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Grocery guide and savings tips.
Terms
Terms
Loss leader: Item that is dramatically reduced in price, usually to the point that the store is loosing money on this item. They are used to get you in the door with the hopes that you will do all your shopping while you are there. Look for loss leaders on the front and back pages of ads.
Manufacture Coupon: Coupon put out by the company which makes the product. The Sunday paper is the best course for these. Also look in Magazines, grocery stores, on products,
Stacking: Using both a store coupon along with a manufacture coupon.
Grocery stores
Cub Foods
Cub will except manufacture coupons for three months after they are expired.
Generally has the lowest prices on nonsale items.
Rainbow
Below is how double coupons used to work. I’ve been told that some Rainbows will still be doubling on the last Wednesday of the month. I would call first, or check at customer service to make sure.
Rainbow doubles coupons on Wednesday. They will double 5 coupons, each with a value up to $1.00. If they are over that they will not double them. You have to spend $25, after Rainbow savings, but before coupons to have them doubled.
Example: You spend $35, but have a coupon from the rainbow ad for $5 off, and then your manufacture coupons. You after store savings would be $30, so you would still have your coupons doubled. If you spend $25 and have the same coupon from the ad your total would be $20. They would not double your coupons.
Also, their ad says you need to bring in the little coupon from the ad to have them doubled. It also says that they will not double coupons that have “do not double” printed on them. I have never had a problem with either of these. Their system is automated and doubles them without the cashier even needing to look at the coupons.
Super Walmart
I don’t usually shop here, but have been told that you can bring in ads for the grocery stores in the area and they will honor all the sale prices. It is a good idea if there are a lot of loss leaders from different stores that you want, but don’t want to waste the time and gas to go get them all.
Also, I’ve just learned that some people will take the Aldi ad to SuperWalmart and price match. The benefit I can see to this is that the produce is a little higher quality and you don’t have to drive all the way to Aldi.
SuperTarget/Target
Target.com has coupon on it for SuperTarget. They can also be used at regular Targets. They are in two different places. At the bottom of the page, click on SuperTarget coupons. This will show you the coupons and the weekly specials. They are also in the exclusive brand section which is in the side bar on the coupon page. Click on Exclusive Brands and then on the brand you want. There are usually coupons there, but not always. You can stack the web coupons with your manufacture coupon. I have been able to get really good deals on some things this way.
I’m finding that SuperTarget is cheaper then Cub on some nonsale items. It helps to look around at the things you normally buy while you are there and see what the prices are.
Walgreens
Every month they have a mail in rebates. There are usually free items. Also if you pair sales, coupons, and their rebate other things are free or almost free. There is a form to fill out, and you need your receipts, but you don’t need your upc codes. Just make sure you send it in, I tend to forget. Also keep a copy, I forget that part also.
Things to note
Both Cub and Rainbow have their own way of showing a great sale. Cub’s is called a “Price shocker.” Items that are reduced by a great percentage are labeled with their special price shocker icon in the ad and instore. I think Rainbow’s is “Wow.” I have noticed this on items that are really good deals.
Websites
Cub will except manufacture coupons for three months after they are expired.
Generally has the lowest prices on nonsale items.
Rainbow
Below is how double coupons used to work. I’ve been told that some Rainbows will still be doubling on the last Wednesday of the month. I would call first, or check at customer service to make sure.
Rainbow doubles coupons on Wednesday. They will double 5 coupons, each with a value up to $1.00. If they are over that they will not double them. You have to spend $25, after Rainbow savings, but before coupons to have them doubled.
Example: You spend $35, but have a coupon from the rainbow ad for $5 off, and then your manufacture coupons. You after store savings would be $30, so you would still have your coupons doubled. If you spend $25 and have the same coupon from the ad your total would be $20. They would not double your coupons.
Also, their ad says you need to bring in the little coupon from the ad to have them doubled. It also says that they will not double coupons that have “do not double” printed on them. I have never had a problem with either of these. Their system is automated and doubles them without the cashier even needing to look at the coupons.
Super Walmart
I don’t usually shop here, but have been told that you can bring in ads for the grocery stores in the area and they will honor all the sale prices. It is a good idea if there are a lot of loss leaders from different stores that you want, but don’t want to waste the time and gas to go get them all.
Also, I’ve just learned that some people will take the Aldi ad to SuperWalmart and price match. The benefit I can see to this is that the produce is a little higher quality and you don’t have to drive all the way to Aldi.
SuperTarget/Target
Target.com has coupon on it for SuperTarget. They can also be used at regular Targets. They are in two different places. At the bottom of the page, click on SuperTarget coupons. This will show you the coupons and the weekly specials. They are also in the exclusive brand section which is in the side bar on the coupon page. Click on Exclusive Brands and then on the brand you want. There are usually coupons there, but not always. You can stack the web coupons with your manufacture coupon. I have been able to get really good deals on some things this way.
I’m finding that SuperTarget is cheaper then Cub on some nonsale items. It helps to look around at the things you normally buy while you are there and see what the prices are.
Walgreens
Every month they have a mail in rebates. There are usually free items. Also if you pair sales, coupons, and their rebate other things are free or almost free. There is a form to fill out, and you need your receipts, but you don’t need your upc codes. Just make sure you send it in, I tend to forget. Also keep a copy, I forget that part also.
Things to note
Both Cub and Rainbow have their own way of showing a great sale. Cub’s is called a “Price shocker.” Items that are reduced by a great percentage are labeled with their special price shocker icon in the ad and instore. I think Rainbow’s is “Wow.” I have noticed this on items that are really good deals.
Websites
There seems to be a couple different types of websites. Ones that show you want to do and give tips about how to save $, ones that have forums where people can post what they are finding in-store and how to match it up with coupons, and ones that offer a coupon clipping service so that you don’t have to clip your own, or you can buy large quantities of the same coupon when you find a really good deal.
I know there are tons out there, but these are some of the ones I have found. I use some more then others. I tend to like the ones with forums so that I can see where the good deals are. If I find a site that looks promising I will bookmark it so that I can explore it later. That way I don’t have to remember were it was.
Coupon Purchasing
Some have a minimum order. $5 seems to be the average. There is also a shipping charge, usually not much more then the actual postage. On most sites it is just to cover the envelope and postage. Prices vary, but $.05 - $.10 per coupon is average for regular coupons. If it is a high value coupon it can be more.
Example: $4 off Item X would cost .50 each instead of .10 each.
The Coupon Master
Taylor Town Preview: Helpful because it keeps a list of all unexpired coupons even if they are no longer in stock. I use it to check on a coupon if I think there might be one out there, but can seem to find it anywhere.
Coupon & Forms Central: I have browsed here, but never looked at it too much.
Rebecca’s Forms and Coupons: Generally has coupons left that others are sold out of. I recently ordered from here and wasn’t too pleased. They don’t send you a confirmation email so you never really know if they got your order and are sending it until the coupons come in the mail. I’ve ordered a couple of times now, but only if I can’t find what I’m looking for somewhere else. Only takes Paypal.
The Coupon Clipppers: This is the sight that I like the best. Nice webpage, checkout seems the most reliable. I have ordered from them a couple times and been very happy with the service.
The Coupon Catcher: I haven’t looked too much here. Coupons are only $.02 and there doesn’t seem to be a minimum order needed. They seem to be at least 1 week behind in posting new coupons.
Household Hints
These are sites devoted to teaching your different ways to save $. These usually have a section on groceries. Some are more helpful then others. Your just have to browse and see which ones you like.
Saving Advice: The Web address is for the forum section, but you can play around and see what else they have. I don’t go here often, but at time there are good times.
The Coupon Mom: Requires signup. She has a weekly list of what is on sale at different stores. She matches up coupons and tells you the percentage you save. Also has a complete list of unexpired coupons. I have noticed that she doesn’t seem to match up in-ad coupons with other coupons and tell you the deals on those.
Grocery coupon guide: This one was in my bookmarks. I know the forum link leads you to SavingAdvice.Com. I haven’t really looked at any of the articles.
Great Deals
Hot Coupon World: This site has individual store forum, i.e. Target, Rainbow, etc. It also has a general deal discussion and tips on how to save $. I like to watch the talk on the Target thread. Also this site has a coupon generator for all unexpired Target web coupons. This is great because you don’t have to save the coupons into Word before target takes them off the website.
A Full Cup: I haven’t looked too much on this one either. I know they have both store forums and general savings idea forums. They do have a offline coupon generator for target coupons. This is helpful when target changes a coupon online, but the former coupon is still valid and better. Example, this winter there was a really good coupon with a long expiration date and they changed it to a much shorter date. Both coupons were valid and excepted at target, but most websites only had the short expiration date.
Pinching Your Pennies: This is just one in my bookmarks. I don’t tend look at this one much.
In General
I try to match up coupons with store specials and/or store coupons. I keep track of the types of things we like to eat and appox. how much they cost. Some people have a price book where they keep track of how much items cost at different stores and what a good sale price it, but I haven’t ever developed a good system so I don’t use one.
When I find a great deal on things that we use a lot, or like but can’t really afford, I will buy a whole bunch. From experience only do this with things you know you like, and make sure you watch your expiration dates. Some things are good for longer then the box says, i.e grains and such, but you still have to be careful.
I’ve found it helps a lot if you organize your coupons by categories. I’ve gotten to the point where I have 3 coupon holders. An envelope and some paper clips works great to get you started. My categories are things like cereal, meat, fruits/veggies, ice cream. Whatever works for you is the most important, otherwise you won’t use them.
Watch for coupons when you are at the store. I tend to grab a couple of them if I find ones that I think will use later.
Look at the price tag on the shelf and compare price per ounce, both for different sizes and different brands. Be willing to try a different brand if there is a large price difference.
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