Totally amazed this morning at Walgreen's when EVERY person I saw (ok maybe not everyone but more had than didn't have) had a binder for coupons!! It was interesting actually because I've been shopping at Walgreen's on Sunday morning for a few months now and I've never really noticed before. The word must be getting out, coupons rock!
After seeing the sea of coupon binders this morning, it compelled me to post a few reminder tips in regards to coupon courtesy and etiquette.
1.) Be friendly and polite while shopping. This morning it seemed like everyone was there, with their binder, but it was more like a contest/race than a pleasant shopping trip. I couldn't tell that anyone was really HAPPY to be saving, more like everyone seemed to be trying to get the item first and into their cart...even if that meant buying, 6, 7, or 8 of the same items...yes I saw that this morning. So, remind yourself not to be the green eyed monster snatching up items and tossing them in your cart, just so you can say you got a good deal!
2.) WHAT ARE YOU DOING with all those multiple items? I saw a woman loading up on like 8 dial body washes...yes I REALIZE they were on sale and had a great RR attached to them, but when you get home and need to store all that-where do you put it? I can only hope that the people I saw buying multiple items (beyond the amount of adding to their stockpile) were planning on donating it to a pantry, church, or family member in need. Otherwise, I encourage everyone that when shopping with coupons (while extremely exciting and a great head rush) to analyze each items you are purchasing. There is nothing more embarrassing than getting home and having to explain to your husband why you bought him 6 body washes when he already had 2 from your LAST coupon shopping trip!!
3.) Give the cashier your store ad coupons instead of expecting them to ring up correctly. (My big goof today, even I still mess up lol). I always seem to forget that I have to show the cashier the coupon in the ad I'm expecting to use, it isn't their JOB to scan it for you. Now, that isn't to say some cashiers won't do it just to be nice, but on a Sunday (their busy coupon day) have the ad ready and ready to be scanned with your other coupons to save the cashier time!
Hope everyone saved a bunch today! I didn't buy much, just a few sharpies and deodorants (sharpies for coupon class and deodorants for church) and of course my paper! (If you haven't bought your paper yet, there was only a Smart Source insert this week.) Let me know what kind of deals you got!!
Showing posts with label food pantry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food pantry. Show all posts
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Friday, August 12, 2011
Preparation is Key!!
When it comes time for grocery shopping (whether you are using coupons or not, but ESPECIALLY if you are using coupons) preparation (ie: planning) is the KEY to a good (ie: lots of savings) shopping trip!
The way I prepare for my shopping trips is by following 3 rules! Budget, Meal Plan and List, and Sales
First Budget:
Set your budget before ever making your grocery list for the week. If you do a monthly budget already this should be easy, however if you do not do a monthly budget and are unsure of how much you typically spend on groceries then I suggest you sit down and give this some good thought. If you don't typically set a budget decide early on whether you want to shop for 1 week of groceries, 2 weeks, 3 or even 4. (For myself I have found that shopping for just 1 week of groceries at a time I can save the most money since the sales are new each week. By shopping just once per week I'm able to get the things I need and usually have a little extra for those stock up items when they go on sale-ex:noodles, sauce, sugar). When I first started couponing we were spending about $170-$200 every two weeks on groceries (and toiletries, household, diapers) which adds up to $400 a month!! (WAY WAY WAY too much in my opinion). I'v now been able to drop my grocery spending to about $70 a week (including toiletries, household, diapers) which is only $280 a month (a savings of $120 a month). My current goal is to drop that down to only $50 a week.
Second Meal Plan and Make a list:
Make your meal plan for the week (or however long you'll go between shopping trips) by looking at the sale ads. I repeat MAKE YOUR MEAL PLAN BY LOOKING AT THE SALE ADS. The most expensive part of your bill will be meat, so watch for meat sales and base your weekly dinner around what is on sale. From there ad on your sides, snacks, and anything else you'll need to EAT that week. Make your grocery list from you meal plan list and check your coupon binder or folder to see what you coupons you have for sale items that week.
Finally Sales:
This kind of goes with the steps above but I want to reiterate how important sales are. As I said above meat is expensive, if you can cut down the meat price by buying the sale items then do it! Another way to save on meat/meals is if you can buy sale meat in bulk to put in your freezer and do multiple meals ex: HH had hamburger patties last week for $5.99 for 10, that made about 3 meals for my family at only $0.89 per burger!! It's quick, easy, and CHEAP)
So I've got a little challenge for you!! If you haven't started couponing or saving much money on your groceries yet then I am challenging you to spend at least $15.00 less this week (or in the next two weeks, whenever you'll be shopping) on your groceries (this means food items only, not toiletries, household, or diapers).
If you have been couponing and following the above steps for a while and have already cut down your bill then I challenge you to find a way to cut $5.00 more dollars off of it! IF you just don't think you can cut down the $5.00 then add $5.00 TO your budget and spend $10.00 on food you can donate to the local food pantry or local church!
I bet you can do it by watching the sale ads alone!! Good luck and Happy shopping-and yes, I'll expect feed back :)
The way I prepare for my shopping trips is by following 3 rules! Budget, Meal Plan and List, and Sales
First Budget:
Set your budget before ever making your grocery list for the week. If you do a monthly budget already this should be easy, however if you do not do a monthly budget and are unsure of how much you typically spend on groceries then I suggest you sit down and give this some good thought. If you don't typically set a budget decide early on whether you want to shop for 1 week of groceries, 2 weeks, 3 or even 4. (For myself I have found that shopping for just 1 week of groceries at a time I can save the most money since the sales are new each week. By shopping just once per week I'm able to get the things I need and usually have a little extra for those stock up items when they go on sale-ex:noodles, sauce, sugar). When I first started couponing we were spending about $170-$200 every two weeks on groceries (and toiletries, household, diapers) which adds up to $400 a month!! (WAY WAY WAY too much in my opinion). I'v now been able to drop my grocery spending to about $70 a week (including toiletries, household, diapers) which is only $280 a month (a savings of $120 a month). My current goal is to drop that down to only $50 a week.
Second Meal Plan and Make a list:
Make your meal plan for the week (or however long you'll go between shopping trips) by looking at the sale ads. I repeat MAKE YOUR MEAL PLAN BY LOOKING AT THE SALE ADS. The most expensive part of your bill will be meat, so watch for meat sales and base your weekly dinner around what is on sale. From there ad on your sides, snacks, and anything else you'll need to EAT that week. Make your grocery list from you meal plan list and check your coupon binder or folder to see what you coupons you have for sale items that week.
Finally Sales:
This kind of goes with the steps above but I want to reiterate how important sales are. As I said above meat is expensive, if you can cut down the meat price by buying the sale items then do it! Another way to save on meat/meals is if you can buy sale meat in bulk to put in your freezer and do multiple meals ex: HH had hamburger patties last week for $5.99 for 10, that made about 3 meals for my family at only $0.89 per burger!! It's quick, easy, and CHEAP)
So I've got a little challenge for you!! If you haven't started couponing or saving much money on your groceries yet then I am challenging you to spend at least $15.00 less this week (or in the next two weeks, whenever you'll be shopping) on your groceries (this means food items only, not toiletries, household, or diapers).
If you have been couponing and following the above steps for a while and have already cut down your bill then I challenge you to find a way to cut $5.00 more dollars off of it! IF you just don't think you can cut down the $5.00 then add $5.00 TO your budget and spend $10.00 on food you can donate to the local food pantry or local church!
I bet you can do it by watching the sale ads alone!! Good luck and Happy shopping-and yes, I'll expect feed back :)
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