I hope you all had a great weekend. Did you get your coupons? Did you have a chance to scan the ads? I sincerely hope that little by little this will start to make sense. If it's not, please leave a comment or email me. I want to know what more I can do to help this "click" with you.
Today I'm going to talk about simple strategies for shopping in the store. Some are common sense, some have been passed on to me by friends and family, and some I've just come to discover for myself.
In no particular order…here we go.
1. First, always make sure you are NOT hungry before going shopping! This should be common sense. Hungry shoppers = impulse shoppers. And usually the foods you'll end up with are convenient foods, too. Not always the healthiest of choices! Reach for a healthy treat to snack on before you leave, such as this scrumptious pear.
(Photo credit Petr Kovar)
2. Try to shop alone, if possible. This isn't always possible, and I know. In fact, I almost never get to shop alone myself. But when I do, I can tell you I feel way less rushed and can pay attention to my list and coupons. If I must bring my kiddos, usually our first stop is the bakery for free cookies. That occupies them for a bit.
3. Always shop with a list! If you read Lesson #8 over the weekend, you know that I generally have two categories on my list: items I need to make meals for that week, and items I'm planning on stockpiling. I will then determine what items to get where (I usually shop at two stores, depending on the sales). Next, I organize the coupons I plan on using in my little coupon organizer. Remember this guy?
4. Become acquainted with the stores you frequent. I try to make my grocery lists organized by the store aisles to avoid backtracking. One question I get A LOT is, "don't you spend a lot of time at the stores, Angela?" Actually, no. I don't. I've already essentially done the shopping at home - I know what items to get, the quantities, where they're located, and which coupons to use. Even a "big" shopping trip generally doesn't take me more than 20 minutes in the store. (If it takes more, it's usually because I'm waiting in line…although I try to go when the stores aren't as busy.)
5. Calculator & "Thinking Cap" required. Consider this example. You are out of sour cream and need some. The store has the bigger size (let's say 16 oz) on sale for $2. The smaller sizes are $1.50. Being a smart shopper, you'd naturally take the bigger size, right? After all, that's a better deal when looking at unit prices. Now if you didn't have any coupons, I'd agree with you. But since this is MY hypothetical situation I'm gonna say you also have a coupon that reads "Save $1 off ANY sour cream." In this case, you'd be foolhardy to grab the bigger one. A smarter move would be to buy two smaller ones and use two coupons. Here's the math:
One 16 oz. @ $2
VS
Two 8 oz. @ $1.50 each = $3
Less (2) $1/1 coupons = $1
In the final analysis, you'd end up paying $1 less by buying two smaller ones with coupons! This phenomena occurs FREQUENTLY in the couponing world, so pay attention!
(Photo credit Flavio Takemoto)
6. Have a "Plan B" - especially for complicated transactions.What happens if you get to the store and they are out of the boxes of pasta you'd hoped to buy? Simple answer is get a raincheck. But what do you do if you'd counted on those boxes of pasta for a $20 mix n' match promotion? Or worse, an elaborate Register Reward transaction you'd constructed the previous evening? This is why I ALWAYS recommend you have a Plan B. My Plan B is usually I just don't proceed. Period. I leave the store. Too many times when I've tried to "wing it" I end up spending more money than I wanted and leave grouchy. Don't do this. Either think of something else to purchase to make your deal work, or hang onto your coupons for next time. And if it's possible, always ask Customer Service for a raincheck. It's usually not a problem at all.
7. Find ways to limit outings.I'm all about keeping it simple, and I hope that's come across. While I love great deals with coupons, I also love staying at home with my family, reading, going for a run (although it's been awhile…), and the like. In other words, I'd prefer to NOT be going back and forth to stores all bloomin' week long. I've gotten better about doing one grocery trip and one drugstore a week (or thereabouts). Sure I miss all sorts of deals every day, but I also know it's more important to stick with my grocery budget AND my gas budget each month. I also know more deals will be comin' around the corner.
I'd love to hear from my readers. How do you simplify your grocery trips and avoid wasting time or money in the stores? Please speak up! Let's share our ideas with one another.
Tomorrow I'm going to be talking a little more about shopping. This time, I'll be concentrating on how to find great deals on items you need, but may not be on sale.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
I second the advice to shop alone. I try to go when my son’s at preschool, but it doesn’t always work out that way.
He’s usually a pretty good kid, but I’m not above bribery. Usually a lollipop will hold him while I go through the aisles. A bakery cookie is a reward for being a good, helpful shopper. While he munches the cookie, I head to a seating area (one store has a cafe, the other has a pharmacy waiting area) and make sure my coupons are in order for check out.
Sometimes he is content to watch the lobster tank (yuck!) while I double check my list.
Yup! Bribery works for us too! Love the lobster tank idea! Sometimes I’ll also keep a couple of toys handy for the kids or promise to take the to the library or play area afterwards.
I try to go at 6 or 7 am every Monday morning. That way my 3 kids 4 and under are still asleep and can stay home with their Daddy! Now that I have gotten the hang of this couponing thing I am able to do it with my kids but prefer to go it alone! I am starting to realize deals do come around all the time and I don’t have to hit every one! Now that I have a great stockpile I don’t have to shop if I don’t feel like it…except for milk and produce of course! I love coupon shopping but it can take up ALOT of your time and can consume you if you let it!!!
I also go shopping at 6am before my husband leaves for work. I would so rather lose sleep and go to the store looking like a monster lady than take the little ones. If I do have to take my kids, I make sure my coupons are all paper clipped together and labeled by transaction before I leave my house.
The only thing I hate about couponing (or me as a couponer, rather) is getting to the register and not having things work as planned. Then I have to try to figure it out with people waiting in line behind me and even if the cashier is friendly, I hate it! I like your advice to just let it go if it’s not working out as desired instead of trying to re-figure it right then and there. I’m going to do that next time because I too usually spend more in that case.
Also, my cell phone has a calculator in it, so I just use that instead of bringing a separate one.
I have been reading your blog for a few months, but have never left a comment. So it’s much belated, but I also want to say hello!
I’m glad you left a comment, nice to “meet” you!
It’s always empowering to know that if the deal doesn’t work, you are not obligated to follow through. Stop the transaction, put the items back, or ask Customer service for assistance. A good deal can suddenly become a very bad deal if your ducks aren’t lined up.
Hope you’ll comment more! I love to hear from my readers.
I’m semi new to this, so I am having a hard time understanding # 5. If you had (2) $1 off coupons, why not just use them on the 16. oz sour cream? You will pay $2 after coupons for 32 oz of sour cream, which to me, is the same as paying $1 for 16 oz of sour cream. Am I missing something? The example is comparing using a coupon on two smaller containers vs. not using a coupon on the bigger size. I don’t see how spending $1 on 16 oz is “cheaper” than spending $2 on 32 oz. They are the same, its just up to you how much sour cream you need!
My scenario may well have a hole in it!!
Maybe a better illustration is a real-life one. Remember the $3/1 Snuggle coupon that recently came out? It was good on ANY Snuggle. Well, there were many places you could get Snuggle on sale for $3 or less over the last month. In my mind, it would make sense to obtain 3-4 coupons and get 3-4 bottles for FREE after coupon vs. using your $3 Snuggle on a larger bottle priced $7-8. Does that make sense? You’d end up with the same or more Snuggle, but free because you used the coupon on the smallest size allowable.
Sorry if my math didn’t add up quite right in my example. I hope my real-life illustration does a better job of what I’m getting it.
Okay, that I get! I had two of those Snuggle coupons and purchased 1 liquid fabric softner at 3.99 and one box of dryer sheets for $3.99 also. I was happy to get them for about $1 each! I considered the larger sizes but I felt pretty good about getting 120 dryer sheets for $1! I dropped the ball on getting them on sale for less than $3, but I was happy with .99 cents! Thanks for the clarification- I’ve been getting more and more into couponing and I love it! I’m a SAHM and part time college student, so we make every PENNY count!
In your example about using two $1 coupons for two sour creams, how does that work when the coupons all say “Limit one coupon per customer,” or “Limit one coupon per purchase?” That is the problem I haven’t been able to figure out. Are we just counting on cashiers to not pay attention when we’re handing them more than one of a particular coupon? I don’t want to be in line with the cashier accusing me of attempting coupon fraud, that would be embarrassing.
Ok, I just wanted to say that as I continued on and read the rest of your lessons, I found the answer to this. It sounds like it would work with the “Limit one coupon per purchase” coupons, but not the “Limit one coupon per customer” coupons. I really appreciate this Coupon 101 course you put together! I feel much more prepared to start couponing now. I just wish I knew how those guys on that Extreme Couponing show were getting hundreds of dollars of groceries and only paying a few dollars, when you really can’t double coupons that much……
Most coupons do NOT say “limit one coupon per customer.” Go check! Most all coupons read “limit one coupon per purchase,” which isn’t as clear is it could be. What this means simply is that you need one coupon per ITEM you purchase. Some of the new fine print on coupons now states “limit one coupon per item purchased” or something that’s more clear. So if you want to purchase two sour creams, you would need two $1 off coupons. Does that make sense?
If you grabbed the SUnday paper today, I challenge you to go back and read the fine print of those coupons. Only very, very rarely will the coupons state “limit one per customer” or “limit one per transaction.” And yes, in those rare instances, you need to follow the letter of the law.
In the matchups I do, I’ve made sure to follow the fine print and won’t suggest deals outside of the scope of the coupon.
Did that answer your question OK?
Yes, thank you. :0)
The only one that I can think of that limits it one to a customer is the one for the artisan tostitos.
One more question
What about if it says “May not be used with any other coupon” In the past I’ve interpreted that as may not be used with another manufacturer coupon, but it could be used with a store coupon. But some of them now (rayovac on facebook) say One coupon (ANY Kind) per purchase. Some of the weight watchers coupons I’ve gotten at my meetings have said “CANNOT BE COMIBINED WITH ANY OFFER< COUPON OR PROMOTION
I try very hard to coupon ethically, how do you interpret these coupons.
hey, I was reading one of my coupons for dole canned fruits and it said get $2 off on any 4 cans of dole fruit. But I also found a coupon on the coupon network for .75 cents off 4 dole canned mandarin oranges. However the $2 off coupon says its not valid in combination with other offers.