Buying Groceries on a Budget: Find Sales & Stack Coupons

The way to save the most money is to watch for a sale on a product—preferably when it is at its rock-bottom price—and then purchase it using a manufacturer coupon and/or an in-store coupon.

For example, Target had the Purex Complete Crystals Fabric Softener on sale for $2.99. There was a $2.00 off Purex Complete Crystals manufacturer coupon in the Redplum insert. And there was a $1.00 off Purex Complete Crystals Target printable coupon. With the sale and two coupons, the product was free!

Here’s another example: Huggies Little Swimmers was on sale at Walgreens for $6.99. There was a $2.00 off Huggies Little Swimmers manufacturer online printable coupon. Plus Walgreens had a $2.00 off Huggies Little Swimmers coupon in their May Coupon Booklet, which is located by the front entrance. With the sale and two coupons, the final price was only $2.99!

Begin to practice the “Buy Ahead Principle,” which means that other than items like dairy and produce, aim to never pay full price for anything. By being patient and watching sales, you can buy most items at a discounted price.

And when an item reaches its rock-bottom price, don’t just buy one item. Purchase as many items as your grocery budget will allow to keep you stocked until the next sale. Most sales re-occur about every 12 weeks.

For instance, if you purchased 10 boxes of cereal at a retail price of $2.50, you would pay $25. However, if you practice the “Buy Ahead Principle,” and collect $1.75/2 coupons, then wait until the cereal goes on sale for less than $2 a box, you’d pay less than $8 for the 10 boxes. That’s at least $17 you saved.

Don’t go out and spend hundreds of dollars now to begin building a stockpile. Instead, designate a small portion of your grocery budget to by buying extra of the discounted items that you will use in the next few months. Even $5 or $10 a week devoted to stocking up on discounted items can go far. If you don’t find any really good deals one week, save your designated stockpile money for the next week.

And determine when enough is enough. If you have a lot of unopened toothpaste, you don’t need to go out and buy more. And remember that time is money. Don’t feel like you need to hit every deal. Just focus on the best deals that week for the items you need.

Other Posts in the Buying Groceries on a Budget Series:

Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply