Best Coupons and Deals
There is nothing worse than knowing your newspaper should have 2,3, or 4 inserts and finding newspaper stand after newspaper stand with only 1 or 2 (or none!). Many times we blame this on coupon thieves- people who put in a few quarters- take the entire stack out- remove the coupons and put the paper portion back.
I think that this is one product 99.9999% of shopper buy at some point each week/month. Of course there are alternatives (corn cob anyone?) But I think that most of us prefer the convenience of toilet paper.
The problem comes in when we have regular rolls, double rolls, mega rolls, single ply, 2 ply and cashmere (just kidding about the last one- maybe- who knows what they will come out with next!)
The problem comes in when we need to know “Is this a good price?“. There are two ways to make that determination: per sq foot and per single roll.
Nina emailed and asked, “I do alot of my shopping at Publix, Bi-Lo, and Harris Teeter ( mainly when they have Super Doubles/Triples ) and occasionally at Walmart. I noticed on my Walmart trip over the weekend that they were a lot cheaper on certain items ( specific example is the Finish Quantum Dishwasher packets are $2.97 at Walmart, but double the price for the same size at Teeter ), and I still have the manufacturer q for the $2.15 off 1 to use, which makes it a great deal or as another example, Mots 4 Tots juice is $2.48 at Walmart vs $2.99 at Publix/Teeter. So my question is, how do you know where to shop for the best prices ? It’s a pain to price compare between Walmart and other stores, with the constant back-and-forth. Is there an easier way to do this ?
Do a lot of your followers prefer shopping at Walmart for all of their shopping needs or just specific items ( i.e household needs vs food, etc. ). I just want to make sure I am saving the most money where ever possible.”
I posted the question on our Face Book page and got a ton of great responses:
This is a repost from 2012:
My Family LOVES pepper steak. It’s one of our favorite meals. But the stir fry meat is pricey! I got to thinking- why is the same beef more expensive whole than sliced? Labor of course! So, why not do that labor myself than paying the meat department?
I saw this in the store the other day- $4.99/lb for the whole thin steaks or $6.99/lb for the same meat but sliced up! $2 more a pound? Outrageous (to me anyway!)
SO I had some small steaks in my freezer and cut it upself! It was JUST as good as when I used to buy the pre-sliced king (and you know I never paid full price for it anyway!) The other great thing about buying the full meat and cutting it myself it is more versatile. I can make steaks, I can make stir fry and more – just by how I cut it up myself!
My husband was on vacation (stay*cation that is) This week & we wanted to take our kids to have some fun. We decided a water park (indoor) would be a blast. So I started looking at Great Wolf Lodge. My sister had just been and raved about how fun it was. But the price tag was a sticking point for me!
First- it’s about an hour drive. So gas would factor in as a cost.
Secondly, the room was going to be over $410 + tax! Ouch!
Where I live in NC we don’t get huge amounts of snow. Ice- YES. Power outages due to ice- YES. But actually being truly “snowed in” not really. But I remember growing up in Maryland and having snow and snow drifts that were higher than our cars! Drifts so high that the snow plow couldn’t even move it! That was the craziest week ever!
I still have family in MD and while they haven’t had a HUGE snow like that recently sometimes the roads are just too treacherous to get out & I started thinking- what do we REALLY need to keep in our stockpiles to ensure that we can be comfortable during a few days where we can’t get out?
Fast food isn’t an everyday thing (or even every week) for my family but with my husband on vacation this week he and I have been “splurging” in our own little way….
So last week we stopped in at McDonalds and he got a Cheeseburger. He added lettuce to their plain burger and got charged about 45¢ for a single leaf! You know my blood pressure started to go up…I could get a WHOLE HEAD of lettuce for that price! But I bit my tongue and my chocolate milkshake helped make me feel better.
We started talking and realized that many many times we will have items taken off our order. I order plan burgers with no lettuce, mayo, etc. He always has the tomatoes left off. They charge us extra for adding something but we don’t get a discount for NOT taking those items…Seems kind of unfair right? Like I don’t like cheese on my burgers so if I have that taken off and add bacon- they keep the money for the cheese AND charge me for the bacon…and trust me the 75¢ charged for two measly slices of bacon would buy me an entire pound!
(Note: Can you tell that I don’t really like eating out? Especially fast food? The $3 cost of a tiny little flat burger is MORE than I pay for an entire pound of ground beef at the grocery store. Eating out in should be a treat not a routine in a frugal household.)
So today we stopped by Chic-Fil-A while out running errands (remember I said we are splurging this week? ) My husband got a chicken sandwich – hold the tomato. I see this pop up on the screen:
-1 Tomato (.15)
“Excuse me,” I said, “Did you really just give us a DISCOUNT for not wanting tomato?”
“Yes!,” The cashier responded, “Lettuce, tomato and cheese will all get you a discount if you ask us to leave it off”
I honestly was amazed. I’d NEVER heard of that & I was so pleased. Do you know of any other restaurant (fast food or otherwise) that discounts your total when you leave toppings off??
Angela sent this question, “Where do you find free coupons? I never get FREE coupons and would love to.”
Many of the free product coupons I receive are from being part of the manufacturer’s clubs or panels. Sometimes they will offer a free product coupon in exchange for taking a survey or offering to review the product once the item has been used. A few of my favorites include VocalPoint, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, and Pepperidge Farms Fresh Ideas panel (openings are limited and rare). Kraft First Tast is another great one. Loyalty programs like Coke’s, Huggies & Pampers are great ways to earn coupons too!
Just a reminder MANY MANY of the “free” product coupons we get throughout the year expire 12/31. Remember you will still have to pay sales tax in most places.
I found FREE coupons for Cetaphil (up to $20!), Free Pepperdige Farm Bread, International Delight, Meow Mix and Coke 12 pks that all expire 12/31. On my way out to redeem these right now!
What was your favorite freebie coupon this year?
For many of us 2012 was a year of changes. Many people lost their jobs, some found new ones others are still looking. Maybe you welcomed a new addition to your family or sent an older one off to college. What worked in 2012 may not work in 2013 and what didn’t work in 2012 needs to be changed to something that does!
Personally I want to start 2013 off on a good note- I want to have a successful 2013. So I thought over the next week or so I’d share some of the things I plan on doing to make sure 2013 is a banner year for my strategic couponing.
First, I am going to analyze 2012. What items did I overstock on? What items did I not stock enough of? Where did I blow my budget?
Then I will decide for 2013. If you are expecting a new addition to your family- you may want to add to your budget. Diapers and formula can be very expensive. If you are sending a child to college- maybe you need to transfer some grocery budget out and into the “college” fund. It would be better to have too much in your grocery budget and be able to lower it than try to squeeze all you need into too low budget. That will feed frustration and isn’t a good start to 2013.
Then write it down. That is why I post Tuesday Totals. I don’t really expect you to be interested in what I buy or what I spend but when I have to show my success or failure each week with over 10,000 friends- it makes me stick to my goal. You don’t need to share it with anyone but having it in writing – even just on the fridge- keeps up accountable.
Make a list. Knowing what your family eats and uses is very important. I suggest making a master list of all the items your family uses routinely. For example my list would include things like canned tomatoes, chicken broth, pasta, A1 steak sauce, cereal, oatmeal, and about a thousand other items! These are the items we stockpile when they go on sale. Make a side list of the items you tried but just didn’t work for your family. Unless these are free & you can donate them- don’t buy them!
Take Inventory: With another week of no coupons this is a great time to take inventory of what you have. Check expiration dates of all the products on your shelves. Anything expiring within 15 days either gets used this week or gets donated today. Anything you have too much of gets donated or given away. Wipe down shelves & get organized.
Are you just starting on the Coupon Train? Here are some ideas for you to get ready for 2013 and to REALLY start saving!
-Make your master list. What do you buy week after week? These are the items you need to stockpile.
-Set your budget. This is a good post to help walk you through reducing your spending while still stockpiling (Click here)
-Think about your shopping loyalties. A good post about breaking loyalties: Click here.
