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?
1 comment:
Using coupons to save a few cents on products purchased at the grocery store, seems outdated and time consuming. Most coupons usually have no more than $1. Many are worth less.
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