I've been asked a ga-zillion times to share my secrets to saving money on groceries. You asked for it, you got it. Be warned, it's lengthy. But when you're leaving the grocery store with your cart piled high and only spent about $40, you'll thank me :)
First, you need to clip at least six Sunday papers. I clip 10. Buy an even number, whatever you do because you're going to be working with BOGO sets of 2. The reason you need to clip so many papers is because you are going to learn how to use coupons to get things cheap or free and if something is free, 10 somethings for free are better! You can start a stockpile of items (not crazy stockpiling, just a good sized stash for your family). You never want to have to buy something when you NEED it. Because you're going to pay whatever they're charging in that case. You want to buy it when the price is as low as it's going to go, whether you need it right now or not.
You may have been shopping at Wal-Mart, Target or Sam's, thinking you were getting the best prices. You may have thought places like Publix were too expensive to find great deals. Actually, I do about 90 percent of my shopping at Publix. This is because Publix has the most generous coupon policies. Here is their policy (pay attention, now):
Publix allows 2 levels of coupon "stacking". They allow a manufacturer's coupon AND a store coupon. The store coupon can be either a Publix coupon (these will start with the letters L.U. followed by a number) OR a competitor's coupon. Publix considers places like Target, Wal-Mart, Winn-Dixie, Albertson's, Sweet Bay, Aldi, Whole Foods, Family Dollar, Sav-A-Lot and other local grocery stores to be their competitors. They do not consider CVS, Walgreen's, etc. to be competitors in my area (however some city's Publix stores do, so check with your store).
So, to get started, you will need some sort of container for organizing your Qs, a pack of 4x6 index cards, scissors, a stapler, a calculator, and a large envelope (I use a plastic envelope with velcro closure--it's what I take to the store with me each week). For containers, I use 3 of the "itso" brand shallow narrow trays from Target. Find them in the home organization/container aisle for $3.99 each. I wanted something sturdy that was going to last. They are the perfect size to hold your widest coupons. You will be miserable with shoeboxes, or worse, handfuls of envelopes. Believe me, I've done it that way.
Make out your category cards that will separate your coupons. Write them on top of the index cards. My categories are as follows (yours can be whatever helps you remember where you put things).
Air Fresheners/Candles
Baby Items (I trade these with friends since I'm out of Baby Land now)
Baking Ingredients (flour, chocolate chips, baking powder, etc.)
BatteriesBody Wash/Soap
Bread
Bug Spray/Insect Repellent
Butter
Cake/Brownie/Cookie Mix
Candy/Gum
Canned Vegetables
CerealCheese
Chips/Snacks
Cleaning Products
Coffee/Tea
CondimentsCookies
Cosmetics
Crackers
Cream CheeseCream (this would be whipped cream, coffee cream)
Deodorant
Dips
Dishwashing
Drinks
Dryer Sheets
EggsEntrees, Frozen
Entrees, other (like taco kits and stuff)
Eye Drops
First Aid
Foil
Frozen Breakfast
Frozen SnacksFruit (cans or jars)
Fruit Roll Ups
Granola Bars/Cereal Bars
Hair Products
Hand soap
Ice Cream
Laundry SoapMeat, Frozen
Meat, Refrigerated or Canned
Medicine
Miscellaneous Home (you wouldn't believe the stuff you'll see coupons for--so put it here)
Mouthwash
Nutrition Shakes/BarsNuts
Oatmeal/Grits
Office Supplies
Oil
Pancakes & Syrup
Paper Plates, Bowls, Cups
Paper TowelsPasta and Pasta Sauce
Peanut Butter and Jelly
Pet Care
Pizza
Popcorn
Pretzels
Produce (salad kits, etc. and you'll sometimes see Qs for fresh produce)
Pudding
Rice
Salad Dressing
Seasonings/Spices
Shaving
Skin Care
Soup & Soup Mix
Sour Cream
Sugar/Sweeteners
Sunscreen
Tampons & Girly Stuff
Tissues
Toilet Paper
Toothbrushes/Toothpaste/Floss
Trash Bags
Vitamins/Supplements
Yogurt
Ziploc Bags
Once you're organized with your trays and category cards, just wait for Sunday! I typically buy 10 Tampa Tribunes. They are only $1.00 as opposed to the Ledger, which is $1.25. Plus, the Ledger has a new policy that they don't include all coupon inserts unless you get home delivery. To heck with that. I'm sticking with the Tribune. I just buy it from the gas station across the street. However, to save tax, you can go to the machines that sell papers if you'd like. I found it more of a pain to have to get a roll of quarters each week.
First, pull out the "guts" of the paper (the sale papers, coupons, etc.). Take a quick look through the sale papers to see if there are any actual coupons in them. If not, save one or each (Target, Walgreens, CVS, Publix, Toys R Us, etc.) just to see if there are any can't-miss deals this week. Every Sunday, there are at least two coupon inserts--Red Plum and Smart Source. If you're lucky, there will be one from Proctor and Gamble, Unilever, or some other promotion. There are no coupons on Labor Day, Thanksgiving or Christmas weekend. For a full schedule of what's supposed to be in your Sunday paper for the whole year, go to http://www.frugalfairhope.com/.
To save time cutting, I lay out each coupon insert on the table or floor, page by page. For instance, one insert when pulled apart, might take up an entire tabletop. Now stack like pages on top of like pages, page 1 and 2 on top of the next insert's page 1 and 2, etc. That way, when you go to cut the coupons, you're cutting once, but getting a stack of 10 of that coupon. I've learned to staple the coupons while they're still attached to the whole sheet, so when you cut, they don't shift and cut off the UPC code. Now that you've got bunches of stacks of coupons, file them in your new trays. Now that you've done that, here's how to save money with them!
I realize that some of you are not from Florida, so bear with me as I use Central Florida as my examples. I use the website http://www.iheartpublix.com/ faithfully! I check it each day as this site posts new deals regularly. The site was created by a Publix lover who obviously has some connections with the store's marketing department, because she knows in advance on Monday what will go on sale that Thursday. She also lists every coupon that is currently available for the BOGO and sale items and many times prints a link right there on the site for the item!
YOUR BEST BET TO GET FREE/CHEAP GROCERIES IS TO USE A MANUFACTURER'S COUPON (MQ) AND A STORE COUPON ON TOP OF AN INCREDIBLE SALE, ESPECIALLY BUY ONE, GET ONE FREE (BOGO)! That's my formula in a nutshell right there.
Once you've printed your Sneak Peak on Monday, check it over. When you see an item is going on sale, look through your stash to see if you have that coupon. If you clip several papers and faithfully do it each Sunday, it won't take you long to develop a stash with a variety of categories and a variety of brands within each category. Pretty soon, there won't be a coupon out there that you don't have! Don't get frustrated in week 1 and 2. You won't have the coupons to do every deal, but this is where printable internet coupons come in and save the day! http://www.iheartpublix.com/ has the printable links, as well as http://www.smartsource.com/, http://www.redplum.com/, http://www.frugalfairhope.com/, http://www.totallytarget.com/. Remember, Target internet printables count as a "store coupon" that can be used in conjunction with a manufacturer's coupon for the SAME item!
Don't forget all those coupons you see for other stores that say $5 off your purchase of $25 or $3 off your next $10 purchase. THESE ARE GOLD! Take them straight to Publix and use them as competitor coupons! Use them first, before presenting anything else (that's because after you present all your coupons, you may get your total down so low that your balance may not be $25 or $50 anymore). Again, that coupon, "$5 off $25, etc." that's when your total is at least $25 BEFORE coupons. So yes, sometimes I pick receipts off the ground at other stores (or out of buggies left in the parking lot) since these coupons are often printed at the bottom of people's receipts that they just leave behind.
Another scenario: General Mills cereal (that would be Cheerios, etc.) might be on BOGO. they are $4 box regularly. If you have $1/1 coupons and you find Target coupons online for $1/1, now you can save $2 per box. If you put down both coupons on each box, that's a $2 savings on each box. But since one is already free, you will transfer your savings to the one you're paying for, making it $4 off that box. Now BOTH ITEMS ARE FREE! The equation to keep in mind is this: If the value of the coupons that you're using equal one-half the price of the item, then when that item goes on BOGO, you will get TWO free items!! You also get two free items if you have a coupon that says "Buy One Get One Free" and there is a BOGO sale. The manufacturer pays for one item (from the coupon), the store pays for the other (from their sale promotion). You don't pay anything in this case.
Some websites you can visit that will send you free coupons are:
http://www.coupons.com/ (coupons change every few weeks)
The sister site to IHeartPublix is http://www.iheartsavingmoney.com/. This gives you unbelievable information on saving everywhere else besides Publix. It will alert you when Smoothie King is giving away free smoothies, no purchase necessary. Or how to get free dryer sheets (which I've done many times and gotten 10 boxes of free Snuggle dryer sheets, by combining a high value coupon with a store's already low price on that item).
One last thing: I rarely buy meat at Publix. Sometimes, but they don't always have great sales in the meat department. Well, I did an experiment last year and found that I can eat chicken breasts, center cut pork chops and NY Strip steaks from Winn-Dixie and guess what? I don't die! I have been a Publix snob all my life, and decided that I would try the butcher counter at Winn-Dixie for one reason: They have BOGO meat every week, usually about 5 different kinds and they change each week. That means one for the fridge and one for the chest freezer for later on. I buy meat now about every 3 week because of my huge stockpile.
So, sharpen your scissors and get started saving! You'll be eating well and saving big. I hope I've been able to help get you going. Good luck!
