I recently heard from Tom Carney, he does the family preparation for shopping. Here’s what Tom told me. He created a Spreadsheet on Microsoft Excel. He listed all the products his family uses. Next, he checks the stores flyers and decides on the best place to shop. He checks off the sale items that match his family’s favorites.

He found this system very time saving. He has the one master list, makes his choices by the sales and coupon offerings, and prints it off. Each week his purchases change to take advantage of all the great deals.

He never has to make another list. What a time saver, and what an easy way to prepare for your weekly shopping. He does adjust the list on occasion to allow for change in preferences. One last mention from Tom, he also goes to other stores, discount drug chains etc. to take advantage of their specials.

Lilly has been a long time subscriber to (http://RefundleBundle.com) and she is always willing to share great deals. Here are a couple of Lilly’s best. I’d love to hear from you too. Sharing is what makes this work.

Lilly: A quick trip to Giant Eagle paid off big time. Hunts Manwich was on sale for $1.00 per can. I bought four and used .50/2 coupons. They also featured Ken’s salad dressing $1.00 for the 8 oz bottles. I bought 6 using $1.00/2. Yoplait yogurt was 20 for $10 with an instant $2 taken off the bill. I used (3) .40 off six yogurt coupons. My total was $30.90, less mfg. coupons $5.20, less bonus c/o savings $2.20 and card and store coupons $12.90, for an out-of-pocket cost of
$10.40. A nice compliment from the new cashier saying wow! Nice deals!

Rite Aid offered the following: 15-roll Scott paper towels on sale for $10.99 and has a $2.00 single check rebate with one rebate being the limit. We bought 2 of the 15-roll pkgs and used the $20 Rite Aid Gift Certificate we earned during the Christmas holidays. We paid $2.10 for both but…we still get the $2 back so the final cost is .10. That’s got to be one of the best deals I’ve found for a long time.

I wanted to bake a pear bundt cake but I didn’t have the cake mix so I went onto this site and found a basic cake mix from scratch I’m going to use as I do have these ingredients in the house.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cake-Mixes-from-Scratch-and-Variations/Detail.aspx

Everyone has jumped on the savings bandwagon. The Sunday newspaper today is chocked full of sales brochures, coupons and refund opportunities. Pet items, stationery, hardware shops have all found the benefit of offering coupons, rebates and loyalty programs. Here’s how it works.

I needed a few office supplies so I checked out the Staples flyer, also found online.
Not only were many of the products on sale, but there were rebates offering 100% of the cost or substantial discounts. I just got back a full refund on a new electric pencil sharpener on sale for only $10. I returned 3 used ink cartridges and got a $9 credit toward future purchases, and in a couple of weeks, when I need a new security program from Norton, I’ll look for the $20 rebate.

Next stop, Petco, where they were offering a $5 coupon on a $25 purchase. I picked up the Iams dog food, and with a purchase of 10 bags over the year, I’ll get one free.

It’s easy to rack up the savings. Think of your favorite stores, check the Sunday papers, and of course the internet. You’ll find a wealth of deals.