Tip of the Day #28

Just thought I would give you a run down on how I go about my shopping trips each week.
 
First, I get the weekly newspaper.  I get the Charlotte Observer, because it is the biggest city closest to me and it has a lot more and better coupons than my local paper.

Then, I look at the store inserts in the paper or online.  I look for the best deals and circle them.  Sometimes I refer to other bloggers to get this info. or to compare.

Next, I start looking at the coupons I have in the paper and online at coupons.com or couponnetwork.com.

I match-up the great deals with great coupons if I can.  A lot of times I will not find coupons, but great deals are still great......coupons just make them super great!

Most grocery store inserts come on Tuesdays.  New sales at grocery stores start on Wednesday morning.  So around Tuesday night or Wednesday morning I try to get match-ups done.  Same rule applies...great deals are still great even without coupons!

If, I can use coupons of course I do!  But not always.  The best way to save is just to buy items when they are actually on sale.  (Be careful about this...sometimes it may say it's on sale when you're actually only saving $0.08!  THIS IS NOT REALLY A SALE!!)  So, just keep your eyes open.  If you look at the fine print usually you will find where it says how much you will save.

**For example, BOGO sales are the best because you are saving the total price of one item!  So, if I buy a bag of chicken nuggets that are originally $7.99 and below that it has a BOGO sticker...then that means I can get 2 bags for $7.99 or 1 bag for $3.99!  AND if I have 2 coupons for that item I can use both (if you buy both) and save more!

So, the big idea here is just to buy when it's on sale and buy enough when it's on sale to last for around six weeks.  This is the sale cycle in the South.  You can't do this with everything, but most things you can!  So my advice if you're just starting out is to just buy items when they are on sale and when you get the hang of that......add the coupons!

If you haven't gotten in too deep yet you will notice that this couponing thing is very addictive!!!  But who doesn't love to save!