Saving Money at the Grocery Store

My motivation to save money at the grocery store seems to ebb and flow.  It is usually connected to my cash flow level.  When times are tough, I try to save.  When they are not, I do not pay much attention.  I am trying to move into a mindset where I am always looking for the best deal when buying groceries.

My cousin Holly is always getting amazing deals. She regularly saves more than she spends at the grocery store.  I recently asked her how she does it. Some of her answers were methods I already knew, but there were a few that were new to me. I asked her to write up a quick summary of what she does to save money at the grocery store and I wanted to share it here with my readers.

Welcome, Holly.  The floor is all yours.

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Hi my name is Holly Brunner and having four boys in my house means it’s always a challenge to keep enough food in the house without blowing the budget. The way that I have learned to live within my budget is to coupon.  I know when you think of buying things with coupons it seems that they are always for items you do not use and the time you put into it never seems to be time well spent. But with a little know-how you can make couponing work for you. I’m here to share with you some ways I get the things I want with coupons.

• I subscribe to the Sunday paper which has three major coupon inserts: Red Plum, Smart Source, and a monthly Procter and Gamble insert. These companies have additional coupons online that you can print off a couple of times.
• Once you have your coupons, you will need to organize them. I found a useful method at The Krazy Coupon Lady. She provides a table of contents that breaks up the coupons into categories that make shopping really easy. Put the coupons in a binder with plastic card holders, like baseball cards. I find that nine pockets to a page works best.
• Before the fun begins you will need to get the ads from your local grocery stores – either paper ads or online ads.  Bring these with you when you shop.
• To get the most for your time and money remember that at Walmart they will ad-match the competitor’s price and then you are able to use your coupons on top of that. As I indicated above, be sure to bring your ads with you because some stores will require you prove the competitor’s advertised price.
• Make sure you check the store’s coupon policy, print it out, and keep in your binder to remind the cashiers what the policy is.
• Some stores double or triple your coupon value.
• Make your list and let the shopping begin.
• Walmart has a great policy: if the coupon value is over the value of the product, they will give you overage on that product. That’s right they pay you! You can apply this overage to any item that you want (they will not give you cash).  Even if you do not need the item you receive overage on, you can always donate this item to soldiers, families in need, or other worthy causes.

This makes my budget happy and my shelves full.  Have fun!

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Thanks, Holly.

I was glad I talked to Holly about this because I never knew about the overage policy. That is one great tip. Some other things I learned when I talked to Holly:

• You can ad-match meat and produce. I don’t know why I thought they were ineligible for ad-match.
• Walmart will ad-match “buy one, get one” specials as long as there is a price listed.
• Some cashiers and even managers do not know their own policies so do as Holly suggests and bring the policy with you.
• Learn which cashiers know what they are doing and seek them out when you pay.

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