Grocery Store Couponing Strategy

 

As opposed to my CVS couponing - I do things a tad different here.  I get two grocery store circulars and one I need to pull up online. I just check really quick for meat and produce since typically you aren't going to get coupons for this stuff.  I'm pretty good at knowing what my "buy price" for meat is and I'm learning about produce (I hate fruits and vegetables, but I'm REALLY trying) So I make myself a quick small list.  For example this week - Boneless Skinless Chicken breasts & thighs were on sale for $1.99/lb at Stop & Shop,  so I wanted to make sure I had that. Shaws had baby carrots and grape tomatoes on sale for $1.00/each and I wanted to make sure I had that. Also I like to comb through and get a general idea of the sales or if there are coupons or gas point incentives. I make my notes, but I don't spend a ton of time on it because the coupon match up is primarily done online.

              

             

Before I do any match ups I log on to Mygrocerydeals.com and I take my short list and I add browse the deals for those items on my list and I add them to my grocery list.  Then I start browsing the deals for this week's coupons.  Again, the sales and the current week's coupons typically have a good match up rate, so I don't bother putting anything in the binder till I've done this part.  I just stack the coupons I'll use to the side and the ones I won't use I'll put in another pile for filing.

I typically only place items on my shopping list that are sale + coupon.  By searching for the brand name you will pull up if all the stores have that item on sale.  For example: Newman's Own Frozen Pizza was on sale at Shaws as a BOGO and Stop & Shop had it on sale for 2/$10.00.  Having a $1.00 off one, I put shaws on my shopping list so I could see the per unit price when I got there, I would up getting 2 of the pizzas for 6.99 as opposed to 2 for $9.00.  Being about to comparitively shop and maximize savings is why I go straight to the website, as well as being able to build and print a grocery list.

I keep my stash organized by category and then I try to keep like brands together.  This cuts down on the browsing time.  I also take advantage of this time to toss expired coupons. I keep all my coupons in a three ring binder with plastic baseball card pages.  I love my binder - it's just so much easier to see all my coupons. 

Eventually I have a list.  Also on mygrocerydeals.com you can add items to your list that you just know you need to get.  I am running low on Coffeemate - which simply can't happen.  Since I didn't see any on sale I just added it in this section.

I file away this weeks unused coupons and then the coupons I intend to use I separate the coupons by store and paperclip together for the shopping trip.  I don't typically go Sundays anymore.  I like to be able to take my time and my schedule allows me to go during the week. 

All of this gives me the ability to just stock up and make a meal plan from my pantry, fridge & freezer.  Occasionally I'll need to get some additional items during the week, but I like to put myself in a good position to have as much stuff on hand for meals and especially for snacks.  If I don't have stuff on hand to put a meal together quickly - it's a sure bet I'll call for pizza - which adds up and it's particularly healthy.  

What are your couponing strategies?

Drugstore Couponing Strategy

Sundays I get the paper delivered.  I gather up my grocery circulars that typically arrive Wednesday or Thursday (our sales start Fridays) and the CVS Circular in my sunday paper and the coupon inserts. Also scissors and a cup of coffee - I guess the coffee isn't necessary - but it is to me and it's my blog so...whatever!

 I subscribe to Sunday Coupon Preview which I always take a look at during the week to get a sense on weather there will be anything worthwhile in the coupon inserts.  Also this is almost always a preview as to what will be on sale.

Then I get out my trusty scissors and I clip anything I might use either regularly or want to try out.  Clipping the coupons is free and I have space in my binder so I'd rather clip and toss than not clip and regret it!

I have two piles.  One is my drugstore pile (CVS for me) and one is my grocery pile (Stop & Shop, Shaw's & Roche Bros)


Then I start with CVS.  The reason I start with CVS is because I don't do as much comparitive shopping as I do for food.  Basically at CVS, I am just looking for good deals for stuff to stock up around the house for.  I match up any of this week's coupons against the circular.   If something winds up being free (example below) I get it (I even go back to clip if need be) because it can always be donated to a shelter or something if not used in the house.

                 



My next part is that I search for anything that will get me extrabucks back that I have coupons for.  For example below.  I had a $3.00 off Maybelline purchase and CVS will give me $3.00 Extrabucks (EB) so that's how I stock up my makeup collection - maybe try a new shade of eyeshadow with little regret.

         
Then I'll go to my stash of coupons and match up the same thing.  If I'm in need of something, I'll shoot for a sale + coupon (for example - I needed dish soap and CVS had Palmolive for $.98 for 10oz bottle and I had a $1.00 off 2.  So I got 20 ozs of dish soap for $.96 cents!

You never know what you'll find in the stash.  Though most sales and offers are designed to match up with the current week's coupons, if I see something that isn't quite as low as I like it, I'll just hold on to the coupon and wait for the price I want.


I keep all my extrabucks and in store coupons filed in the back of my binder - these need to typically be cleaned out for expired coupons pretty quickly, but the Extra Bucks typically are good for about 4 weeks.  I don't go to CVS every week, but if I find a deal I'll clip my extrabucks to my coupons and head on over to CVS.  If I have expiring Extra Bucks, I'll just go grab some items just around the value of my extrabucks..so they don't go to waste.  That's the biggest key is not to let the extrabucks go to waste.  For example I used $5.00 this week and I earned $10.00.  I'll use them for my next visit!

My friend Caitlin is a real champ when it comes to this and made me see the light - I'd always been good at the grocery store, but I never kept up with it at CVS - just had picked up shampoo when I needed it or worse - I'd get it at Target because it was cheaper but I would walk out with $50 worth of random stuff!

Do you have any good tips to share about your drugstore couponing?

Getting Back to Grocery Shopping

I will say that while I did work at the cupcake shop - I was able to enjoy the grocery store during the day during the week.  It was great! I had a few people admire my coupon binder on more than a few occasions.  I still stick to my strategy, even if I haven't been as good about meal planning.

So this Sunday, I clipped my coupons and headed to my office and made myself a list!

Roche Bros:

I typically only get sale & coupon items at Roche Bros and if I need fresh produce I really like it there and will pay a little extra because their produce is typically my favorite

List:
Progresso Soup Sale .77/each - $1.00/4 Coupon
T. Marzetti Dressing  Sale 2/$6.00 - $1.00 off Coupon
Delmonte Natural Fruit Cups Sale 10/$10.00 - $1.00 off Coupon for Breakstone Cottage Cheese with purchase of 5 Delmonte Natural Fruit Cups
Frigo String Cheese Sale $2.99 - $1.00/2 Coupon

I like to grab some soup just to have on hand for soup & sandwich or soup & salad nights.  Sometimes Hubs and I are on different schedules.  .52 a can and .26 a serving is pretty good.  I always am wary to have too much on hand because I like my own soup and canned soup tends to be high in sodium

Bonus Pick up:

Weight Watchers Peanut Butter Brownies $2.50 sale - .55 Coupon

This was not in the flyer - which is why I always keep the binder handy even though I have my coupons & list together.  You NEVER know what you might find!

The coupon got doubled so it was $1.40 to have a small sweet treat in the house. Despite the fact that I bake a ton...most of that leaves the house immediately, so I like to have a little something for Hubs and his sweet tooth and I like a little sweet treat with my post dinner tea once in awhile (I swear I'm not 78 years old)

The results:

Shaws:

Again, I typically only get sale & coupon items at Shaws, also they tend to be good for managers specials on meat and every once in awhile they have a can't be missed price on meat.  This week that was the case, so I dropped in.

List:
Boneless Chuck Roast $2.88/lb (Typical Buy Price $2.99/lb)
Eye Round Roast $2.88/lb (Typical Buy Price $2.99/lb)
Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurt 4 pack Sale $3.50 - $1.00 off coupon

I bought the chuck roast to make an amazing Beef Stew this week to combat the Polar Vortex. Eye Round is amazing when slow roasted.  Makes a gorgeous fancy pants roast beef dinner and then roast beef sandwiches for days! I like doing this so much....I bought a slicer.  Like a deli slicer.  I'm not kidding.

Bonus pick ups:
Barilla Pasta Sale $1.25 - $1.00 off 2
Tyson Light Breaded Chicken Strips Sale $8.99 - $1.00 off

Again - Pasta is a staple.  Ideally I would like to change from Barilla - but I like the product and I can typically buy it at a good price.  I really like their Barilla Plus, so I continue to search for a more tolerant but still affordable pasta.  I never pay more than a $1.00 a box - typically under and I stock up when I can.

Breaded Chicken is more of a convenience food, but that's more about having stuff on hand that I can throw together quicker than I can get a pizza to my door.  Chicken strips are easy enough to heat up and throw on a salad.

The results:

Stop & Shop:

This is where I do my shopping for most things.  It's closest to my house and I earn points for discounts on gas.

List:
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast $1.99/lb (Typical Buy Price $1.99)
Fiber One Bars 2/$6.00 - $1.00/2 Coupon
Special K Bars 4/$8.00 - $1.00/3 Coupon *Must by 4
Planters Roasted Peanuts - 2/$6.00 - $1.00/2 Coupon
Stonyfield Greek Yogurt 10/$10.00 - Buy 2, Get 1 Free

Chicken, I'll buy at that price and I'll buy as much as I can fit in the darn freezer.  Not a lot of room, so I just picked up 3 pounds.  Trying to make a better effort to have breakfast bars in the house to discourage trips to the local dunks.  It really has been adding up to about $50-$75 a week (eek! - thanks Mint.com)

Bonus Pick Ups:
Sara Lee Whole Wheat Bread Sale $2.50  - $1.00 off Coupon
Swanson Broth 2/$4.00  $1.00 off 2
Rice Vinegar

I needed broth and I resigned myself to buying the store brand only to be surprised that Swanson was on sale and I had a coupon.  Ideally I don't like to pay more than $1.50 a box and I stock up when I can because you can always use broth.  Also I've been on an asian cooking kick lately and I remembered I was without rice vinegar.  I never really see it go on sale so I just grabbed it.

The results:

A long hiatus...

So yeah, life has gotten in the way.

I was really stressed out by my job and it was really making me a negative person.  So I worked hard, me and hubs...we worked really hard and paid down our debt and became debt free.

This gave me the opportunity in the spring of 2013 to quit my miserable corporate job in a cube farm to change industries completely.  I went to work for a local cupcake shop and quickly took the job of general manager.  I worked there for over six months, learned a ton but I still wasn't doing what I want - which is to bake for a living.

So - I left.  Right now, I'm doing fill in shifts for them while they search for my replacement and some odd jobs while I look for what's next for me.

It's terrifying to be 100% truthful.  What's next, when will we run out of money for me to just work when work comes up.  I feel guilty for not pulling my weight by bringing in any income.  But enough of that, that's what I have a therapist for!

The last time I was out of work was when I honed my coupon skills.  So it's time to get back to what I have fun with and get blogging again. Now I have time and I figured out that time is so valuable.  I am getting back on track with cooking at home, grocery shopping and couponing.

I was toying with firing up the old blog again - and then someone I follow on twitter (which I use mostly for my hockey obsession) asked "Bizarre question - how much, per pound, is the boneless skinless non frozen chicken that you buy?" Of course I responded $1.99.  Then I went back and forth and then I remembered I had a whole blog post about what I do when I stock up on chicken.

So I'm giving this a crack again and I hope I can stick to it.