The Secrets of My Success - Part 5, Putting It all Together

Okay, let's apply all of these tips and tricks to real life.

A few weeks ago, one of our local stores was running a 10 for $10 deal on Hamburger Helper. My regular store charges $1.50. So, if I got 10 boxes at my regular store (something I wouldn't generally do), it would cost me $15. By shopping at this other store, I got them for $10.

On top of that, I had three coupons for Hamburger Helper - two were for $.75 off three boxes and one was for $1 off three. I could have just gotten 9 boxes, so each box was "useful" for something. But the store was offering to give me the 11th box for free if I bought 10, and also wanted to give me 70 bonus Box Tops for Education.

So, in all I bought 11 boxes of Hamburger Helper ($16.50 at my regular store) for $7.50. Hamburger Helper lasts a long time in my pantry, so stocking up was a good deal. I also got $8.10 in box tops for our school

Here's another example that doesn't involve stocking up:

The regular price for a box of oatmeal at my regular store is $2.64. I didn't know that off the top of my head; I found it on a receipt. But I did know that it was over $2, so when another store was offering oatmeal for $1.88 a box, I knew it was a good deal. In addition to that, the store sent me one coupon in the mail that week - for $1 off a box of oatmeal. So, I got that box of oatmeal for $.88.


I haven't even touched on the stores that offer double coupons! The same day I was buying Hamburger Helper, I had a coupon in my envelope for $.50 off two bags of Chex Mix. I planned to buy them at my regular store, which was my next stop. As I carried all of my HH through the store, I noticed a display with Chex Mix for $.97. I didn't know what the regular price was at my store, but I was guessing around $1.50. I could get two bags for $1.94. With my $.50 off coupon, it was $1.44, giving me both bags for around what I would have paid for one at the regular store.  What a deal! But when I checked out, the store doubled my $.50 coupon. I walked out with both bags for Chex Mix for $.94 (and two more box tops).



I hope this has been helpful for you - I'd love to hear what you've taken from this series to help you in your own efforts to save money!

The Secrets of My Success - Part 4, The List

If you want to save money at the store, you have to have a list. If I go into the store all willy-nilly, (and/or hungry) I will walk out with all sorts of fun little treasures that I didn't need and that blew my grocery budget.

I set up my list like a set up my coupon binder - by sections of the store.

I use a lined sheet of notebook paper. On one side I do medications/toiletries, office supplies, bread, and the "food" areas of the store. On the back side I do cleaning/paper supplies, soda/water/snacks, and anything refrigerated.

On each line, I write the item I need. Now that I have my old receipts, I can also pencil in what that item should cost me so I get an idea of what I am spending before I walk into the store.

Next, I go to my coupon binder. Since it is set up in the same categories, I can quickly see if I have coupons for the things on my list. If I do, I pull them out, place them in an envelope (a regular, long envelope) and note what they are on the line with the item. This is a great place to note if I need a specific size or number to use the coupon.


As I shop, I fill in the price, rounded up to the nearest $.50, so I know what I am spending before I get to the check out.


So, those are my secrets. Coupons, organization, ads and a list. Tomorrow we'll apply all that to actual shopping situations so you can see how it all works together. 


See you back tomorrow!

The Secrets of My Success - Part 3, Ads

Store ads are the next "secret" of my shopping success. Every week I review the grocery ads I get in the mail and in the paper.

Before I can get the most from my ads, though, I have to know what the prices are at my regular store. The Coupon Mom recommends some reconnaissance. I've done that before. I've made a list of our typical grocery purchases and gone to every store in town to write down what they charge for that item. Now I know that my usual store has the lowest price 85% of the time or more, so I don't bother with the research.

What I do is keep my receipts. I can go back and see that the last time I bought Kleenex, I paid $3.98 for a three pack. I can tell if anyone is offering a better deal by just checking the weekly ads. 

The regular price at my usual store is my baseline. If any other store has Special K on sale, for example, I know they have to beat $2.64 - and by more than just a couple pennies - for me to make a special trip to another place just for cereal. In general, I have no problem going to multiple stores for the best deals, but the savings has to be worth the gas and extra effort.


Come back tomorrow for one more "secret" before we put it all together on some real-life examples.

The Secrets of My Success - Part 2, Coupon Systems

Okay, you have all of your newspaper and printer coupons. Now what?

Now, you need a system for them. Most people think of coupon files as either a card box or an accordion file with categories. Either option is great and they work for lots of folks.

I never liked those systems because I would have to scroll through each piece of paper and more often than not, I'd find the perfect coupon, but it would be expired. I started sorting mine just by month of expiration. Then on the first of the month I would just toss the entire previous month's leftover coupons. Alas, this is also far from the perfect system. Any time I wanted to run out and pick up one particular thing, I had to go through each month to find the right coupon.

The Coupon Mom recommends a binder system which I love. Switching over to the system was a lot of work, but I am so happy with the results. I was able to use a binder I already had. I bought one set of trading card sleeves for the small coupons and used extra 4x6 photo pages that I already had for the large ones. My binder doesn't sit up on a shelf because I have those longer pages in there, but I don't care. It works for me and cost me very little to put it together.

Before I assembled it or sorted my coupons, I first made a list of the "categories" I wanted to use. I try to sort by areas of the store. My categories are things like medication, toiletries, cleaning supplies, dairy, bread/coffee, etc. Then I put them in roughly the order they are in my primary store. I used file folder labels to make the tabs for my sections.

Now, not only can I see what I have very quickly and easily, but I can also see what coupons have expired and clean them out.

There's one more trick about clipping coupons that I should have mentioned yesterday. I print out coupons for things like cookie dough, frosting, brownies, and candy - things we rarely use at our house. Why? Because I have a school-aged child and his class has regular parties and other occasions where I am asked to contribute something to the celebration. By having these coupons on hand, I feel a little ahead of the game.

Also, I don't print out or cut out every coupon I find. I only do this for things we would buy anyway. I If I'm not picky about brand, I might cut out coupons for three different kinds of fabric softener and try to play the sale ads to get the best deal. Otherwise, I clip and use coupons for the things I know we will use.

So, what do you do with your coupons? Do you have a system to make them manageable? I would love to hear about it - I am always up for trying to ways to better organize my life!

Come back tomorrow and we'll talk about the next "secret" to my shopping success.

The Secrets of My Success - Part 1, Coupons

Recently I have been posting about successful trips to the grocery store on Facebook. I have been having a lot of fun seeing how much money I can save when I go to the store. Some friends have asked how I am doing this. I thought it would make for a great blog series.

So, Part 1 is Coupons. Without coupons, you aren't going to be able to save much money. I have been clipping coupons for a few years now. Then I read The Coupon Mom's Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bills in Half: The Strategic Shopping Method Proven to Slash Food and Drugstore Costs this year and that helped me find more coupon resources and more ways to use them.

If you don't have a printer with your computer, you will have to rely on the newspaper for your coupons. This isn't a bad system. My local Sunday paper is $1.75, and I save way more than that with the coupons inside. I usually buy two every week.


If you have a printer, I would go to the Coupon Mom website and sign up for her email newsletter. I find the site a little busy for my preferences so the newsletter lets me focus in on the things I want - more coupons. The newsletter links me to coupon sites and then I can look  through available coupons and print them off. 


If you do nothing more, this will get you started on the road to saving money at the grocery store. If you want more options, you can also go to company websites to sign up for their email newsletters. There's no guarantee that each one will send you a coupon, but it is another avenue. I am considering setting up one email address just for my couponing if I start signing up for company materials. 


One other place I go for coupons is the Box Tops for Education site. You can print coupons for select items that come with Box Tops that you can clip for your school. Not a bad deal - I save money, and help out my son's school at the same time.


Come back tomorrow to find out what I do with all these coupons once I have them.

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