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?

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:

Coupon Match Ups 3.25.11

I've been under the weather the last couple of weeks, generally feeling run down so my apologies for not posting.


We're coming up on a couple weeks till Easter - so the coupons have savings on baking and things related to bigger meals.  In addition there was a toy coupon insert this week. I always say grab up the toys now for early birthday gifts, donations, holidays or maybe if you don't have kids so you have something when they come to visit!


This weeks inserts: Smartsource & Red Plum


As usual, my match ups are Stop & Shop, Shaws (or Stahhh Mahket), Roche Bros, CVS &Walgreens


Red Plum:


I Can't Believe it's not Butter - $1.00 off 2 - Stop & Shop sale 2/$5.00 matchup 2/$4.00
Hellmann's Products - $1.00 off 3 - Shaws sale $2.49/each matchup 3/$6.47
Hillshire Farms Rope Smoked Sausage - $1.00 off 2 - Stop & Shop  3/$10.00 -matchup 2/$5.67*




Smartsource:


Yoplait Greek Yogurt - $1.50 off 5- Shaws sale 10/$7.00 matchup 5/$2.00
Dulce de Leche Cheerios - $1.00 off Stop & Shop sale 2/$6.00 match up 1/$2.00**
Betty Crocker Cookie Mixes - $1.00 off 2 Stop & Shop sale 2/$5.00 matchup 2/$4.00
Betty Crocker Cake Mix & Frosting $1.00 off when you buy both Stop & Shop Sale 4/$5.00 Cake mix & 3/$5.00 frosting - matchup both for $2.92
Healthy Choice Meals - $1.00 off 2 Stop & Shop sale 4/$10.00 matchup 2/$4.00
Nestle Toll House Refrigerated Cookie Dough $1.00 off Stop & Shop sale 2/$5.00 matchup 1/$1.50
Kraft Miracle Whip - $1.00 off 2 Stop & Shop sale $2.99/each matchup 2/$4.98
Stove Top Stuffing Mix - $1.00 off 3 Stop & Shop sale 3/$5.00 matchup 3/$4.00
Cool Whip - $1.00 off 4 Shaws sale 2/$5.00 matchup 4/$9.00
Johnsonville Chicken Sausage $1.00 off  Stop & Shop sale BOGO ($4.99) matchup 2/$3.99***
Johnsonville Chicken or Pork Sausage $1.00 off Stop & Shop sale (chicken only)matchup 2/$3.99**
Pepperidge Farm Frozen Bread $1.00 off 2 Stop & Shop sale 2/$4.00 matchup 2/$3.00


* Hillshire Farms Rope Smoked Sausage - you can do better, typically this is priced $4.69 and goes on sale as BOGO, so you can use this coupon (frequently printed) and get 2/$3.69.  
**Please note the Cheerios sale is on selected varieties only, so this deal might not work out if this new items isn't offered as part of the sale
***Stack both coupons, they are both valid for chicken sausage and you can use 2 coupons on a BOGO.

Coupon Match Ups 2/5

Sorry for not posting these last week - I had a VERY lazy Sunday last week.  Happy Super Bowl Sunday folks!  Today is a pretty busy day as we have a Super Bowl get together at a friends house and the all important hockey match up in our house: Bruins vs Caps.  Our goal is to make a meal plan out of what we have on hand as the grocery store will likely be a little crazy today.

Three Inserts this week Smartsource, Red Plum & General Mills

As usual, my match ups are Stop & Shop, Shaws (or Stahhh Mahket), Roche Bros, CVS & Walgreens

General Mills

General Mills Cereal $1.00 off 3 - Shaws has this on sale 2/$4.00 - So it would 3/$6.00

Betty Crocker Fruit Roll Ups Asst Fruit Snack - $1.00 off 3 - Shaws has these on sale 2/$4.00 - So it would be 3/$5.00

Pillsbury Toaster Strudel $1.00 off 3 - Stop & Shop has these on sale 2/$4.00 - so it would be 3/$5.00

Fiber One Bars $1.00 off 2 - Stop & Shop has these on sale $2.69 - 2/$4.38

Progresso Soup $1.00 off 4 - Stop & Shop has these on sale 3/$4.00 - so it would be 4/$4.34

Campbell's Select Harvest Soups $1.00 off 4 - Stop & Shop has these on sale 4/$5.00 - so it would be 4/$4.00

YoCrunch Multipacks $1.00 off  - Roche Bros has these on sale 2/$5.00 - so it would be $1.50 each

YoCrunch Multipacks $1.00 off 2 - Roche Bros has these on sale 2/$5.00 - so it would be 2/$4.00 (I'll hold this one for a 2/$4.00 sale if you can wait)

Quaker Chewy Granola Bars $1.00 off 2 - Stop & Shop has these on sale 2/$5.00 - so it would be 2/$4.00

Folgers $1.00 off 2 - Roche Bros has this on sale $3.69 - so it would be 2/$6.38


Not a ton of great coupons today (in my opinion)  but hopefully in the last couple weeks you were able to take advantage of the flyers and get some good coupons to use for your Super Bowl Snacks.

Coupon Match Ups 1/22/2011

A little time, a little clipping saves some serious money!

I'm going to try to do this every week - but it just depends on travel and time allowed.

This is a great week to start looking for food for the Super Bowl.  A lot of soda deals, snacks & apps are on sale now and there will be more next week for sure.  Same thing with coupons too.  So keep in mind that you can get some great deals now and it's never too early to get a bargain on shelf stable items and frozen items!

There were were 2 inserts in the local paper this week - Smart Source & Red Plum.  Also I'll do my matches for Stop & Shop, Shaws (or as I like to call it Stahh Mahket), Roche Bros, CVS &; Walgreens.

Again - this is something you can do ahead of time.  The coupons are posted online on Sunday Coupon Preview and you can do some matching by using grocery flyer sites.  I use My Grocery Deals and it works great.  Again you can do this fairly quick and easy - I try to do it on my lunch break at work.

Red Plum:

Uncle Ben's Rice $1.00 off 4 - Stop & Shop has this on sale 3/$5.00 - Sale + Coupon 4/$5.67

Special K Cereal Bars, Fruit Crisps and/or Granola Bars $1.00 off 2 - Stop & Shop has these on sale 2/$6.00 - which would bring them to 2/$5.00
Newman's Own Salsas $1.00 off 2 - Shaws has this on sale 2/$4.00 - Sale + Coupon 2/$3.00
Newman's Own Salad Dressing $1.00 off 2 - Shaws has this on sale 2/$4.00 - Sale + Coupon 2/$3.00

Clips these for later:

Super Pretzel $.50 off 1
M&M's, Snickers Minis, Twix Minis, or Dove Promises $1.50 off 2

Smart Source:

Cheerios $1.00 off 2 - Shaws has this on sale for $1.88/each - Sale + Coupon 2/$3.76
Yoplait Greek Yogurt $1.50  off 5  - Shaws has these on sale 10/$10.00 - Sale + Coupon 5/$3.50
Hunt's Canned Tomatoes $1.00 off 4 - Roche Bros has these on sale $1.00 each - Sale + Coupon 4/$3.00
Oscar Mayer Lunchables $1.00 off 2 - Stop & Shop has these on sale 4/$5.00 - Sale + Coupon 2/$2.25
Hershey's Drops $1.00 off 2 - Stop & Shop has these on sale 3/$10.00 - Sale + Coupon 2/$5.66
Pepsi $2.00 off 2 multipack bottles or 8pk mini cans - Stop & Shop has the bottles 4/$11.00 - Sale + Coupon 2/$3.50
Cain's Mayonaise $1.00 off 1 - Stop & Shop has this on sale $2.99 - Sale + Coupon $1.99
Mt Olive Pickles or Relish  $1.00 off 1 - Stop & Shop has these on sale 2/$4.00 - Sale + Coupon $1.00


Clip these for later
Pace Salsa $1.00 off 2 - you might need Salsa for the Super Bowl - though the Newmans own is a great price
Swanson Chicken $1.00 off 2 - Make some Buffalo Chicken dip for the Super Bowl
Sargento Shredded Cheese $1.00 off 2 - Again Buffalo Chicken dip and this often goes on sale 2/$5.00 or 2/$6.00
Tyson Any'tizers snacks $1.00 off 1 - Again easy apps for the Super Bowl
Tazo $1.00 off - if you like Tazo tea, then you know it's a bit pricy
Lays $1.00 off Lays Dip when you buy Lays Chips - Again Super Bowl
Johnsonville - $1.00 of 2 packages of any Johnsonville Sausage - Again Superbowl
Heluva Good! - $1.00 of 2 Sour Cream Dips
Franks Red Hot Sauce -$1.00 of 2  -Again Buffalo Chicken Dip

On side note:
There are coupons for:
$5.00 off Electronic Catch Phrase or Taboo
$5.00 off Pictionary
$3.00 off Jenga

It's NEVER too early to start Christmas/Birthday shopping I picked up a couple of games early in the year and was able to supplement a gift for my friends son and make a donation for Toys for Tots