I Love a Bargain

You've seen her in line at the grocery store - the lady with a wad of coupons - and you probably moved yourself and your shopping cart to another lane. I know, because I did that on occasion when I was in a hurry or didn't want to feel guilty about my own spending and lack of preparation for my trip to the grocery store.


A few short years ago I was reborn as a dedicated couponer and bargain shopper extraordinaire.  Out of necessity, I researched ways to save and bring the household costs down to a minimum, especially where food was concerned.  In the process, I learned many of the secrets I have shared on this site, including how to pay next-to-nothing for makeup, personal care items, cleaning products, even gifts.  What's more, when you learn to shop this way, you almost never run out of items your family needs and you will have extra to share with others if you choose. Here are a few tips for the beginner:

• Subscribe to a newspaper and purchase extra copies.
• Clip coupons, even if you're not sure you want a particular item.
• Get organized right from the start with a coupon box or binder.
• Sign up for any savings card or reward card your store offers.
• Be prepared to shop where the deals are.
• Learn to stock up on big-savings items you use often.
• Recruit a friend to join you on the journey, it's more fun!
• Frequent online sites for printing coupons and finding deals in cyberspace.

I usually shop at Publix, but sometimes go to Winn Dixie in the beginning of the week because I occasionally will get a coupon with my receipt for $10 off of a $50 purchase.  I get so excited when that happens, because Publix accepts competitor coupons (those from similar retailers like WD, Food Lion, Target, Albertsons, etc.) and that is one of the reasons I love, love, love to shop there because many stores do not! Competitor coupons are so valuable because they can be stacked with manufacturer's coupons (the ones that are put out by the company that manufactures a particular item) for bigger savings.

Retailers (the stores themselves) often put out their own coupons, too, and this is another reason I love Publix Supermarkets.  Two times a month they publish Advantage Flyers which are displayed in the lobby area near the entrance and exit doors, and these little magazines are filled with additional savings in the form of both manufacturer coupons and mostly store coupons which are allowed to be stacked (put together with a manufacturer's coupon) for big savings. This is what the flyer looks like:







Always grab extras (sometimes these come in the Sunday paper) because the more deals you can make on a particular item, the better.  Search the flyer for special prices and store coupons that will match manufacturer coupons you already have.

Check out the weekly buy one, get one free specials (BOGO's) and look for manufacturer's coupons (MQ's) and retailer coupons (RQ's) that match the product.  You can apply one of each to both products in that situation.  For instance:

1. Ragu spaghetti sauce is BOGO or 2/$2.69
2. use two store coupons for 50 cents off any Ragu sauce (one for each jar)
3. use manufacturer coupon for 75 cents off 2 jars (a single coupon for .75/2)
4. final cost is 2.69 - 1.00 (two store coupons) - 75 cents for a total of 94 cents for both jars or 47 cents apiece.  That is a savings of more than 75% off the regular price of $2.69 a jar!

That is an example of big savings and a great reason to purchase 4, 6 or 8 jars, depending on how many coupons you can get.
Here is what the inserts look like that come in the Sunday paper: