styxgirl
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,941
Jun 27, 2014 4:51:44 GMT
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Post by styxgirl on Apr 10, 2016 22:11:14 GMT
Hello, Many years ago, I clipped coupons and tried to shop smart to save $$ at the grocery store and on household supplies. There's one store I have a loyalty card that saves and you can load some digital coupons onto. It doesn't save me enough though. I also like to shop at Wal-Mart but I'm always mad that I don't have any coupons. I know the do price matching but how do you do it? With a digital ad from another store?
Can you give me tips on digital coupons and saving money on groceries? I can't spend a ton of time on it, but I know even a little effort will help.
I know starting with a meal plan is probably a BIG help.
TIA Peas! |
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Post by christine58 on Apr 10, 2016 22:22:05 GMT
coupons.com
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Post by Linda on Apr 10, 2016 22:26:03 GMT
I really don't use coupons anymore - at least not on groceries (I still use occasionally on stuff like toothpaste and shampoo and Goodnites). I don't usually buy the stuff that the coupons are good on.
I menu plan - and buy what I need for the menu. I don't usually cook expensive cuts of meat except for special occasions and, at least at my WM, ground meat and boneless chicken prices are pretty stable week-to-week so I don't stress about looking for sales. I buy store brand unless the brand name happens to be a better deal that week (hey, it happens). I try not to throw away food - so we eat our leftovers or I re-purpose them into another dish or I plan for no leftovers.
I do the Savings Catcher at WM - there's an app if you have a smarter phone than me or you can go to their website and enter in the code from your receipts. I don't save a lot - again, most of what I buy isn't on sale anywhere (I buy mostly ingredients - not convenience foods) but I figure a couple of dollars most weeks adds up eventually.
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Post by freecharlie on Apr 10, 2016 22:29:38 GMT
I shop mainly at king's soopers and use their coupon app. I add the coupons to the app and forget about them. Then if the coupon applies to what I would buy anyway, I get the cents off, but I don't add anything based on coupons.
My sons are also in activity that uses the gc at kings as a fundraiser. 5% of what I spend goes into his account.
I also shop at target and use their cartwheel app.
I do not shop at walmart. I don't find it saves me any money
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JustTricia
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,842 
Location: Indianapolis
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Post by JustTricia on Apr 10, 2016 22:35:33 GMT
I second the above, use Savings Catcher on the Wal-Mart app. It will automatically price match for you.
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Post by Eddie-n-Harley on Apr 10, 2016 22:45:02 GMT
Familiarize yourself with the regular prices at your store, and then start reading the circulars every week. You will start to get a sense of what's a bargain and what's just a little bit off the original price. This can be especially helpful for meat. My store puts "family packs" of chicken on sale a lot. For 50% off the per-pound price. That means that for just a dollar or two more than I'd pay for a regular size pack of about 3 breasts, I can get 6-7. I have to freeze some, but those frozen breasts are great for the crockpot. When large pork shoulders are on sale, I buy one and cut it into 2-4 pieces.
Read the fine print: a lot of my store's coupons will say something like 2/$5 WHEN YOU BUY 2. Which sucks if I don't want 2. But in my store, the single item is usually on sale without the coupon. Like, it might be deli meat that is regularly $3.79, on sale for $2.99, and then you save MORE with the coupon. But the point is, the single item is still on sale. And some of the items will be 10/$10, because that looks cool in the flyer, but they are actually all $1 each-- you don't need to buy 10.
Find out if you store doubles manufacturer coupons and the terms of that, then shop when they do and you have coupons.
Definitely meal plan; my grocery budget is typically the same week to week, plus or minus $20, no matter how many coupons I do or do not use. (I do, however, try to plan with a mind towards what is on sale and I try to have at least one meal that doesn't require me to spend too much on meat, like eggs or something in the crockpot so I can use some of the meat I froze weeks ago).
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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Apr 10, 2016 22:54:06 GMT
I used to follow some of the coupon websites and do the deals recommended. It always seemed to work for me better at the drugstores than at the grocery stores. I still have enough deodorant from that to supply a football team. Ha. But the "rules" changed and it wasn't near as fun when you were no longer getting things free or even making money on them.
I rarely use coupons any more. I will stock up if I see a product we use at a great sale price. But I so rarely find coupons for anything that we really buy, there's no payoff to spend any time on them.
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Post by hop2 on Apr 10, 2016 23:02:44 GMT
I actually spend less on groceries when I stopped clipping paper coupons. I do use my stores digital coupons but I don't 'impulse' buy due to coupons. Especially $/2 when i only need one.
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Post by crazy4scraps on Apr 10, 2016 23:03:05 GMT
There are certain things that I buy particular brand names only, and for those things I clip coupons and watch for sales and then I stock up. I think the ability to buy stuff in reasonable quantities when it's on sale is what saves us the most money, but that wasn't something we were able to do when we were younger, on a tighter budget and had less freezer and storage space.
So for example, Target usually will have the TP, paper towels and facial tissue I like on sale all at the same time, plus they have a deal for a free $5 gift card if you buy three items. Usually in the coupon circulars in the Sunday paper that week, there will also be a Target store coupon for those same items AND a manufacturer's coupon too and you can use them all at once. Since I know I will be using all of those products eventually, I take advantage of the sale, the free GC and the two coupons and buy what I need at one time to do so. Yes, I have to spend a little more at one time up front, but overall it's cheaper because I always have those things on hand when I need them so I'm not buying a small pack of something later when it's not on sale because I happened to run out.
The same is true for certain kinds of soup we like at the grocery store, it will go on sale really cheap a couple times a year and I make sure I'm buying on sale and using any coupons that might have been in the last couple weeks of circulars. (The grocery store is right next door to Target, so it's convenient to shop at both.)
Not only that, but it pays to pay attention to who has the cheapest prices everyday for the items you typically buy. I eat one kind of breakfast cereal every day and it's expensive, usually over $4 a box at the grocery store. At Target, that same cereal in the same size box is regularly $3.69 a box and at times it's even less than that on sale, so I try to stock up and use coupons when it's on sale. Because I have the space to store six boxes of cereal and the money to buy six boxes at once, I end up saving money in the long run because I know it will get eaten.
We also shop Costco more often than not and if we can't use all of it at once we freeze whatever we can to use later. Their produce, cheese and meat are usually really good quality for the price.
As far as price matching, the easiest way I've found to do it is to have the other store's Sunday circulars in hand when you shop so you can show the cashier at the point of purchase instead of having to monkey around with finding all of the other store's ads online and switching back and forth (and hoping the internet works inside the store). I more than pay for my Sunday paper by clipping the coupons for the stuff I'd normally buy anyway, and the grocery store is right next door to Target so if there is something I want from one or the other I usually just go to the store that has it in their ad.
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Peamac
Pearl Clutcher
Refupea # 418
Posts: 4,229
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Post by Peamac on Apr 10, 2016 23:03:45 GMT
I prefer paper coupons over electronic. The grocery stores in my area (except Albertsons and Walmart) will double paper coupons, but never electronic ones. I get the Sunday paper delivered to my home and when I plan my shopping trip, I got to couponmom.com to look up coupons for what is on my list. Then I clip just the ones I'll need. I used to clip faithfully every week and keep them organized and take the whole lot with me every time I went to the store, but it's just DH and I now and we don't eat as much stuff that has coupons available.
To price match at Walmart, you should be able to just tell them at the register (not self-checkout) what you are price matching and how much the other store has it on sale for. There have been a few times that newer employees wanted to see the sales ad, but we don't get it in our paper or mailbox anymore, so I just try to remember to have it on my phone from the store's website. It can't be a buy-one-get-one-free thing, or a percentage off- it has to be a specific price listed in the ad. Whenever I price match at Walmart, I try to remember to write down the item, other store, size, and price- sometimes it's actually cheaper at Walmart.
If you want to print your coupons, you can get swagbucks for printing them off their coupon section. Or you can go to couponmom.com and searching the printable coupons section for what you want.
If you use the savings catcher app for Walmart, be sure to check which stores in your area that it checks prices with. I've had times where it was on sale cheaper at a store in town, but not in the stores that Walmart checked, so I didn't get the difference. I can't do all my grocery shopping at Walmart anyway, since they've drastically cut down their produce section. Also, a lot of stores have lower everyday prices than Walmart that never make it into the ad. And it seems like any time I buy more than 5-6 grocery items from Walmart, something rings up higher than it should. I can't always keep an eye on the price screen, so I don't always catch it until it's too late.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Sept 30, 2024 12:18:12 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2016 0:27:24 GMT
If you use price catcher, redeem it often. I was saving up until I had a lot of $$ on mine and it disappeared.
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Post by Merge on Apr 11, 2016 0:29:29 GMT
For me, I find that I save much more by meal planning, shopping loss leaders/in-season produce as much as possible, and buying store brands of things when they are comparable quality to name brand, than I ever have by couponing. I tried the coupons for a while, but very often the stores put their own brand of something on sale when there's a coupon for the name brand, and it ends up being less to buy the store brand without a coupon. For things like canned beans, canned tomatoes, broth and dry pasta, IMO the store brand is just as good if not better, and it's cheaper.
I really think the biggest savings is in buying in-season produce as much as possible. We eat a lot of produce. I try to buy what is in season in the US and Mexico at any given time of year, both because the quality will be better and the price will be lower. Produce from Chile runs opposite our seasons and is sometimes cheap, but may be picked early because of the long travel time and never really ripen. So right now we're not eating things like peaches, apricots and plums. We've been eating a lot of citrus through the cold months, but its season is ending and the quality has declined. The US-grown apples (which are picked in the fall and spend all winter/spring in cold storage) are starting to get older and more expensive, so I've stopped buying those. Strawberries are coming into season in the south and in Mexico, and they're getting cheaper. Cold-season vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce and greens are reasonable right now, as is asparagus, but tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers are from Chile and either taste watery and old to me, or they're super expensive. YMMV. I kind of know what is a good price for certain kinds of produce in my area at certain times of the year, and while off-season things from across the world may look cheap, the quality is often lacking because of the long travel time.
And it goes without saying that switching to meatless meals a few nights a week, and learning how to stretch the meat and seafood you do use, can bring substantial savings.
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styxgirl
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,941
Jun 27, 2014 4:51:44 GMT
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Post by styxgirl on Apr 17, 2016 15:19:20 GMT
Sorry I'm so late getting back to this thread! Thanks everyone for the tips. I do use the Walmart Savings Catcher thing ...
@elaynef I lost mine too, never got the redemption email. I called in and they had me log in to my account and resend myself the e gift card. It worked! It would be worth a try... Still a good tip to use often.
I'm going to put it on my calendar to check the sales.
We also have Aldi stores here. Back in the 90s we used to go to them all the time. They really aren't in our path anymore so we just haven't been. Need to do that too.
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Apr 17, 2016 15:22:13 GMT
I used to do more with coupons as well but it was very time consuming and we don't use most of the products anymore in a quest to eat healthier. I am working ft now and just don't have the time to deal with it. That being said, i was taking a friend about this and she said she just scans the items she is already buying (at target with the cartwheel app). I was at target the other day and tried this and was surprised that at least half of the items had cartwheel savings. It didn't save me a ton but it was easy and on items I was already buying anyway.
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Post by pivibird on Apr 17, 2016 17:01:27 GMT
Somethings that I do: 1. Use the website grocerysmart.Com Pick you city and pick your store(s). This matches the ads with coupons and tells you where to find the coupons. 2. I use Walmart Price Catcher but also take ads in That Price Catcher doesn't check and then I price Match in the store. For example, sprouts. 3. I use the Ibotta app. It's like Reimbursement for purchases. You just see what's available on ibotta and if it's what you are buying anyway, you can get money back. Once you have $20 you can cash out. 4. I also use the Find & save app. They also give money back. But this is stire based-you can purchase anything usually. For example,spend ,30 at Joanns and get $5 back. Once you have $25 you can cash out. Below are my referral links to these if you want to check them out. ibotta.com/r/bursa fns.co/ZYcc/4ZDqFZj0ks referral code 6GKN |
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Post by craftsbycarolyn on Apr 17, 2016 20:01:22 GMT
If you use price catcher, redeem it often. I was saving up until I had a lot of $$ on mine and it disappeared. I had that happen to mine too. I live in Ohio and someone used my $25 savings in California. I called the walmmart corp and they took care of it and I got my $25 back. |
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mlana
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,523
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Post by mlana on Apr 17, 2016 20:46:38 GMT
I get most of my savings by shopping sales and stocking up when the price is really good. I have found a couple of simple things that have helped a lot.
When I first started using shopping sales, I stopped by the customer service desk at my Kroger and asked them to define the terms of the sales. If it said 10 for $10, did I have to buy 10 items in the list, 10 of the same item, or however many I wanted at $1/item? If the ad said 2/ $3, did I have to buy 2 or would a single item ring up at 1/$1.50? I asked about how to best use coupons, what order to hand them to the cashier, and when was the $25 total for $5 off a $25 purchase in the meat department determined - before or after the coupons were subtracted?
I had gone at a quiet time and the young lady at the customer service desk was glad to help me. She even offered to come over and override the date on some store coupons I had let expire. She invited me to always call her or the other assistant manager on duty to do that when i shopped. She couldn't do it for store coupons that were more than a couple of weeks out of date and she couldn't do it for manufacturers' coupons ever, but she said I was always welcome to ask. She also gave me a handful of coupons she had behind the counter, just because I stopped by to ask BEFORE I shopped.
One day I was shopping with my big coupon carrier opened in my cart and the manager saw me. He chased me down a couple of aisles over to ask me about my experiences using coupons at Kroger. I explained how great the staff was and how they made me FEEL like they were as interested in saving me money as I was in saving it. He thanked me for sharing this with him, then brought me some store coupons that he had for so much off my entire shopping trip.
Now I always to by the service desk of any new store I shop in, just to make sure I understand their rules. As long as I do this during a quiet period, the folks always seem to be glad to explain things to me. I'm always amazed at how often you can just buy one item and get the sale price or can stack coupons a certain way to save more.
Oh, something else I've learned. My Kroger will double paper coupons up to $0.75 any day, but they NEVER double digital coupons that are loaded onto my loyalty card. Digital coupons are applied first, and, except for store coupons, they are the only coupons that are applied on that item. If you aren't paying attention, the cashier will run your paper coupon over the scanner, then put it in the pile of used coupons even if it wasn't applied. So instead of getting double the $0.50 paper coupon you brought in, you only get $0.25 off from the digital coupon you had loaded on your loyalty card PLUS your paper coupon is taken and is no longer in your possession to use again another day. I now hand my coupons over to the cashier one at a time and I make sure that the register shows the correct amount is taken off. This make it take a lot longer, but I go at slow times and I make sure that anyone behind me knows I am using coupons.
I do most of my weekly shopping at Aldis now, but I do shop at Kroger at least once a month to take advantage of my big coupons.
Marcy
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my3freaks
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,206
Location: NH girl living in Colorado
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Post by my3freaks on Apr 18, 2016 0:09:44 GMT
I shop mainly at king's soopers and use their coupon app. I add the coupons to the app and forget about them. Then if the coupon applies to what I would buy anyway, I get the cents off, but I don't add anything based on coupons. My sons are also in activity that uses the gc at kings as a fundraiser. 5% of what I spend goes into his account. I also shop at target and use their cartwheel app. I do not shop at walmart. I don't find it saves me any money I shop at King Soopers mostly too, using their coupon app, and a KS card to earn 5% for my daughters orchestra account. I try to remember to use the coupons that print out the registers, and King Soopers mails some pretty good ones out too. Target cartwheel has some great deals. I also use a Target debit card and save 5% on every purchase. |
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Post by melanell on Apr 18, 2016 0:17:14 GMT
These days I really only coupon at Target. I like combining the red card 5%, sales, Target coupons, manufacturer coupons, and/or gift card promos together.  |
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Post by freecharlie on Apr 18, 2016 0:25:19 GMT
I shop mainly at king's soopers and use their coupon app. I add the coupons to the app and forget about them. Then if the coupon applies to what I would buy anyway, I get the cents off, but I don't add anything based on coupons. My sons are also in activity that uses the gc at kings as a fundraiser. 5% of what I spend goes into his account. I also shop at target and use their cartwheel app. I do not shop at walmart. I don't find it saves me any money I shop at King Soopers mostly too, using their coupon app, and a KS card to earn 5% for my daughters orchestra account. I try to remember to use the coupons that print out the registers, and King Soopers mails some pretty good ones out too. Target cartwheel has some great deals. I also use a Target debit card and save 5% on every purchase. I just stared using the print out ones. I just got three bags from 31 and can fit almost all of my groceries in them. They cam with a smallish zipper pouch and I have started putting the printed ones in there |
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bethany102399
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,619
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Post by bethany102399 on Apr 18, 2016 1:11:24 GMT
You've gotten some good advice here. Some of the coupon sites I used to follow have had to change direction away from major couponing. The rules changed, or the coupons changed I don't know which. While I'm sure it's possible to get the insane deals you use to be able to get, I think it's easier to meal plan and use a price book.
I take about 10-15 minutes each Wednesday as that's when our circulars come out. I have a price book that lists my rock bottom prices for things I know we use. I only try to buy what we need for the week, unless it's a screaming deal. I can often find good deals on meat at Sams club but always check the price per lb against my price book to see if it's really a deal. I buy in bulk then cut things down and freeze them. We do a lot of crock pot cooking here.
I do like Aldi, their whole chickens are dirt cheap, and things like fruit bars are also a good deal. They have a prosciutto and motz roll that's amazing with some crackers.
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