Monday, October 05, 2009

$47 in coupons...

is what I saved at the grocery store last week (and I didn't get the HEB meal deal or purchase items that were not on my list). I posted this on facebook and got lots of comments, so I'll share some secrets.

1 - save coupons and use all on the same day. I stocked up on a few items, and did my "big" shopping trip for the month on this trip. I still did spend about $140 (but that's about a (25% savings).

2 - lately I have been the freebie queen. I love getting things in the mail, being the first to sample items, etc. Sometimes they come with the item and a great coupon (like $2 off), or a coupon for a free item (we got 2 free boxes of tea). Here are some of my favorite sites:
3 - I've even won coupons in contests, like this one for Lean Cuisine (in which I won 7 free dinners).

4 - utilize the in-store coupons. I don't really care which toothpaste or deodorant we buy, so I'll just use whichever has a coupon.

5 - have family members save their coupons. My mom had a stack of 'em waiting for us when we came to visit.

6 - put a dot next to the items on your list that you have a coupon for in your stack.

Hope this helps! What suggestions do you have in saving money with coupons at the grocery store? Next week I'll try to post how to save money without coupons...

3 comments:

Kristy B said...

Do you buy store-brand items as well? I've tried to do coupons, but I buy as much as I can of the store-brand product, that it seems even with a coupon, the name brand stuff is still more expensive.

Alexis D. said...

I do buy mostly store brand. Yet, sometimes with good coupons (like $2 off cereal), it makes the cereal only 75 cents! I try to stick with coupons over 50 cents. But when you request samples, they usually send you much better coupons than you get in the paper.

Anonymous said...

One time I combined store coupons, manufacture coupons, sales and rebates and saved well over 50% on the shopping trip. My new policy is to make small trips according to the sales and using coupons. My average savings is 35% - 45%. Another great food savings is Angel Food Ministry. They sell food units for $30 and it is an awesome deal.

Jacquelyn Smith