Is it just me…or do the years keep getting faster as I get older? I can’t say that I’ve really enjoyed making this discovery.
Whether I like it or not, it IS in fact a new month. Which means I want to spend some time giving you my best “game plan” advice on what to expect on sale. Ready?
According to my 2009 year-end post What Goes on Sale and When, here’s what came on sale July of last year:
HEAVY on Kraft and Kellogg’s deals – both offered rebates and there was an abundance of coupons including printables. Items such as mayonnaise, BBQ sauce, and tuna fish on rockin’ prices. Summer produce – such as cherries, tomatoes, and plums were cheap. Hot dog and ice cream deals continued. There were also a couple notable deals on bottled water and Gatorade. The best deals on school supplies were also found in July.
Do the school supplies surprise you? They sure through me for a loop last year. But believe it or not, expect to see some of the best school supplies in July. Christy over at Thrifty and Thriving has reported seeing patio furniture at Target for 75% already. I’m not overly surprised. They need to move this stuff to make way for school supplies. If you think I’m off my rocker, just you wait, oh Skeptical One.
At Albertsons this week we definitely are starting to see some of the Kraft promotions roll out. I’m sure hoping Kraft will oblige with some great coupons (anyone remember the HOT Kraft printables they rolled out last year)? I anticipate we’ll see Kraft for awhile this month.
Ready for my list of July food holidays? Sometimes deals *may* correspond to these, but more often or not, this is all in good food fun!
July is…
National Baked Bean Month
National Bison Month
National Hot Dog Month
National Grilling Month
And mark your calendars for…
July 1: National Creative Ice Cream Flavor Day
July 3: Eat Beans Day
July 6: National Fried Chicken Day
July 10: National Pina Colada Day (enjoy this day responsibly!)
July 14: National Grand Marnier Day (ditto)
July 17: National Peach Ice Cream Day
July 21: National Junk Food Day (did we really need a holiday for this in America? Oy!)
July 27: National Creme Brulee Day
July 31: Jump for Jelly Beans Day
For a complete list of what to eat every day in July, please check out The Nibble!
Is everyone else's pantry full of cereal like mine after the Albertsons sale last week? Phew – that was fun, but I may well take this week off of shopping.
Readers Julie and Amy sent me pictures of their trips last week and I wanted to share!
Julie did a number of trips and transactions. Here's her first picture:
And then her second:
So Julie writes that all told, she ended up with 24 boxes of cereal, 2 cans of cat food, 1 box of crackers, and a canister of Lysol wipes for just $5.01 out of pocket! She did this by doing multiple transactions at three stores. The best part? She still has a $4 off-her-next-order coupon she earned for buying the cereal! If you factor that in, her bottom line was just $1.01 for all this food! AWESOME!
Amy also had fun with the Albertsons sale:
After coupons, doublers, Catalinas, and the hot Post sale, Amy only spent $3.50 for all the food pictured – plus she writes that cost included a few other grocery items not pictured here! NICE!
Now I understand…some of you might be reading this, shaking your head going, "what on earth will these ladies DO with all that cereal?" Let me remind you one of the KEY principles to couponing: buy items your family needs and uses when they are at a low price and stock-up as much as you reasonably can. Then you will avoid paying full price just because you need the item. Still perplexed? You might want to read the post I wrote last October on rethinking how and why you shop.
While everyone else goes off to the store and spends $3 -$4 for a box of cereal each week, Julie and Amy will avoid this cost, and instead, head to their pantry to feed their family.
Nice work, ladies!!
Ooooo….this was a fun one today, readers. So this morning I had my coupons spread out, calculator in hand. I realized I had no cash and really didn't want annoying debit card transactions of less than $1. So I asked my husband if he had any cash. He said he had $4, and I said perfect! He was a little surprised that that's all I'd need to do my trip today (you think the man should have an idea by now!). Here's what I ended up with at Albertsons and how I did it:
I did two transactions.
Transaction One:
3 boxes Post Raisin Bran
2 boxes Honey Bunches of Oats
Then, I used these coupons:
$1/2 coupon from 2/28 SmartSource
$1/2 coupon from 3/14 SmartSource
$2/1 PostNaturals printable coupon (for the third box of Raisin Bran)
2 doublers for the $1 coupons
Paid: $1.95
Received a $4 Catalina for buying 5 boxes! (Wasn't I clever to add the "free" box of Post Naturals to generate a $4 Catalina vs. a $3 Catalina? Plus, my store allowed overage on that coupon, further driving down my out of pocket. Your results may vary – but my coupon didn't beep. At all.)
Transaction Two:
2 boxes Honey Bunches of Oats
4 boxes Pebbles
1 gallon milk
Then, I used these coupons:
(3) $1/2 coupons from 3/14 SmartSource (Pebbles and Honey Bunches)
3 doubler coupons
$4 Catalina coupon generated from Transaction One above
$2 coupon for doing receipt survey (this happens every so often)
Paid: $0.23
Received a $4 Catalina for buying 5+ boxes!
Bottom line: $1.82 profit for everything pictured above! Best of all, I still have $1 left from the money my husband gave me this morning!
What will I do with my $4 Catalina? I'll likely be back for more cereal! More info on this sale HERE and HERE.
By the way – time to toot my own horn. Remember how I made a list of what goes on sale and when? Read my write-up for March – I specifically mention increased cereal promotions including Kellogg's and Post! This is why it's important to pay attention to trends – they often roll around the same times per year.
Anyone else do this deal today or planning on it before Sunday? Any additional transaction ideas?
What am I doing this morning? Well, clipping out all my Post coupons for the
Albertsons' sale that starts today, of course!
If you're wondering how to work this sale with lots of coupons, limited coupons, or even no coupons, I highly recommend you check out this "post on Post" Fabulessly Frugal has put together. They've given some great transaction ideas to make sure you get the best bang for your buck.
While you're at it, you may also wish to watch this Vlog on how to determine how much cereal you should stockpile. The principals they talk about would also carry over to other items you're wondering how much to stock up on in your home.
Thanks, ladies!
I like to pay attention to
what comes on sale and when. Why? Because about 60% of my savings or better just comes from buying store sales and loss leaders. The coupons sweeten things up! When you find those deep discounts, you'll want to stock up as reasonably as you can afford and have room to store.
Here are my best predictions on what we should find on sale for the month of March.
First, you should be aware that this is National Frozen Food month. Last year, the promotions weren't too great, but I got word from Fabulessly Frugal that Albertsons is kicking off some rather HOT frozen food deals – combined with the 7-day doubler coupons in yesterday's paper, there WILL be some freebies. I also noticed Safeway might have a decent frozen food promotion running – I'll be sure to check that out today and report back! Look for items such as frozen vegetables, pizzas, appetizers, ice cream, and in particular, frozen seafood items.
Because we're in the Lenten season, we're going to continue to see some great fish and seafood deals – both fresh and frozen. At the moment, we're seeing deals on corned beef and cabbage in preparation for St. Patrick's Day.
It's also National Nutrition Month. I'm hoping this means we'll see some great deals on items such as salad mixes, healthy/organic food items, and vitamins. However, I doubt we'll see the stores push this as hard as Frozen Food Month.
Other predictions?
Cold Medicines. I believe this is the last month we'll see really good stock-up prices on cold rememdies until fall (think cough syrup, cough drops, etc). However, we might start seeing more deals on allergy medicines as the weather warms up.
Cleaning Supplies. If I recall correctly, last March we saw some pretty darn fantastic sales on products such as Clorox, Lysol, Windex, and the like. I stocked up perfectly on these items – I'm just starting to run out! I noticed there were a fair amount of coupons for cleaning products last weekend, so I think my hunch may be well founded. By the way, why cleaning products now? Two words: SPRING CLEANING.
Soup. We're already seeing less of the Campbell soup deals, and I imagine those great "warm you up" food promotions will start to entirely drop off.
Baking Goods. I hope as we approach Easter we'll find some good promotions on baking essentials such as butter, cream cheese, flour, and sugar. This is a guess; I don't recall from last year.
For fun, you might want to see this great list of National Food Holidays. While I doubt we'll see a promotion for every one of these, some might be worth celebrating on your own:
March 2: National Banana Cream Pie Day
March 8: National Peanut Cluster Day
March 14: National Potato Chip Day
March 18: National Oatmeal Cookie Day
March 21: National French Bread Day
March 26: National Spinach Day (parents, see any fun ideas here?)
March 28: Something on a Stick Day
March 31: National Clams on the Half Shell Day
Are these posts helpful to you? Let me know. I will say this – I've been paying a lot more attention to sales this year (even more so than last) so I can further develop my what goes on sale and when notes for you.
Reader Jennifer left a very good question at the bottom of one of my posts this week. I felt it deserved answering in a separate post and not in a quick comment. Here's what she writes:
I need help! I'm new to this & I'm not sure what to do in the meantime while trying to grow my stockpile. I currently have 0 groceries & I mean that literally. The fridge is empty for some condiments, eggs, and a few bagels. The cupboards are bare except for cans of soup….This is mostly because I'm so busy at home with my baby and hubby is so busy at work we just haven't had time to shop.
I just started collecting coupons… I'm going shopping tonight and I know that a lot of the coupons expire the end of this month. Should I go ahead and use all of the coupons (that expire soon) to stockpile items that I need anyway even if they're not on sale? I hate for the coupons to go to waste & then end up paying full price anyway…
Jennifer, I'm going to do my very best to take you from square one to stockpiled!
Let's start with your last question – and it's a great one. Should you use coupons just because they're about to expire? In short, NO!! It sounds like you're in a place where you simply NEED some food. Here's what I propose you do. Head to the store with your coupons, but pay attention. Often you'll find the generic counterparts are cheaper than the name brand at full price with a coupon. Your goal is to simply find the lowest price on the items you need – coupons or not.
So let's talk about two kinds of shopping that we do as couponers and I think this will clear some things up. First, there's NEED-BASED SHOPPING. These are the items you need for the week ahead to complete your meals. For instance, produce, dairy, bread, meat, and/or anything you don't have in your stockpile. When you are starting out, most of your shopping will likely fall into this category. But as your stockpile grows over the months, you'll notice the items on your NEEDS list declines. You'll also learn how to become a more savvy shopper and you'll discover how to find deals on these items.
The second type of shopping is STOCKPILING. The idea here is that you buy items your family needs and uses when they are at their low prices. By using coupons on low prices, you sweeten the deal. But let me get something straight – not every stockpile deal uses coupons! I've stockpiled cans of broth when my store had them for $0.33 each. Don't think you MUST use coupons to stockpile! If you find a good deal, go for it!
Knowing this, how do you start? I recommend that you start each week with a meal plan – do not go to the store willy-nilly to buy things you "need." Make sure every item has a purpose. The items on this list become your NEEDS-BASED items. Do your best to find deals on these items, but do not stress! I like to shop at Fred Meyer or Winco for items I need but aren't on sale. I know that because these stores generally offer lower prices than their competitors, I'll be saving money. For more ideas, read this post I wrote about how to save money without using coupons.
With your need-based shopping out of the way, start to slowly add in a few stockpile deals each week. For instance, you might find a deal on soup you like. Try to get as much as you can reasonably use and store before it goes bad. I also recommend you start slow so you don't overwhelm yourself. Ease in! I also recommend you start looking to acquire household and personal care items such as toilet paper, shampoo, soap, and toothpaste as soon as you can. Why? Because you can often find these items very cheap if not free and these items can easily eat into your grocery budget otherwise. I think they'll make the biggest difference in your budget the fastest.
So how can you find these great stockpile deals? Well, are you not reading this blog?! Each Saturday night (hey – that's today!) I feature Walgreens and Rite Aid matchups. I also do Fred Meyer deals. All of these come late in the evening. On Wednesdays, I tackle Albertsons. Simply scan through my list and pick and choose a few deals out that make sense for you. I'll tell you the sale prices, which coupons to use, and what you can expect to pay. After awhile, you'll get the hang of it and you'll be able to find similar deals in nearly every ad you pick up.
I decided this morning to give this post a great visual, so I turned once again to my friend Mr. Excel:
I created this chart to illustrate how your shopping might look now and how it might evolve over time. Suppose you ordinarily spend $100 a week at the store. For the first couple months, you may continue to spend this amount. However, the composition of your trips will be different. Now you'll start looking for better prices on the items you need and you'll begin to carve out a small portion of your budget to stockpile.
As the months progress, you should notice a couple things. First, the amount of the items you need each week should slowly go down. Why? This is simple. As your stockpile grows, you'll be able to draw on those items to complete your meals. The second thing you should notice is that you'll be spending less overall. You'll also begin to notice that different items go on sale at different times of the year. This means it's going to be important to cycle through one calendar year to fully develop your stockpile.
At 12 months, I would say I've seen the biggest savings in my budget. As of late, I've devoted more of my budget to stockpiling – particularly meat and other "more expensive" stockpiling deals. I couldn't have afforded to do this at the beginning. Three months from now, the chart may change again. But the conclusion is I've ended up with a nicely rounded stockpile and am spending less overall. Of course, your personal shopping and stockpiling needs may yield a different chart…but this illustrates how it *might* look for some.
Jennifer, I hope this serves to help answer your question. I also encourage you to read the series of coupon lessons I wrote – you can find them in Getting Started. I know I have a lot of knowledgeable and talented readers and would love their input too!
One thing that seems to perplex the non-couponing community is why the content of our shopping carts just look…different. After all, do we really need 10 boxes of cereal, 3 tubes of toothpaste, and 20 cans of tomatoes for the week? What exactly IS this all about?
Reader Julie sent me a great email last night explaining the epiphany she had about shopping. She writes:
When I first got started in November, I was pouring over coupons, making my list then going to the store for a week's worth of groceries and trying to keep straight exactly which brand and how many of each item to buy to make it worth my while. It was taking me 3 times as long to get through the store… I was a little irritated that couponing seemed to mean that I'd have to give up my evenings to go shopping… and I'd spend 2 hours making my list, extra time at the store, and the bottom line was I'd save around $7. WHAT?! My time is worth way more than that!
I think many people that start out with coupons do exactly what Julie did here. You try to just "work coupons in" to what you're already doing: your weekly trips to the store to buy the food you need for that week. And understandably, you'll end up frustrated and your savings probably won't amount to much.This is not how I recommend you go about using coupons either.
Fortunately, Julie's story does not end there. Here's what she realized:
Then something snapped. I don't know if it's something I read or what, but it hit me that if I did it all right, I didn't have to purchase 75 unique items in one shopping trip (not an unusual week of shopping if I had recipes and such). The idea is that if I planned right and bought lots of the same thing when it went on super sale and I had the right coupons to coordinate, a regular weekly grocery trip would likely include milk, eggs, bread, and some fresh produce.
BINGO, Julie! What you've described is stockpiling and it goes hand-in-hand with couponing.
Julie's shopping has gone much smoother since she had this simple revelation about buying items her family needs and uses when they are at low prices and simply buys the dairy and produce she needs to round out her menu for the week. She continues:
My mind feels sharp, I feel like I've won a victory for the family and for myself. My head is swimming with ideas and I'm excited and that feels awesome.
Here's the part I loved. In her follow-up email to me, she told me this:
Last night my husband said dinners were better since I started shopping this way.
Well I'd say that's a perk! When your pantry starts to round out, you'll have many ingredients to choose from to encourage your culinary inspirations and creativity. To review: couponing and stockpiling should work to reduce your time in the store, liven up your dinners, and cut your grocery budget.
Want to read more about this topic? In October, I shared how your mindset about grocery shopping will need to change once you start couponing. You might want to read this post on how to build a stockpile. And if you're still hungry for more, check out the "Getting Started" section of my blog.
Thanks, Julie, for sharing this! I'm sure it will encourage other readers getting started. As a reminder, I fully encourage my readers to share their testimonials and pictures of their deals! Please read how here, and then email me at thecouponproject at hotmail dot com and you just might be my next reader feature!
Photo credit David di Biase
