite mama. I live .2 miles from my childhood grocery store and I love it. I love it because I know where items are. I know many of the employees. I know the store policies on rain checks and price plus member deals, and mis-charged items. I am familiar with their prices and how to find the extra sales. My point is you probably have a store that you like to grocery shop at. Get familiar with that store. And be sure to get a loyalty card with them. That is where the real savings are at!
• There is another method you may prefer. My dad on the other hand is not loyal to one store but will shop at 3 different stores each week depending upon the sales!!! (The shopping gene is strong in our family.) He checks out Acme, ShopRite, and Save A-Lot. He is retired and has the time to hit up these different stores and does really well shopping the sales. He specializes in meat and soda sales.

• Grab your marker and your flyer and get to work! Each Friday we receive a free local paper and inside is my ShopRite ad. This ad lists the deals going on for the following week. I prefer my marker rather than making a separate list. I make large circles around all the items I want to purchase. I write my needed items that are not featured in the ad on the top of the front page. When I go shopping the next week I bring along my ad and am able to reference it when walking through the store. This is especially helpful when the deal involves “Buy 2 to receive discount” or only on specific varieties. It can also be taken to the customer service desk if an item is mismarked or scans incorrectly at checkout. They will always have one handy at the the desk but that way you have an easy reference.

• Take advantage of coupons on top of sales. My favorite savings are when I have a coupon for $2 off an item and that week that item is specially marked down to $1.50. I end up making money on that order. They won’t give me money but the coupon will take the full $2 off of my order. I am not one to hunt down coupons but I do keep them in a small accordion file and organize them by placement in the store.  Be aware of when coupons expire and use your oldest coupons first. Coupons can be found online(check to see if your store accepts printed coupons, not all stores do), in the mail, in the local newspaper, inside the cereal box, attached to the front of a new item.
• ShopRIte has online “digital coupons”. Be sure to get their app and “add” those coupons to your shopping cart in the app. The app is connected to your price plus loyalty card and will appear as a coupon when you check out. Their store flyer will make you aware of many of those added discounts. I prefer to add the coupons to my “cart” as I’m waiting in line to pay but you can do it ahead of time or while you are shopping through the store.
• Shopping the sales is really the best way to go. The goal is that you never actually run out of items and are therefore never forced to pay full price for an item. When toilet bowl cleaner goes on sale for $1.99 buy 3 or 4. You know your family will continue to use the toilet and it will continue to require cleaning. There are usually coupons easily enough to find for Lysol products so that is a great time to double up on savings.
• Know when bulk is a good buy. We are Sam’s club members. They have great Member’s Mark brand toilet paper. It occasionally goes on sale for $18 for 45 large rolls. That is a good deal. Unfortunately, Sam’s club is not a great place to buy cereal. You get a lot of cereal but the price per ounce isn’t great. It is better to buy smaller boxes when on sale and you have a coupon from the grocery store. Pay attention to the price per ounce section of the price tag. It will be a great help when you go to another store and you compare.
• Peanut butter is always a better deal when you buy the big jars on sale. They frequently put the smaller jars on sale for $2. That seems like a good deal but not really when I can get the 2 pack of the huge ones on sale for $7. When they go on sale I buy several of the 2 packs.
• Be aware of how quickly you consume certain foods and their expiration. Many expiration dates are guidelines and can be somewhat disregarded but some cannot. I do not ignore expiration dates on peanut butter. That will go rancid. I will ignore expiration dates on most cereals. Cake mixes are fine for another year after their date. And lots of canned goods are good for a year or two as it is. But don’t stock up on cans of tomatoes if you never actually cook with them. Be smart about your purchases. You are not saving yourself money if you are throwing food away.
• Expensive food does not always mean healthier. Organic is great when you are concerned about chemicals but a fruit snack is still a fruit snack. Your child isn’t actually getting any nutritional value in them. (I am not judging….we always have fruit snacks on hand. I’m just making a point.) Be aware of the nutritional needs of your kids.
• Name brand vs store brand. My kids don’t care if their marshmallow cereal has a leprechaun on it or a teddy bear wearing a sailor hat. We don’t mind the store brand cereals, but I don’t like the store brand cookies. My point is it doesn’t hurt to try the cheaper store brand knock off on your favorite foods. Sometimes we like them better than the originals. But if your family can really taste the difference it isn’t worth the “savings”. Again, if your family won’t eat it you are not saving money. But don’t be afraid to give the off brand a chance. Examples of store brand food we like: cereals, condensed soups, canned and frozen veggies, baking items, bread,chips and pretzels, jam. Examples of store brand food we don’t like: peanut butter, cookies, yogurt, cake mix, spaghetti sauce.
• There are several saving apps that I am not great about but a friend of mine is. SavingStar is her favorite. You get rebates on things you already purchased. I need to be better at that one. Check it out and let me know what you think. There are lots of others but I can’t say much about them since I don’t utilize them yet.
• Be sure to check out the quick sale items especially meat and bakery items. My store puts their meat that must be sold that day with a bright yellow sticker on it, usually marked down 50%. That is the only way I buy beef. I just can’t afford $4 or more a pound for a roast. But I can afford steaks when they cost me $2. I love these deals. Just be aware this meats needs to either be cooked that day or next or frozen. I prefer to place my meat in serving size freezer store brand ziplock bags and freeze them. The bakery puts their items from the day before on sale and my kids can usually talk me into a box of doughnuts or muffins for a treat.
• I am a weirdo and get a huge thrill watching my total drop after checkout. When I get to the register they are always sure to ask for my price plus loyalty card. I tell them I will give it to them at the end of the transaction. So it rings up my entire order at full price. Then they scan my coupons and then I hand over my card. Instantly the number drops and my heart races. I love seeing all my savings so crystal clear. Many times the checkers are even surprised by the plunge. I have to be careful not to forget to give them my card and miss my extra deals but I’m usually too excited to forget.
• At the bottom of my ShopRite receipt it tells me my Total Saving for that trip, along with my year to date savings. I love knowing that family has those extra THOUSANDS in the bank instead of in the pantry.

So have no fear and don’t be overwhelmed.

It really is easier than it looks.

Happy Savings!