Feb 04 2009
Grocery Shopping and Coupon Planning
Wednesday is typically busy for me since it’s the day most grocery store ads come out. Each Wed I pull up the online ads for the grocery stores I typically shop at. (Publix, BiLo, Food Lion and Harris Teeter)
Here’s the routine I use:
1. Always search for B1G1 deals. These seem to be the biggest money savers especially when you have coupons! You can also use 2 coupons for B1G1 free items if you purchase both. (HT only allows 1 coupon per B1G1 deal.)
2. Check for online store coupons. Food Lion has coupons you can print online and these can be used at Publix. So if Publix has a particular item on sale cheaper, buy it there instead. Plus you can use a MFR coupon on top of that! You can only print those coupons once, but they are usually good for 2 weeks so hang onto it if you can’t use it right away. Kroger also offers coupons you can load on your Kroger Plus card. Those coupons will deduct when your card is scanned if you purchase those items. Pretty convenient. U Promise also offers this service.
3. Remember if you are new to a store, check each individual store for their coupon policies! Even though they are a chain managers can decide what goes when it comes to coupon usage. (Accepting competitor coupons, etc.) For example: HT will accept $/$$ competitor coupons if it comes straight from an ad. However they will not accept a coupon for a particular product.
4. Make more than 1 list…for each store! (Remember this step later.) I make a list for each store and lay them out. I go though each ad writing on my list of items I’d like to buy that are on sale for this week. Once I finish going through each ad and making my list I compare the lists. I see if several stores have an item on sale and if so I see which one has it cheaper!
5. I go through my coupons matching up what’s on my lists. This is where the tricky part comes in if you have one store that doubles coupons and one store that doesn’t. Let’s say both of those stores have an item on sale. Now you have to figure in what the cost will be with the coupon at face value and doubled. Which comes out cheaper? An item might be on sale cheaper at one store, however the other store may double your coupon. So purchase it from whichever store it comes out cheaper.
6. Refer back to #4…making several lists, several times. By the time I am done I completely rewrite my list. That way it is neat, nothing is crossed out and the items are in order of how the store is layed out. I can start and one end and go straight down my list. (It doens’t always happen that way, but I try.)
7. For special events like KMart Doubles or HT Triples I make a list of items I need to check the price on before purchasing. I separate the coupons for those items into another stack with the “Check Price” list. I may or may not purchase the extra items depending on the deal.
For me planning my shopping is a huge part of saving. I live pretty far away from all but 1 grocery store. There are 3 cities that I can drive to that are about the same distance. One city has a Publix that doubles coupons, but the traffic is much worse! One city only has a Publix, Wags & CVS. It is a little closer so I go there when I don’t have to go to HT, Target or Kroger. I have to plan what day of the week I will go so I get all of my shopping done at once! I don’t always go to every store every week, but if there are some fantastic deals I will plan a day trip! This way I save a lot on gas only going once a week.
For those of you in a rural area facing the same delima, this is my way of thinking for this week: I am going shopping on Sunday. Why?
1. Sales for Publix and HT are good until next Tues.
2. CVS and Wags will have new ads out so I can go ahead and shop there also.
3. Kroger’s new ad will come out Sunday.
4. More coupons come out on Sunday.
5. None of my current coupons that I need to use for these store expire before Sunday.
Where I’m shopping and why?
1. I’ve seen the sneak peek for CVS and Wags so I will need to go to both of those stores when the sale starts! Gotta get there early before the shelves are wiped clean!
2. Publix didn’t have great sales this week…only a couple of things that I need to pick up.
3. Right now I coupons for things I can get at Kroger for free when the items are at regular price, so maybe Sunday there will be a good sale also.
4. HT is having another triple coupon event and Sunday is the last day! I might not get all of the deals I want but I can try.
There’s a method behind my madness! 
It all boils down to being organized to make grocery shopping money and time efficient.
Tomorrow I will give tips on my actual coupon organization.
