TIPS: Save on Grocery Shopping

Want tips on how to save money on your grocery shopping trips? Use this shopping guide and tips to find hidden deals at the grocery store so you'll get more for less. Courtesy of All You Magazine's top 15 list. You'll get all types of How To's from this compilation!

Bargains & Savings: HT Super Double Coupons

I received this reminder in my inbox today in regards to Harris Teeter's Super Doubles Coupon week...

Hi SavvyDollar friends,

Sorry it has been a while since my last email.  Having a new baby in the house seems to have impacted our schedule (imagine that)!  :-)

At any rate, I hope you all are ready for a Super Doubles week at Harris Teeter.  You can find lots of freebies and great deals in the forum at this link: http://savvydollar.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=63678&highlight=#63678

Also, I thought I'd use this opportunity for a little encouragement.  I've seen some really interesting posts in theSavvydollar forums recently about coupon fatigue.  I agree, it can get tiring -- but remember that coupons are not the only way to trim your expenditures.  There are all sorts of creative ways to save a few dollars here and there, and several thousand by the end of the year. 

A few years ago, in the early days of SavvyDollar, I wrote a post with 31 ways to save money.  So if you are feeling a little weary with the scissors these days, here are some other ideas to get you started.  I would love to see some more of your creative ideas posted. http://savvydollar.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=21#21

 Keep on saving...

Dan

SavvyDollar, PO Box 614, Morrisville, NC 27560, USA 

HOW TO: Maximize Grocery Shopping

HOW TO 
Maximize shopping using our examples of grocery stores we're familiar with here North Carolina. However, savings are universal and everyone should have retail stores, grocery chains and warehouse membership clubs with similar deals. 

1. Always use those coupons you spent so much time clipping
2. Review the weekly sales fliers to match up with the items you need
3. Pay attention to the catalina coupons that print along with your receipt. They are sometimes for $$ off your next purchase
4. Shop at least one store that doubles coupons everyday like Kroger
5. Don't miss the forget about meat market's such as Carly C's IGA and bakery's like Arnold for deep discounts
6. If the store doesn't double like Food Lion, make sure to get their shoppers card
7. If no coupons or cards, you can still get deals at Aldi - but be aware of the inventory turnovers. What's there one week may be gone on your next visit 
8. Those w/ large families or just like buying in bulk benefit from a warehouse/club membership such as Costco. 
9. Take advantage of percentage discounts, markdowns, clearance and in store / manager specials
10. NEVER miss the highly coveted TRIPLE COUPONS or B2G3F (buy 2 / get 3 free) deals at stores like Harris Teeter
11. When buying meats, go ahead and put in the leg work ahead of time
• prep items for cooking upon returning from the store or at least within the next day 
• clean and season meats for various meals that you serve often like spaghetti
• store servings w/ date & label "seasoned chicken", "meat sauce for pasta 8/9/10"
12. Use the accounting method FIFO (first in, first out). In other words, rotate your items so that the oldest items are moved up to the front and your latest purchase goes to the back  
13. Keep a running list of what you have readily on hand. (in your head or on paper)
• don't buy the items you already have stocked up enough
• don't forget to pick up the items that are about to run out  
14. BOGO / B1G1 (buy one, get one) sales is a smart way to spend your Common CENTS
• you'll get two of the same items for the price of one - (paying 1/2 price for each)
• you usually can use two coupons - one for each item  
• you'll have one item that's in use and one for the pantry backup/overstock         
• shopping's a chore to some, it saves both time & energy by having a back up of an item you use often
15. Always try to stay one step ahead of the stores
• items are usually sold in cycles so get familiar with it
• buy in-store markdowns - they bought too much and now have to sell it cheap
• keep multiple coupons of items on hand for use now and later on even better sales
• watch out for those expiration dates and anticipate future sales   
• shop stores that take competitor coupons like Lowes Foods

These tips get you one step closer to becoming smarter in grocery shopping.

Meal Deal Monday: Harris Teeter

Harris Teeter has a promotion that they do where you can purchase an entire meal for usually under $10. The first one I did was back in June with the Rosina Meatballs special. How it works is that you purchase "x" number of items and get "x" number of items free to make a complete meal.

In June I participated in the Meal Deal by purchasing and receiving:

• Buy 32oz Rosina Meatballs 
• Get Free...
• 13oz Celentano cheese Ravioli
• 24oz Newman's own pasta sauce
• 11oz Pepperidge Farms Garlic Texas Toast
• one 2 liter Pepsi product
• Total cost was $7.75 which saved at least $10.42 before taxes

This week I choose to purchase the breakfast special:

• Buy 12oz Hormel Bacon and 12oz Johnsonville breakfast links
• Get free...
• 1 dz HT Grade A large eggs
• 1/2 gallon HT premium orange juice
• 20oz Simply Potatoes hash browns
• 6ct HT english muffins
•  Total cost was 8.99 saving at least $8.26 before taxes...but then there were coupons!
• On the Hormel bacon was coupon for .40 off Pillsbury grands biscuits.
• they were on sale some $2 for two and some $2 for four
• there was a "blinkie coupon" to get .75 off three
• there was a in store "penquin coupon" for the simply potatoes $1 off two
• that brought my total cost with taxes to only $13.34
• BUT WAIT THERE'S STILL MORE...
• I recently purchased a newspaper subscription and received a $10 HT card
• I transferred a prescription to HT and got $20 added to my vic card
• OUT OF POCKET COST FOR THIS WAS NOTHING. 

I would say this turned out to be a great combination of watching your budget by participating in coupning, promotions and sales at places you were going to shop anyway. Thanks to the great staff at the 1151 Tryon Village Drive location for their customer service each time I shop. They know me almost by name now! But they always make sure their customers get all the qualifying purchases, and in this case mine today were FREE! 
  

DEALS: Common Sense Grocers Sales

Common Sense Grocers has listed a ton of new bargains and savings available at their store this week. Visit their facebook page for updates on sales on everything from cosmetics to medicines, to pet foods and more! You can also follow them on twitter @CCGrocers

FREEBIE: Kraft Sandwich Shop Mayo

Kraft has new flavored mayonaise to give your sandwiches a makeover. View their commercial on YouTube or go straight to the Start Sampling.com order form for your two free sample packs! Yum!

Our Best Grocery Deal EVER

You won't believe the deal we got once (2/26), we barely believed it ourselves! It's very satisfying when you get to see that the effort put into clipping coupons, spending time scanning through the sales flyers and matching them up for the best deals. YES it takes time, patience and organization...but it can be done and I hope that by posting our savings examples that you can learn to be a more savvy shopper. We ended up paying .26 cents total. NO TYPO that is twenty-six cents out of pocket...


I tried to make this detailed but still easy to read, to help clarify: 
*one coupon for each item, (with the exception of those that required you to purchase "x" number of product to get "x" amount off for the Pillsbury and Green Giant
*all Q's under $1 were doubled and is listed as (x2)
*two Q's were for the new store only
*no Q's were internet printed but five were from two different pamphlets found at Food Lion. 

Non Savings: Quick Stop Shop

I know this site is supposed to be mostly about saving money, but there were so many things happening in the city I wanted to get them posted first. There are tons of blogs out here about saving and I want you to get more than that from this one.

Well here today I'm going to give you an example of a bad shopping experience I had because I was asked to run out and pick up some items for someone right then. That wouldn't have been a problem had my trusty coupon holder been with me. But alas, it was at home as I had no plans to go to any store. *note to self and you - keep it in the car just in case.

So here's what happened, I purchased for them : angel food cake, yougurt, deli sandwhich, tortilla chips, and cheese dip. Not too many things to snack on...but I would have had coupons for at least three of those things. The out of pocket cost (even with the in-store discount) was $9.78!  OMG I spent $10 bucks for snacks? I almost cried, I'm so cheap it's sad. It wasn't even my money and the person I was shopping for didn't even think twice about it!

Bad shopper, bad, bad, shopper!  You savvy shoppers know where I'm coming from!
     

Savings: Common Cents Grocers

Have you had the chance to visit Common Cents Grocers yet? If not, what are you waiting for? It's a discount grocery store where you can save up to 50% - 80% off the retail price of name brand groceries from stores such as Kroger and Publix (which is similar to our Harris Teeter). Manager Linnette Stone started the store with friends from Evergreen Church as a way to help give back to the community.

Currently there are only non perishable items, but the assortment and variety of products makes you not even miss milk and produce!Inventory changes up often, about every 10 -12 days. So items that you see this week may not be available next week. So if you see something you like in a small qauntity, GET IT before it's gone! I just went back to get more of some juices and was out of luck, but did find another brand that tasted just as good! Wondering what type of products can you find there?

We buy grocery, health and beauty items that have been pulled from regular grocery stores and offer them to you at 50-80% off the retail price. Stores pull items when they change a display, when the packaging is not exactly perfect or slightly past the ”best by” date, but the products are fine and the savings are spectacular. Come by and check out the incredible savings! New shipments arrive frequently so if you don’t see what you are looking for, keep coming back!

So take a trip down to the Common Cents Grocers and grab up a load of savings for your family on the products you use often, or things you've been wanting to give a try.  The staff is very helpful and friendly. so don't be afraid to ask any questions about the items or the store itself. Also look for the flyers throughout the store for even more specials for the week!

Common Cents Grocers

6904 Glenwood Ave, Suite 100 Raleigh, NC 27612(919) 787-8177facebook: commoncentsgrocers         twitter: @CCGrocers

SAVINGS: Harris Teeter Deal of the Day

Ms. FindaBB herself (aka Mom/Grandma PAWS) needed to make a quick run into Harris Teeter tonight for just a couple of items and ended up browsing the aisles as always.  But as usual she came uup on a great deal. Let's see if I can easily repeat what she told me....

(4 boxes) Orville Redenbacker Popcorn. It was BOGO and she had (3) .75/1 and (1) .40 (out of pocket                                                                                                                                                                        
(1) Oscar Mayer Bacon. BOGO but she only had one coupon  .75/1 q (oop $1.25)
(3) Dawn Hand Renewal w/ Olay 19oz bottles  - on sale for $1.99 and using (3) .50/1 q's
(1) Dawn Pure Essentials 24oz bottle - Sale $1,94 - one q also at .50/1
(2) Dawn regular concentrated 10oz bottles using (2) .50/1 q's
(10) Mighty Dog cans - 10/$6 used (2) $3 off 5 cans which made them FREE

the out of pocket total was only $7.18

Remember at Harris Teeter any coupon less than $1 is doubled - that's how you save so much once you match up what you have in coupons with what you need in the pantry!