Shop Smart

This year with the recession hitting the stores in the pocket, they are going to great lengths to have more sales and more ways to lure you in their store!! I want to encourage you to not get sucked in to buying something just because it's a "good deal." Remember to make out your list before you shop for Christmas just as you would the grocery store. Check out all the sales and hit the best ones but try not to get sucked into all the OTHER sales staring at you! It is more important than ever to save save save!

Coupon Smart

So I had someone tell me that Walmart will match a sale from another store, as long as it is the EXACT product. I got to thinking and wondered if all my store traveling was going to come to an end! Nope, I actually still find that in MANY cases, Kroger is cheaper due to the many different ways to collect coupons for ONE item.

For example. Huggies Diapers. I has a manufacture coupon for $3.00 off 1 pkg. of diapers.

I loaded a $1.50 coupon to my Kroger card on shortcuts.com . Then I had another $1.50 coupon from Cellfire.com that I loaded. So when Kroger had Huggies on sale for $9.89 a pkg. I actually got it for $3.89! If I had only used the manufactures coupon at Walmart, matching the Kroger sale I would still have paid $6.89. 

So check out all the different ways to save, it can really pay YOU to do so!

Motiavtion

I Spent $60.00 for all this and saved just over $60.00

I have been holding onto coupons and just waiting patiently for sales on the things I needed. 

Land-O-Lakes butter was one of the biggest deals. This butter at walmart is still $3.46 each and I got each for $1.25 !! and the Aqua juice I got each for $1.39- this is a $4. a bottle juice!And those baby wipes is only paid $1.50 for. Sooooo...........

................it can be done!

I am finding that patience is a key to this.

And if I am holding onto a coupon for something that I really don't NEED, but certainly can USE, I wait until I see that sale. And If there never is one, and the coupon expires, I have to be OK with that. I didn't NEED it right away. It's different if I am holding onto a coupon for milk and there isn't a sale so I just don't ever buy milk. No, I NEED milk. But I don't NEED crescent rolls, however when I get them for .35-.70 cents each, that's where the patience pays off!

No Money For Coupons

So a common question about coupons is, what if I don't even have money to shop with coupons, how do they help me?

I happen to be in a situation where I am not able to shop like I used to using coupons to help buy regular groceries or even help stock up on thing. BUT, I keep cutting them out or printing them off and checking sales because there are still ways to get free stuff!

This week at Meier they had a sale on Huggies jumbo pack baby wipes for $5. I happen to have three $5 coupons for that! so, I get 3 jumbo packs of baby wipes for free. 

Charmin Toilet paper I did the same thing with, I got it free from Kroger!

So keep looking and searching coupons and sites. It is never too much trouble when you can get FREE STUFF!!!

See how I started coupon clipping at the bottom of this page.

Keep it going!

Don't poop out on your couponing! It's easy to do because of how much work it is. But it is paying off for me. I saved $150.00 today!

Seasonal Sales!

Seasonal Sales Cycles

JANUARY - Historically, Quaker has hot deals on cereal/all items. We see Pepsi/Tostitos go on sale mid-January (again, rebates abound for these). Other items of note this time of year are chili, side dishes, anything for hearty/warm meals.
• Post-Holiday Sales
• White Sales
• Sports and Weight Loss Equipment
• Computers
• Winter Apparel and Accessories
· Organizers, Rubbermaid totes, shelf organizers, planners, filing cabinets

FEBRUARY – many of the same food items as January
• Electronics
• Floor Coverings
• Housewares
• Furniture
• Candy and Chocolates

MARCH - Frozen food month. You'll find many stores are offering free freezers or fill-a-bag deals. Between March and April, look for spring cleaning deals, so many cleaner items will be on sale. With Easter, looks for eggs, ham, Kraft products to cycle into good sales. Paper products like towels, napkins, plates are starting to come on strong. Beverage items.
• Spring Apparel and Accessories
• Winter Sports Equipment
• Gardening Supplies
• Luggage

APRIL –
• Spring Apparel and Accessories
• Coats and Hats
• Paint
• Wallpaper
• Jewish Foods and Eggs

MAY -
get ready for summer! Here come loads of deals on BBQ sauce, frozen veggies, baked beans, and condiments of all kinds, summer-time meats (ribs, hotdogs, and ground beef). Also with all the holidays, look for tons of paper goods that match the holiday and pick them up after clearance. These deals generally continue through September!
• White Sale - Linens and Towels
• Spring Cleaning Supplies
• Auto Maintenance
• Home Maintenance
• Sodas & Bottled Water, Hotdogs, Hamburger Meat, Condiments, Paper & Plastic plates & cups
* Raid/Off bug repellents and sunscreens

JUNE –
• Summer Apparel and Accessories
• Pianos
• Television Sets
• Building Materials and Hardware
• Dairy Products

JULY –
• Air Conditioners
• Summer Sports Equipment
• Sportswear
• Craft Supplies
• Sodas, Hotdogs, Hamburger Meat, Condiments

AUGUST –
• White Sale - Linen and Towels
• BBQ and Patio Equipment
• Back to School Supplies
• Bathing Suits
• Fresh Fish and Vegetables
• Breakfast foods (Cold cereal-Juice-Waffles-etc)
• Cold lunch items for in lunch boxes

SEPTEMBER - back to school; time to fill up on snacks! Pudding cups, Capri suns, fruit snacks, cereal sales start up hard again, peanut butter/jelly. Also, like clockwork, there will be Prego coupons in August, and plan on getting lots and using them in a hurry before they expire in September when the spaghetti sauce goes on sale. Sauce wars between Ragu and Prego this month. Campbell’s soups will go on as well and there will be coupons in the end of August for these as well. Lunchables are on sale this time of year, too.
• Back to School Supplies and Apparel
• Gardening Supplies
• Housewares
• Bicycles
• Canned Goods

OCTOBER - Stock up on holiday foods – Stove Top, turkey, instant mashed potatoes, broth, cranberries, marshmallow, ice cream, pie shells, whipped cream, pudding. Look for great Kraft deals again this time of year. Piggyback those Kraft coupons when you can. Crackers are a biggie - going on for $1 or less a box. Lots of extra deals like $ off cheese WYB crackers. The real kicker is the after Christmas food deals! Save your coupons because pie fixings, fried onion, broth and canned green beans will be on deep discount. I got those onions for .50 a can, normally almost $4. These generally continue through December.
• Cars
• Houses
• Fishing Equipment
• Crystal, Silver, and Glassware
• Candy
· Baking/candy-making items (choc chips, sprinkles, vanilla, corn syrup, nuts, etc)

NOVEMBER -
• Winter Apparel and Accessories
• Quilts and Blankets
• Heating Devices
• Turkey, Sweet Potatoes
• Canned goods (soup, chicken broth, condensed milk, veggies etc)
• Baking goods

DECEMBER –
• Toys
• Gift Items
• Party ware
• Post-Holiday Sales
• Party Foods, Baking Goods, and Various Meat
• Canned goods (broth, soups, etc)

Year-round after a holiday, you can always pick up cheap cookie dough and any food related to a holiday.

Continual sales are candy, popcorn, chips, anything snacky, cereal (heavier in the fall/winter, but still around in the spring).
Frozen food sales seem to centralize on a brand and the switch brands the next month. I think the manufacturers buy slot time for sales. So last month, Stouffers was on sale hard, now lean cuisine is. Save the entire frozen coupon and then keep checking back for the brand of the month.

Frozen pizzas go on sale in the fall and then again the spring; not often in the summer because people don't want to turn their ovens on in the summer.

By all means, this isn't everything that you can get on sale, but if you follow the cycle and stock up (I never buy BBQ sauce in the winter), then you can get where you have enough on hand and only need to refill when the items are in season. The result is that you spend less and less with each successful cycle.

When To Buy

Airplane Tickets
When to Buy: Wednesday morning.
Why: “Most airfare sales are thrown out there on the weekend,” says travel expert Peter Greenberg, a.k.a. The Travel Detective. Other airlines then jump into the game, discounting their own fares and prompting further changes by the first airline. The fares reach their lowest prices late Tuesday or early Wednesday.

Books
When to Buy: Thursday.
Why: Price compare between Borders and Barnes & Noble. The former releases its weekly sales and coupons on every Thursday; the latter, every Tuesday.

Clothing
When to Buy: Thursday evening.
Why: That’s the day when stores stock their shelves for the weekend, and when many retailers — including Ann Taylor, Banana Republic and Express — start their weekend promotions. You’ll find great prices and the best selection.

Department-Store Wares
When to Buy: Saturday evening.
Why: Department stores have a lot to mark down for their Sunday circulars, so they frequently start the process on Saturday evenings before store closing. Bonus: Even if the markdowns haven’t been made, many employees will honor the sale price if you ask. Print out the circular preview from the store’s web site, and bring it with you when you head to the mall.

Dinner Out
When to Buy: Tuesday.
Why: Most restaurants do not receive food deliveries over the weekend. “Sunday is the garbage-can day of the week,” says Kate Krader, senior editor at Food & Wine magazine. “No doubt, they’re cleaning out their fridges. Tuesdays, they’re starting fresh.” Dining out on that day offers the best odds you’ll get a meal worth paying for, no matter your price point, she says

.
Entertainment
When to Buy: Wednesday.
Why: Plenty of movie theaters, amusement parks and museums offer extra discounts to consumers who visit midweek. Six Flags theme parks offer a $12 discount to AAA members — three times its usual discount of $4. AMC Theatres offers members in its free AMC Movie Watcher reward program a free small popcorn on Wednesdays.

Gas
When to Buy: Thursday, before 10 a.m.
Why: The price of oil isn’t the only factor influencing costs at your local pump. Consumer usage plays a role, too — and weekend demand is high, says Jason Toews, co-founder of GasBuddy.com, a price-monitoring site. Prices usually swing upward on Thursdays as travelers fuel up to head out the following day. By hitting the pump before 10 a.m. (when many station owners change their prices), you’ll beat the rush and the price jump.

Groceries
When to Buy: Tuesdays.
Why: Maximize savings by combining store sales, which run from Wednesday to Tuesday, with the latest round of coupons from your Sunday paper, says Mary Hunt, publisher of Debt-Proof Living, a money-saving newsletter. “It’s a smart idea to wait until you have those in hand to match up with the week’s sale items,” she says.
To snag savings on items you don’t need just yet, shop on Tuesday, advises Hunt. Chances are, the store will have run out of the sale items. “That means you can pick up rain checks, which allow you to buy those items later when you need them, and at the sale price,” she says.

Update

I thought I would give an update on how my coupon frenzy is going. So far these last two weeks I have saved a total of $150.00 off my grocery's ! I still have some learning to do about this game but it's saving me a little here and a little there!

Cereal Sale

Ok, so here's a post of my couponing adventures today. I'm slowly starting to figure this out! This is from Macy's sale running through January 27th. I bought 16 boxes of cereal (plus 2 oatmeal boxes) for 22 dollars. I used in store adds plus 1.50/2 manufacture coupons in the Smart Source insert.

Free stuff.. why not!

There's tons of FREE STUFF you can get from the manufacture websites. I never used to be hot on this because sometimes you have to give them your email ect. I have found it to be ok. Sometimes they send a newsletter with product promotions or coupons that I want anyway, and its not an everyday email so it doesnt over crowd my inbox. Plus it's kind of fun to get free samples in the mail and you get to test out new products!
Here are some things I signed up for this week. Here are the links:


New Quaker True delights granola bar:
Click here

Quaker Rice cakes minis
Click here