Everybody knows what coupons are and if your mailbox looks like mine, then most days it’s overflowing with sales ads and coupons for various stores. I deem most of these papers annoying junk mail but I still cut out the grocery coupons religiously.
Today was my shopping day and I headed out after the torrential rainstorm ended. Normally I’m pretty organized with a weekly menu plan, shopping list, and necessary coupons. These are the weeks I’m able to save $50+ on my grocery bill. But I’m only human, so today I went armed with half a list and the sales flyer.
My best buy in the store today was on Paul Newman’s lemonade. Now, many coupon experts would probably argue that this wasn’t a “best buy” because this is not usually a product that I purchase, but my kids and I enjoy lemonade so whether it comes from a powder mix or a cold container, it will still get used in my house.
So the regular price was $2.69 – $1.00 store sale = $1.69. OK, not a bad price. THEN…I found my coupon! It was only .50 off but doubled that gave me $1 off, so I got a half gallon of lemonade for .69 !! Plus I had two coupons so I bought 2 containers. Not bad!
I’ve become much more aware of sale prices by scanning the grocery flyers. Yes, this may be an obvious move, but before we decided to really watch our pennies, I always just threw this “junk mail” in the recycle bin. Now I carefully check the $1 items and I try my best to find the coupons for items that are on sale that week.
I think a lot of manufacturers fake out consumers by requiring multiple items purchased in order to get a measley .50 off. If these are items that will be consumed in your house, then try to store them and not buy as many on your next trip. And be sure to check out the “amount saved” on your grocery receipt…to see $25-$35 savings can really brighten your day!
July 2nd, 2010 at 1:38 pm
I have been searching for more info on these kinds of coupons for quite a while now.