Shopping Tip #2- Grocery Store Specials- Because There Are Very Few $5 Coupons

Wednesdays and Sundays are like mini-Christmases to me, but without all the stress and decorating.  Those are the days that my store circulars come out and they are the basis for my list making.

You can clip coupons until your fingers bleed, but you are rarely going to find a “Buy One, Get One Free” coupon.  However, stores have these deals all the time.  So if you have a $5 item, you’ll be getting it for $2.50.   I like to look at things in terms of per item and percent off.  Even though I have to buy two, I am getting each for 50% off.  Percentages are a good way of looking at things, because they put it in perspective.  “Buy One, Get One Half Off” sounds like a better deal than “25% off,” but that is exactly what you are getting.

Eating according to what is on sale takes a little getting used to.  We can’t just say, “Hey we feel like X tonight,” if X wasn’t on sale this week.  By the same token, it forces you out of your rut of making the same things over and over because you have to find a way to cook what is available.  It is like when we started to buy most of our fruits and veggies from the farmer’s market.  You learn to eat what is available.  This reason is also why I make up my menu at the same time that I make up my grocery list.

One final note on store sales, when you find a really good deal, especially when you can add a coupon on to a store deal (like I did with the cereal last week), and it is something that stores well (dried goods, paper products, personal hygiene items, frozen meat), stock up on it.  It is tempting to think how much lower you grocery bill could be this week if you only bought one or two of an item, but 8 will last you longer because when you run out you just have to go to your own pantry instead of back to the store where you will be paying full price.  So stocking up not only save you money per item, but it keeps that item off future shopping lists thus making them cheaper.

 

NEXT Shopping Tip #3- Store Brands, Not Just White Labels with Black Letters Anymore

Comments

There's a little Marcy in all of us!! GG

[Kelsey]

Awesome Post!