How to create a grocery list!

Do you create a grocery list when doing your weekly/bi-weekly/monthly shopping?  Do you look at an ad to see what the sales are for the week?  If not, you definitely should!  Once you start to read the ads weekly you will start to see trends on what items are on sale, what are good sale prices, and what you should stock up on. 

How to create a grocery list!

To create your weekly grocery list (depending on how many stores you shop at, create one per store).  Start with one store at a time.   Making lists for multiple stores can become confusing quickly and you may miss out on a deal when dividing your attention between multiple stores. 

1.        Review your coupons (that way when you see which products are on sale, you can recall what coupons you have).

2.       Create one list per store.  If you see an item that you will use, it is on sale, and you have a coupon for it; write it down. 

Example:             Ragu      2/$3 © 2

So, with that you can see what you need to get, the price of the item, a circled C for there is a coupon, and the quantity.

If there is a Mega Sale (as they happen often around here; you need to  buy any 10 of the participating items to get $5 off) I put a star next to the item so I know that when I count up how many items I have they need to equal 10.  So, let’s pretend that Ragu is one of the 10 participating items.

Example:             * Ragu $1.50 ©   5

                                * Rice Snacks .89 © 4

                                * Mac & Cheese .59 © 1

There is a limit of how many groups of 10 participating items you can purchase in a transaction, although, my stores do not know how many that is.  I would recommend not doing any more than 40 of the Mega sale items in a transaction.  If you have more than 40, just create a separate transaction.

3.       Pull out your coupons as you are creating your list.  You may want to have a pencil case to store your coupons or a paperclip to keep them together to clip to your list once it is finalized.

4.       Once you are done creating your list for your first store, move on to the second store and create a second list.  If there is an item from the first store that is cheaper than the second store, simply move it from the first list to the second. 

5.       Stick to your list.  With the exception of items on sale not listed in the ad, stick to your shopping list.  Stores will advertise specific products on sale to get you in the store and then you may walk out with a substantial amount more than planned due to in-store advertising.  Unless it is something that you absolutely need, it is on sale, or you have a coupon for it, go ahead and get it.  If not, leave it behind.  It takes great will to stick with your list and not add any ‘extras’.

6.       Before checking out make sure you do a quick check on your coupons, make sure you have a coupon for the items you are purchasing and you are not forgetting any, especially for those items you picked up that are on sale and not on your list!

7.       If possible, leave your kids at home.  Having additional ‘distractions’ allows room for missed sales, more items purchased that were not on your list, or coupons not being used.  Chaos always tends to break out at the checkout, especially, if coupons are being difficult.

Some additional tips in saving money:

·          When your store is having a large sale, know when their trucks come in.  I have learned at my local grocery store that I shop at (Marsh) I need to go the first night of a large sale (Thursday evenings) or on Monday evenings due to those that shop only on the weekends.  Usually if I try to go on a Saturday, they are often out of many of the items that are on my list.  So, if I go either of those two nights I have a better chance in being able to purchase everything I need on my list.

·         Know what your local stores coupons policies are.  This can tend to be quite a challenge as most stores do not know their own coupon policy and it may even differ between stores within the same chain.  I have stopped shopping at one of my local stores due to their coupon policy being different each time I go in to shop and it varies with cashier. 

o   Some of our coupon policies are:

§  You can use a manufacturer coupon and a store coupon on the same item.

·         Other than this rule, you can only use one coupon per item.

§  Only the first two coupons double, each additional like coupon of the same product will be redeemed at face value.

§  One of our stores actually has a limit to how many coupons you can use whether they double or not.

·         When you are having your coupons scanned watch the screen.  Make sure the coupon does come off.  Sometimes cashiers need to override specific coupons even though you have purchased the correct product, size, quantity, etc.

·         With that being said, when using coupons make sure you are purchasing the correct product,   size, quantity, etc. 

·         Only buy, stock up on what you need and will use.  There is no point in spending money or getting products that will sit on a shelf. 

Once you get a system down, get a coupon collection started; couponing is definitely easier, faster, more efficient, and you will definitely see the savings!

If you have any questions or would like help in creating a shopping list please feel free to let me know!

Happy shopping & happy savings!

Hugs!

Upcoming deals at Meijers!

Did you know that if you create an account at Meijers you will receive an email every Tuesday morning on their upcoming ad for the next week?

Here are some great deals at Meijers this week! 

Ball Park franks .98/each (I have a coupon for .55 off one package making it .43 a package!)

Eckrich brats 3/$5 or $1.67 each (I have a coupon for .55 off one so that makes it $1.12 a package!)

Ragu 2/$3 (I have a coupon for $1 off 2 making them $1 each!)

Chi Chi Salsa .99 each (I have a coupon for .50 off one which will double to $1 so FREE!)

Country Crock 2/$5 (I have a coupon for .40 off one which will double to .80 of one so that makes it $1.70 each!)

Fig Newton 2/$5 (I have a coupon for $1 off one which will make it $1.50 a package)


If you don't happen to have any of these coupons, you may be able to do a search for printble (name product) coupons.

You can also print coupons from:

http://www.smartsource.com/
http://www.redplum.com/
http://www.couponmom.com/


Also, you may be able to visit the manufacturers website and print from their website as well!



Once Marsh posts their ad tomorrow I will add their specials on here as well as Krogers! 

Happy savings & enjoy a great week!

Instant Transformation! From Dirty to Clean!

Does your dish clean this well in under 2 minutes?

In taking care of the kids, I accidently left the eggs cooking a tad bit longer than I should have and it resulted in this mess....




After less than 2 minutes of the pan being in my sink with Lemon Brite I took my wash cloth across the pan and this happened...



In less than two minutes from the moment I put the pan in the sink I had it clean...





Voila!  My uncle has told me multiple times about how well Lemon Brite works.  He has told me stories on how he has cooked on/stuck on food, he puts it in the sink and just minutes later the food is floating on the surface of the water.  Amazing!

How to become a Savvy Saver!

Everyone is looking for a way to save money!  How do you save money at the store?  Do you clip coupons?  Look for specials in the ads?  Maybe you are a family that doesn’t use coupons because you see the task too daunting, time consuming, or not worth the “few dollars” you would save.

What if you could save at least half off of your grocery bill?  Would the thought of using coupons possibly not be so bad?  Of course, you would not have to go to the extent of those on Extreme Couponing. 

Those individuals are some serious couponers and are really obsessive in using coupons.  I would never recommend anyone to purchase any item they would not use or even stock up on a product that they couldn’t use before the expiration date.  It’s not practical and in reality, you really are not saving any money. 

While you may not immediately save half off your grocery order when you first start to coupon; there are definitely strategies one should follow.  Here are a couple of things that you should do first when starting your coupon journey:

·          Set up a coupon system.  You want to create a system that works for you and is easy for you to use.  I would highly recommend a binder.  You can start small with a 1 inch binder and always expand as your coupon inventory expands.  You will also want dividers, baseball card holders, and some vinyl envelopes that have a Velcro flap for those larger coupons (I use these for my Bed, Bath & Beyond coupons).

·         Start studying the ads.  Yes, study them!  After a few months you will start to see a trend on what items are frequently on sale, how often they are on sale, and if the price is a good sale price or not.  You will also be able to do this with coupons as well.  Some coupons are better than others.  I tend to not use the coupons in which I need to buy multiples of a product to save $1.  More times than not, you are spending more just to save a dollar.

·         Only cut/collect the coupons that you will use.  If you clip a coupon and save it “just in case” you are more likely to buy it because you have a coupon, not because you need it.

A few tips to get you started…

·          See if your store has previews of the next weeks ads.  Here in Indianapolis, I am able to see the ads for the three stores I shop at prior to the current week ads ending.  With that, I am able to see if an item that is on sale this week will be on sale next week and helps me plan ahead.  Since our ads run Thursday-Wednesday, I always clean out and create my list (if I need to do grocery shopping that week) on Wednesdays. 

·         Start collecting coupons by either receiving them in the mail, purchasing multiple newspapers on Sundays from the dollar store, or even trading with friends.  (If you do purchase multiple newspapers, make sure you will use most of the coupons in them before you buy them)  When I was purchasing newspapers from the dollar store, I would buy at least 13 of them; but only if I was going to use the majority of them. 

·         Create your binder tabs.  Mine are: paper/plastic, pantry, snacks, canned food, kids, pets, personal care, pharmacy, baking, freezer, fridge/dairy, and breakfast.  You may want to add/delete sections to best fit your needs.  Another fun tip, if you write on your tabs with a Sharpee, you can easily change the tab name as needed by erasing the ink with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. 

·         Visit your local Kohls store to purchase the reusable fabric bags.  I use these all the time for our groceries.  One of our local stores and Target actually pay you .05 for each bag you use.  I promise if you use them consistently you will have them paid off quickly.  Typically, you can fit 5-6 plastic bags worth of groceries in 1 reusable bag or even 3 gallons of milk.  These are the best bags because they are large, fold up and button conveniently, and then can easily be carried over your shoulder.

One frequent question I get is, “How do you remember to bring your bags and coupons with you?” 

My response?  “You never leave home without your coupons.  If you are going to go into the store for a quick trip, bring your coupons.  You never know what you will see that you may need/it is on sale/you have a coupon for.  I always put my binder in my Kohls bag with some additional bags and just bring it with me.  Saves me another trip to the car” J

My golden rule for grocery shopping (and my three year old understands it) If it is not on sale/not a necessity/there is not a coupon for it, it is not bought.  There are rare exceptions to this rule…milk/eggs/bread (we purchase our bread from our bread store).  My most recent visit to our bread store was $9.  With that I purchased, 2 packages of Aunt Millie bagels, 3 loaves of white bread, 1 load of wheat bread, 3 packages of sub buns, 2 packages of hotdog buns, and 2 packages of hamburger buns.  All were of Aunt Millie brand.  If I would have purchased that from my local grocery store, I would have easily spent $32.  I love to save money and help others do the same.

Throughout the weeks/months to come I will continue to share with you how to save money and still eat healthy.  At the same time, I will also share couponing tips as well as electronic coupon codes as they become available to me.  Please share my blog with your family and friends as we all have the same goal: save money. 

If you have any questions you would like answered or if there are specific tips/information you would like on saving money please email me or leave me comments here on my blog.

Happy Savvy Savings!

New Coupons!

Bath & Body Works: Free Shipping on any on-line purchase $50 or more.  CODE: SUMMER50

Walgreens: 25% off all photo gifts through May 21.  CODE: Maygifts

I'm Moving!

I'm moving!  My blog that is :)  All of my new posts will be posted on my new blog home http://www.ceomomsonline.com/greensavvymama?articles

I look forward to seeing you at my new home!

Buying Coupons=Saving Money!

For the past two months now we have been buying our coupons and I have to say it is definitely paying off for us.  Since October, we have only been purchasing our groceries from the grocery store and everything else we need for our household or ourselves we purchase from Melaleuca.  In our monthly order we only buy what we need for that month.  So, in switching stores to Melaleuca our grocery bill monthly has been cut drastically and we weren't cutting or using at least half of the coupons in the newspaper (which is a waste since we were only buying the newspaper for the coupons).  After doing some research I found a couple of web sites that sell coupons.  They post national coupons, just not coupons for the Indy area so there is definitely a lot more variety.  While still getting the newspaper, we decided to buy our coupons for a couple of weeks to see if it was worth it and it most definitely is!

The perks to buying your coupons is that in coupon/grocery shopping you are shopping like you do with Melaleuca.  You only buy the coupons that you need and you only buy the groceries that you need.  You aren't having to clip unneeded coupons, clip any coupons (since they already come pre-clipped), or even clip coupons for those products that 'I may need' (and let's face it, if it's in the 'I may need' category we buy it and don't use it).

With that, we have really stuck with our, if it's not on sale and we don't have a coupon it isn't bought.  The only exception to that is bread (we buy that at the bread store), milk, eggs, and produce.  While milk, eggs, and produce may be on sale, it is very rarely if at all there are coupons for them. 

Tonight I only spent $3 on coupons and that was on 40 coupons that I will most definitely use and know those products are on sale.  (Make sure you really look through your ad and notice patterns of how specific items go on sale; I promise, there is a pattern).  Sometimes a product may go on sale every 2 weeks where another item may be on sale monthly, etc.  For us, we stock up on the Mega Sales that Marsh & Kroger have every month and then on the 'off' months where the sales aren't that great we either aren't going grocery shopping or we are just buying those couple of things we need: milk, bread, etc. 

Today, at Target, I bought 20 boxes of Jell-O for $.07!  Only $1.40!!!  Which is awesome for Jell-O that was originally .67 a box. 

For anyone with kids, shopping for registeries, etc. Buy Buy Baby informed me this week that they accept any stores coupons that sells baby/kid products (Macys, Meijers, Target, Kohls, Baby Depot, Babies R Us, Bed, Bath, & Beyond, and any other store I have forgotten).  As long as they sell baby/child products and the coupon is NOT expired, they will accept it.  They will also accept electronic coupons as well. 

Beware, most restaurants do not accept any electronic coupons (meaning, coupons on your phone).  Most stores will accept them but the restaurants are more stingy on accepting them. 

Happy weekend!  Happy Savings!

Hugs!