Feb 23, 2018

There are some general guidelines for saving money while shopping that every person trying to save money should know.  Couponers should especially use these strategies since they are trying to save 50% on their grocery purchases.

Strategy #1   Never shop without a plan. Impulse buying can wreck your grocery budget.  And never shop hungry!   It’s a simple strategy, and it works!  The plan starts with having a good idea of what your family needs to buy this week.  There are hundreds of phone apps for you to jot down notes. You may want to break down your plan into sections.  “Buy this week”, “buy sometime” or “Future”  allows you to prioritize your purchases.  Maybe you don’t need ketchup this week, but if a sale and coupon match hit, you can always plan for the future.

Your plan should be matched up with the weekly sale ad.  If it's on sale and matches with any item on your needs list then it becomes part of the buy plan.  If you are in doubt of what items should be on those lists, you should look at your past purchase history. This is simple, just pull your past few receipts and take a look at the things you have been buying.  Which would you purchase again? Always keep your receipts.  My receipts go into a section of my coupon wallet so I can look later to see what we are really buying and consuming over a period of a few months.  Receipts are a great resource of information.

Strategy #2  Only buy when stacking 2 or more deals.  Many extreme coupon shoppers only buy items when they know they are getting the absolute best deals.  Having an item on sale usually means that the item is discounted between 25-40% off regular retail.  If you stack another form of savings,  you can get into the 40-65% savings range.  Forms of savings are coupons, digital offers, rebates, or apps.  You can stack a sale item, with a coupon (store or manufacturer), with an app rebate, or with a by mail rebate.  If you use this strategy, you will need to keep a close eye on all types of stacking options. Minimum of 2 deals, or no purchase.

Strategy #3  Shop slow during low peak hours and take your time.  Early mornings, and late a night there are fewer shoppers in stores. This strategy keeps your impulses under control.  If you shop when there is not a rush in the store you'll have more time to review your buying options.  Should you buy this item now, or wait for a potential sale next week?  If you stay in control you can also think more clearly and do some meal planning as you shop.  A rushed shopper grabs more prepared meals, more convenience foods and more overall items.  A bag of 15 apples becomes easier to grab than picking your own 8 apples for the week. Try to eliminate stress while shopping.  Sometimes we have kids with us, or we are just running into the store between activities.  If that is the case, limit the depth of your shopping.  Get the essentials, and plan to return at a later time when you can shop slowly.   Less stress, is money saved.  

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