There were the Lysol/Clorox/Natural disinfecting wipes…regularly $3.50 – $4.50 per cannister here, they went on sale for $1.99, and we had loads of $1 off coupons. Add in a $10 OYNO when you buy 10 items, a $4 OYNO when you spend $12, etc., and we were able to refill the empty space on our storage shelf with 20 cannisters for less than $1 total. Similar with Laundry Detergent, broth and soups, baking goods like flour and sugar, hand soap, well, you name it, there has been a deal and a coupon just in time. Whew!

Over the last four weeks, we’ve spent a total of $126 on grocery and drug store items, using coupons, sales, and special promotions…and received $627 in groceries. Granted, I would not have purchased the items at the “retail” price the store claims, but still, a fairly reasonable price to refill my empty shelves. In return for shopping, we’ve received FIVE free turkey offers. Yikes! My freezer is big, but not THAT big. I ended up with three free 20 pound turkeys, and two nice hams. At a standard retail of $1/lb, that’s another $100 in savings (although the Thanksgiving sale price is 49c/lb).

One turkey was cooked, carved and the meat frozen for later, one is thawing in the refrigerator, and the remaining turkey will wait in the freezer for New Years. One ham for Christmas, and one for, well, maybe Easter?

They wouldn’t. The economy was much better, deals much harder to find, and the store simply said the ad didn’t mean they would match other stores turkey prices, just that their store brand turkey per pound price was competitive with the per pound price of a comparable turkey at the other store.

Hmmm. Well, how about the store brand fresh turkey, which was also cheaper at the other store? How about the store brand turkey breast, which was also more expensive than the competitors? Maybe the other store brand frozen turkey? Again, no. The specific store brand was different than any other local brand, and they would only match stores advertising a COUPON for a generic “store brand” frozen turkey, 12-15 pounds. I was never really sure that coupon existed, and the feeling of being deceived kept me from shopping at that store, or even trying to find deals, for over a year!

Thank goodness this Thanksgiving, stores are trying harder than ever to encourage customers to find “no reason to shop anywhere else” by removing some of the confusion on the low price guarantee. Of course, it can still be difficult to get stores that don’t normally “price match” competitors ads to provide a great deal. If so, here are a few general rules to remember:

1. Most stores price match on local brands, which they have all purchased and sell at the same per-pound price. In my area, it’s currently 49 cents a pound, in my sister’s local area it’s 29 cents per pound. My area won’t match my sister’s price.

2. We won’t be undersold on turkeys – only applies to store/local brand. Don’t expect to get national brands, free range, organic, or other “specialty” turkeys at a competitor’s price.

3. We will match any competitor’s advertised price – again, this only applies to the competitor’s store/local brand, not national brands, free range, organic, or other “specialty” turkeys.

4. We will match any competitor’s coupon – this requires you to produce the other stores coupon, in print, and it must be an exact comparison. Differences in brands, size, fresh versus frozen, or other criteria can exclude the offer.

5. Most price matches on turkey are limited to one per customer.

6. In all cases, you will need to provide printed evidence of the competitors offer, and in general internet printed coupon/prices are rarely honored.

To receive full membership benefits, just

• print your FREE 60-day trial membership offer:

BJ’s 60 day free membership coupon

• take it to your nearest club (you can find locations here)
• Activate it at the membership desk, and receive FULL Member benefits for 60 days.

So, what are the benefits? Well, unlike most warehouse stores, BJ’s has a FANTASTIC coupon policy. More about that below

In addition, BJ’s prices are about 30% below regular retail prices at local stores, including items in these categories:

• Apparel
• Automotive
• Baby
• Bakery
• Cameras
• Club Brand
• Computers
• Electronics
• Entertainment
• Fresh Produce and Meat
• Gas & Propane
• Gifts
• Grocery & Gourmet
• Health & Beauty
• Home & Housewares
• Household Basics
• Jewelry
• Meal Solutions
• Office Supplies
• Pet Supplies
• Seasonal
• Toys

Then, there are the COUPONS!
Unlike most membership and warehouse clubs, BJ’s accepts all manufacturers’ coupons — including the ones that come in your Sunday newspaper — giving you additional savings.

In addition, they offer their own, larger value in-club coupons. You can locate these membership-only coupons:

• online (for example see BJ In-Club Coupons )
• in BJ’s Journal, a BJ’s Member magazine
• through special-offer mailings
• in BJ’s in-Club coupon flyers

You can also use more than one coupon when you buy their multi-packed products (a pack that contains multiple full-sized packages of a single product shrink-wrapped together)! For example, if you have 2 coupons for 50% off an 8-oz. bottle of face cleanser and you are buying a multi-pack that contains 2 or more 8-oz. bottles of face cleanser you may use both coupons.

With the new coupons available in stores, booklets, and even newspapers for TOYS, you might find some great gifts, and great savings too!. It might just be worth a free trial!

Proctor and Gamble WILL be putting the PGBrandsaver coupon insert in Thanksgiving weekend papers! PG coupons expire the end of the month, and waiting for the following weekend would mean five days without active coupons for their products!

The PGBrandSaver November 29 issue will have some higher value offers, too, with over $90 in coupon savings! Crest, Olay, Pantene, Febreze for the holidays, just to name a few.

If you are looking for a paper that carries PGBrandSaver in your area, you can search by zipcode or state here:

PGBrandsaver Paper Finder

You can also sign up for ecoupons, and other offers, though the link.

2009 insert schedule

My stockpiled pantry is usually flexible enough to accommodate surprise needs. You know the ones I mean : my sister comes to visit and she is on a sugar free, soy free, no fruit diet that started out Mediterranean, but now has changed to South Beach. Or, my Mom can only have non-fat milk, but she won’t drink it unless it is served from a Low fat milk carton. Even better, my nieces and nephews who were fine with eating broccoli just two days ago will now only eat pizza with the latest “hot” toppings. Finally there was the relative whose preferences in grains used to make bread changed from white flour to wheat, then successively changed to buckwheat, gluten-free wheat, and, last but not least, organic oatbran meal. Sure, I can handle all of that – usually.

This summer was a bit different: very, very busy. The weather was unseasonably cool and wet, which led to squash bugs invading our plot of organic zucchini, black mold spots on our organic tomatoes, and, of course, the occasional intrusion of wild rabbits and a young, hungry ground hog inside the fence surrounding the garden plot. There was a lot of garden maintenance, harvesting, and preserving to be completed. Additionally, a heavy storm blew some roof shingles off, so they had to be replaced, along with a chimney cap. There was the wasp infestation of the chimney, a case or two of poison ivy, medical issues and doctor’s appointments, and so on. In short, there really wasn’t much time available to go shopping for groceries. I shopped twice this summer and relied heavily on my stockpile to meet our daily needs. And it did, but by the end of summer, things were looking lean.

I live a real life, so it was at precisely this point that a surprise disaster struck our household. My lovely sister, who hasn’t been able to visit for a couple of years, decided to come out and help me get things ready for the holidays: party planning, menus, lists, baking, freezing, shopping for gifts, buying supplies to make toys and clothing, getting the entire family on the same sheet of music, so to speak, regarding holiday schedules and events. Sigh, the best laid plans…

She arrived on a late flight on a Saturday evening with what seemed to be nothing more than a dry, tickly throat. By the next evening, she was sneezing and coughing hard enough to literally rattle the windows. Over the next few days, her fever, sinus congestion and lung congestion worsened until she became a semi-delirious, walking cough machine: yery real, uncontrollable, full throated coughing.

To her credit, she spent the majority of the time resting in the guest bedroom and occasionally using the guest bathroom upstairs. But sickness can be lonely and tedious, so, from time to time, she would make her way downstairs to visit for an hour or two, coughing all the while. My DH became truly aware of the seriousness of the problem when he entered the downstairs guest bathroom a short while after my sister had finished using it and found a dried-on sputum splatter pattern covering the entire surface of the five foot tall by three foot wide mirror sitting above the bathroom sink. As he later described it to me, it resembled one of those big blood splatter patterns from a gruesome murder on one of those criminal investigation shows on TV.

I do love my sister very much, so out came the cold and flu supplies from my stockpile: thermometer with sanitary covers, 20 boxes of Kleenex, lined personal garbage cans, over the counter daytime and nighttime cold medicine (including diabetic formulations), cough drops, tea, basically the works. Meals were modified: Ham was transformed into an ingredient for homemade split pea soup and lentil soup, the veggie tray was blended into a hearty vegetable soup, and I made up some light whole wheat dinner rolls to provide some solid food to go along with the nearly continuous feed of soup to my sister. We also provided Ensure and Boost for quick liquid nutrition, as well as Gatorade and Propel to restore electrolytes – all from my stockpile.

Keeping things clean and sanitary became the other half of the battle, so my DH and I pulled out the stockpiled supplies of rubber gloves, disinfecting wipes, Lysol spray, Oust spray, toilet cleaner, and more garbage bags than we would ever normally use in one week’s time. There was also a great deal of laundry to be handled, requiring a special brand of detergent for sensitive skin for my sisters clothing, sheets, towels, blankets, etc. It was pretty much a continuous process of cleanup and decontamination every day. Mercifully, my stockpiled supplies were sufficient for the task.

Even though she was still sick the following Friday, my sister was allowed to board a cross country flight, and she made the long journey back to the west coast so she could try to be back to work the following Monday. Of course, over exposed as we were, it was about this time that my DH and I began to experience a dry tickle in the back of our throats. Having to spend the weekend thoroughly scrubbing and decontaminating the house only added to our misery. In terms of our health, the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back was the unbelievable amount of dried-on mucus we removed from nearly every surface in the house, both high and low, and even from my poor Pembroke Welsh Corgie’s fur. (It’s rare that he wants and enjoys a bath, but on that day he seemed genuinely thankful to have been cleaned up.) By Monday morning, both my DH and I were truly sick and made our way immediately to our doctor. Many prescriptions later, both he and I were following doctor’s orders to stay at home and rest for at least a week. Ack! Once again, my stockpiled supply of food, meds, and cleaning supplies saved the day.

Kellogg’s coupons

and consider signing up for their updates.

You can also learn about the

Special K $10 “skinny jeans” rebate, the

$10 bonus bucks when you buy 3 cereal boxes rebate, and even

which cereal brands have specially marked boxes with $5 in coupon inside

as well as other current AND past offers.

So, what other offers are you looking for?

“Use-It-Or-Lose-It Muffins”

Basic Recipe:
Ingredients: one 15 – 25 ounce box Raisin Bran or other “flake” cereal, 3 cups sugar, 5 cups flour, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 cup oil, 4 eggs (beaten), and 1 quart milk.

Mix dry ingredients together. Add oil, eggs and milk, and mix. (This mixture can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 6 weeks prior to cooking.) To bake, fill greased muffin tins three-quarters full. Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 18 minutes or until done (use standard knife test for doneness). Makes 5 to 6 dozen small muffins or 3 to 4 dozen large muffins.

Substitutions:
Sugar: sugar is optional, replace with equivalent amount of sugar substitute or leave out.
Flour: use any flour or replace up to 3 cups of flour with oatmeal, oatmeal packets, oatbran, or bran. Substitute 2 cups of the alternative ingredient for each cup of flour replaced.
Oil: replace with apple sauce, flaxseed, melted margarine, fruit puree.
Eggs: replace with egg whites (3 egg whites equal 1 egg)
Milk: Juice, pureed fruit, melted ice cream, nutritional drinks (Boost, Ensure, EAS, etc)

“Chewy Fruit Cereal Bars”

Ingredients: 3 cups flake and fruit cereal (like raisin bran), one-third cup flour, one cup brown sugar, one-quarter teaspoon salt, one-eighth teaspoon nutmeg, 2 eggs, and one-quarter cup softened butter or margarine.

Beat eggs until thick and light in color. Gradually beat in one cup of brown sugar, then beat in the quarter cup of butter/margarine. Add flour, salt and nutmeg, blending well. Stir in cereal and spread the mixture evenly in a greased 9 inch square pan. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 to 30 minutes or until edges pull away from pan. Cool and cut into bars. Makes 2 dozen bars.

“Cereal Jam Bars”

Ingredients: 2 cups flaked whole grain cereal, one and one-quarter cups flour, one and one-quarter cups light brown sugar, 1 egg, three-quarter cup of softened butter or margarine, one 8 ounce package of cream cheese (softened), and three-quarter cup of jam.

Mix flour and 1 cup of brown sugar together in a large bowl. Add butter and mix until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. Stir in cereal. Press 3 cups of the cereal mixture firmly onto the bottom of a greased 13 by 9 baking pan to form a crust.

Mix cream cheese, one-quarter cup of brown sugar and 1 egg until blended. Spread mixture evenly over the cereal crust in the 13 by 9 pan. Top with jam and remaining cereal mixture. (Tip: microwave jam slightly to soften before “pouring” over the crust.)

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 to 30 minutes until lightly browned. Cool completely and cut into bars.

“Crisp Chocolate Truffles” from “Treasury of Christmas Recipes” cookbook

Ingredients: 2 cups Rice Krispies, one 6 ounce package semi-sweet chocolate morsels, one 7 ounce jar marshmallow crème, 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, 2 tablespoons shortening, one 14 ounce package of white candy coating, and multicolored sprinkles (optional)

In heavy 2 quart saucepan, combine marshmellow crème, butter/margarine, and chocolate morsels. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth; remove from heat. Stir Rice Krispies into hot chocolate mixture, mixing until thoroughly combined. Drop mixture by rounded teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

In top of double boiler, over hot water, melt white candy coating and shortening together. Dip each chocolate ball in coating and place on waxed paper-lined baking sheet. Decorate with sprinkles, if desired. Refrigerate until firm. Place in small candy paper cups to serve. Makes approximately 4.5 dozen.

“Holiday Wreaths” from “Treasury of Christmas Recipes” cookbook

Ingredients: 6 cups corn flakes cereal, one 10 ounce package regular marshmellows, one-half cup butter or margarine, 1 teaspoon green food coloring, red cinnamon candies.

Melt butter/margarine in large saucepan over low heat. Add marshmellows and cook, stirring constantly, until marshmellows melt and mixture is syrupy. Remove from heat and stir in food coloring. Add corn flakes cereal and stir until it is well coated with syrupy mixture. Portion the warm cereal mixture using a one-quarter cup dry measure. Use buttered fingers to quickly shape the portioned mixture into wreaths. Dot each wreath with red cinnamon candies.

Variation: Press the entire warm cereal mix into a buttered 5.5 cup ring mold or shape into a large ring on a serving plate. Remove from mold and dot with red cinnamon candies. Slice to serve.

Clearly the idea of getting an entire thanksgiving dinner for free is better in principle than the more usual “free turkey” deal. However, like so many of these deals over the last few months, you need to look at the details before deciding that this one is for you. Here are the details for a typical deal:

1. First, the Thanksgiving Dinner is valued at $59.99 and it consists of: one 10 – 12 pound turkey, 2 pounds of mashed potatoes, 2 pounds of stuffing, 1.9 pounds of gravy, 1 pound of cranberry relish, 2 pounds of green bean casserole, 2 pounds of candied yams with apples, a 10” pumpkin pie, and 12 dinner rolls.

2. Second, you receive the $59.99 meal for free by having it count as a 20% discount on a one-time $300 purchase at the store.

3. Third, and most importantly, before you qualify for the 20% discount (in the form of a coupon), you have to spend more than $800 in a set period of time. And, of course, the amount of time you have to redeem this discount coupon is very limited.

Each offer is designed to secure your loyalty and commitment to shopping exclusively at that store prior to Thanksgiving (and hopefully spending quite a bit on those holiday “extras”), but it’s possible to still receive great deals, nearly free groceries, and still obtain free turkeys and other meat. You just need to know the rules and play the game to win!

Types of offers:
Here is the basic information for each type of free turkey offering:

1. Spend $300 at one store. These offers are the most common. Here’s how they work:

• Spend the required amount, usually $300, at the store during the six weeks before Thanksgiving, approximately between 10/16 – 11/26.
• Present your SAME club/store card to the cashier each time you shop between the qualifying dates. Membership and card are required to track your purchases.
• Registers will automatically keep a running tally of purchases during the qualifying period. You’ll see your current total at the bottom of the receipt so you will know when you have met the requirements. You can also see if your purchases aren’t qualifying, so if you don’t believe you are receiving full credit, take your receipt to customer service and ask about it.
• Qualifying purchase prices are calculated

*before taxes,
*excluding the face value of manufacturers coupons, and
*after store coupons, sales/card price deductions, double/triple coupons, or extra value (store) costs
and exclude prescriptions, gift card purchases, postage stamps, lottery tickets, and items prohibited by law such as cigarettes and alcohol.

• Once your qualifying purchases have met the $300 limit, you will qualify for your free turkey or other item. There is a usually a CHOICE of free item, since not everyone wants or needs a turkey. Choices usually include:

• Free store or local brand frozen turkey, up to 22 pounds
• Free store or local brand ham
• Free store or local brand turkey breast
• Stouffers lasagna, 90 – 96 oz
• An equivalent dollar savings, per pound, off any other turkey, turkey breast, or ham
• $10 off any other meat

• Check your local store to determine what is or isn’t included in their offer.
• There is a limit of one free turkey per family/household.
• Some stores print out a redemption code on the bottom of the receipt. This is important! The code only prints once, and you will need to provide that code at the register when you want to redeem it for your free turkey, so pay attention, keep your receipts, and bring them with you. Other stores “automatically:” deduct the price of your turkey if you purchase it after qualifying; again, keep your receipts and pay attention to ensure you receive proper credit.
• Most free turkey offers expire immediately after Thanksgiving, so redeem them promptly!

2. Purchase $40 in qualifying products at one store.  Common at A&P stores, here’s how they work:

• Purchase $40 worth of participating brand products during a two week period and receive a redemption code for a free turkey. There are typically three separate offers prior to Thanksgiving: P&G, Kraft, and Unilever or General Mills.
• You must present your SAME club/store card to the cashier each time you shop during the qualifying two week period. You’ll see your current total of qualifying purchases at the bottom of the receipt, so you will know when you have met the requirements. You can also see if your purchases have not qualified.
• Qualifying purchase prices are calculated

*before taxes,
*excluding the face value of manufacturers coupons, and
*after store coupons, sales/card price deductions, double/triple coupons, or extra value (store) costs

In other words, if a $10 item is on sale for $8, the $8 would count towards the qualifying purchase. If you have a 50 cent coupon that doubles, the manufacturers portion of the coupon, 50 cents, would not be discounted from the qualifying purchase (although it still counts off of your receipt as it normally would), but the stores doubled portion of 50 cents would be discounted – you would “pay” $7 for the item, but $7.50 would be credited towards the qualifying purchase.

Again, there is typically a choice of free store brand frozen turkey, a Stouffers vegetarian lasagna, or $10 off your choice of meat purchase valued at more than $10.

• Each two week offer is limited to one free turkey offer.
• While this may seem like a better deal than the $300 purchase, and it can be, it has it’s own limitations. First, you only have two weeks to complete the deal, and only certain products qualify. For example, during the first two weeks, purchasing P&G Downy may qualify, and Bounce may not. If your total purchases reach only $39, you don’t qualify, unless you shop again and purchase additional qualifying purchases to reach the total. If you don’t complete the qualifications during the two week period, the total does NOT roll over to the next offer. The following two weeks may be Kraft, again only certain items qualify. Buying $40 of Kraft cheese may not be appropriate for your needs, or storage, and again, if you fall short of the $40, the offer does not roll over to the next deal.
• If, however, you can meet these requirements, you have the opportunity to earn a free turkey three separate times. And if you only want one turkey, it’s a great opportunity to get free steak, roast, ham, or other meat. Consider your December holiday meals, and plan ahead.

3. Electronic Turkey Credits/Coupons. This is also a common offer, but the requirements are unique. Here’s an example of the current Food Lion offer:

• Shop 6 of 8 weeks
• Present your SAME MVP store/shopper card AND a Free Turkey Card available at the store to the cashier to enroll in the promotion.
• You MUST enroll in the promotion specifically, it is not automatic by using your shopping card.
• Spend $45 per shopping trip using the same MVP/store card.
• Check your cash register receipt after each weekly $45 purchase to track the number of electronic turkey credits you have earned. Only one shopping transaction each week is counted, and the $45 must be spent in one transaction.
• You must earn SIX different WEEKLY credits.
• The reward? A $20 OYNO credit generated at the cash register. Since this $20 electronic coupon is good towards any item (with the a few exceptions such as alcohol and tobacco), it’s a great offer for reducing your holiday grocery costs.
  The electronic coupon expires 12/8.

Tips for Offers

Now the good part…how to maximize your savings!

First, recognize the limitations and benefits of each offer for your own needs. If you don’t need $40 of Proctor and Gamble items, that offer may not work for you. If you can’t shop regularly at one store, that offer may not work for you.

Second, realize that a free turkey is worth about $10. Spending $300 on items that you don’t need will be a waste if you really just need the $10 turkey.

Third, stack the offers! Here’s one way:

Spend $300 at one store, buying higher priced items that you rarely have coupons on. For me, it’s often Biotene mouthwash, sometimes particular spices for the holidays. I also need a new shower curtain liner, and by price matching sales at other stores, I can get the same price and the turkey. Add in coupons for FREE products to boost your totals without spending more money. It’s also a great time to redeem any rain checks you have from previous sales, combined with coupons to bring the out of pocket costs way down. Last year I met one $300 limit with only $12 out of pocket. That’s ONE free turkey.

Spend $40 using sales and coupons on other items. For me, I’ve been waiting to get a Swiffer wet jet. Yes, a bit expensive, but with a $10 coupon, a sale, and some other items, I met the $40 limit, and received the $10 credit for free meat or turkey. I’ll probably plan ahead for Christmas and buy a ham. The wet jet, well, I usually mop, but for muddy shoes days, the quick clean up is something I’ve wanted for over a year, and have been saving up for the right coupon/offer. For the Kraft offer, $40 on Seattles Best coffee, on sale and with coupons, is just what I will need for holiday guests. I needed to buy this anyway, and it works out perfectly – another $10, probably on roast.

These are just a few of my ideas on making the most of the “free turkey” promotions while saving money and buying items I need, not what the store needs me to buy. As always, consider the possibilities, and do what works best for your budget.

Photo Source: sonicsquirtgun

Here’s the thing: it does take time to save money. It takes time to clip coupons (even online coupons), make shopping lists and pare them down to the right set of purchases, organize for the shopping trip and then shop. On the other side of the coin, it also takes time to earn money to spend and that usually comes with it’s own unique set of headaches and problems. Truth be told, these days I feel more secure in my ability to save money at the cash register than to spend without concern and hope to make more money later.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve not lived the perfect life when it comes to spending and saving money. For years my career dictated that I live a fast paced life: working 100 hours a week, eating out more often than at home, shopping for groceries on an emergency basis, loading up the cart without lists, without a solid idea of what we really needed to buy, and without a plan for what we would cook in the coming week. And then there was coming home from the store to dump out the previous weeks unused milk, fruit, salads, opened cans and bottles of condiments and dressings – lots of waste and expense that added up to a different kind of unwanted stress.

From time to time I would try to correct this situation by using the “weekly budget” approach: fill the cart but only spend so much per week. That took its own special toll on me because I still wasn’t very organized: I would end up taking lots of little side trips to pick up items I had forgotten or only just recently realized I would need in the coming week. Still a lot of waste, and the budget had no slack for the reality of unforeseen needs that would inevitably crop up, such as family or friends coming for a visit, colds and other illnesses requiring OTC and prescription medication, health and beauty items… it was always something!

I’ve also done the “hyper-organized” shop every sale at every store approach. This didn’t work for me either.

What I do now is fairly simple:

(1) I collect the ads for every store I shop at in the local area. These are usually delivered to my home via newspaper or mail from Wednesday to Friday night. Once in a while I have to stop by a store to pick up their ad: I only do this for stores I frequently shop in.

(2) I make an initial shopping list for each store, all in one sitting. While this can be time consuming, it ends up making a huge difference in the amount of time I eventually spend shopping, and I save more. Also, the more I know about my current inventory of groceries and household products, the less time I have to spend on this step. There are tradeoffs to be considered and a few examples from the recent past may be helpful:

• A couple of weeks ago, every store in my area was having a sales promotion for Proctor and Gamble products. Knowing this, I evaluated specific sales prices, overall deals, and chose the best one or two deals that satisfied my needs. For example, the “Buy $40 and get $10 off my next order” deal is a way to save money in the future. This might be a great deal if I need $40 worth of Downy, Bounce, Charmin, etc., or if the store is having great sales prices too. Another store was running a “Buy $40 and save 10% immediately“ sale. For me, this is probably a better deal because I don’t have to plan a separate shopping trip in the future and I don’t have to worry about the $10 coupon from the first deal expiring before I remember to use it. A third store had sales prices that were 25% lower than the sales prices at the first 2 stores. For my needs, this is often an even better type of deal because it eliminates the tendency to over-buy in order to meet the $40 spending requirement. I also don’t have to calculate the total value of qualifying purchases in my cart if I find that one item on my list is already sold out. Naturally, I accounted for the number and value of coupons I had and store policies on doubling coupon values before I made a final choice between these different deals.
• Every store I shop at was recently having a sale on Progresso soup. The prices were identical from one store to the next. Again, the coupons I had, store policies on doubling coupon values, and limits on the number of soup cans that could be purchased in one transaction were taken into account before I picked a store.
• One store had a “$10 off $40 in purchases” coupon in their ad. I wanted a Swiffer Wet Jet that is normally priced at $20. I had a $10 off coupon for the Wet Jet and could get to $40 with additional purchases that met other household needs (food, cleaning products, etc). $10 off plus $10 off was the equivalent of my getting the Wet Jet for free, and I had coupons for the other times as well, so the savings were significant.
• One store had a “spend $300 in 4 weeks and get 20% off your next purchase” deal. As a heavy-duty couponer, this deal didn’t appear likely to work to my advantage since I would have ended up spending a lot to save very little.

(3) Having considered the major sales promotions at each store, I carefully look through my coupons before I make my final selections of stores, items and sales. The process at this stage goes something like this: If I only have 1 Downy coupon and 1 Charmin coupon, that $40 Proctor and Gamble promotional sale would yield very limited savings. However, if I have 10 Downy coupons and 10 Charmin coupons and I have both the need and storage space for the products, this would work out to be a fantastic opportunity to save a lot for products My family uses in large quantities. Here again, I account for the fact that every store has different coupon policies, including doubling coupon values, limitations on the number of coupons that can be doubled or used on a specific item. While this step can be time-consuming, it is key to achieving savings of 50% to 90% rather than 25%.

(4) Final down-select. Unless circumstances dictate otherwise, I like to shop at only one or two stores a week, in a single trip. Since I systematically stockpile groceries and household cleaning items, this approach tends to work best for me.

So, what are the benefits to all this work? Well, obviously I am not driving all over the County to get to every sale, so I save on gasoline, time, and stress. Less obvious, but equally important:

• I’m less influenced by any one store’s marketing campaign. For instance, the “Best Price This Season” banners for a specific brand of soup at 10 cans for $10 don’t pull me in to a store if I already know that every store in the local area is offering that same price.
• I’m less attracted to sales where I may have to buy items I really don’t need so that I can reach a spending threshold (a “$10 off of $40 in purchases” type of deal). Sometimes, paying a few cents more for an item in another store can be more cost effective.
• I’m much more familiar with regular and sales prices for the groceries I normally purchase. Writing down sales prices reinforces them in my memory, so I can very rapidly tell if a sale on a particular item is just so-so or spectacular. This saves me both time and money.
• I’m far less prone to impulse buying. If an item in a store has greater than usual appeal to me, I have the information and experience to rapidly recognize a bargain price from a severe over-price.
• What I save on a weekly basis, I apply to my rainy day emergency fund. These days it can be hard to build up any kind of savings, but I find that with careful planning and sticking to a reasonable weekly budget, I can put a little away each week for those inevitable challenges that crop up at the most inconvenient times.
• Finally, I always have the supplies I need on hand. From day to day and week to week, this turns out to be a real time saver and stress reducer.
  
  
  Does it work? According to store records (and their way of accounting), our family has saved nearly $10,000 this year. Of course, that’s not quite accurate because I would never pay full price for anything. Put it a different way: my budget for the last 40 weeks works out to roughly $4,000. I’ve spent less just over $1,000. A savings of nearly $3,000 works great for me. If some of the approaches I’ve outlined are a good fit, they may just work well for you too. Give it a try and see what happens!