A phenomenon that’s only about 30 years old is the warehouse store. There are about 3 or 4 major ones. They include: Costco, BJs, and Sam’s Club, a division of Walmart.
These stores are large enough to be a warehouse, hence the name. They are really bare bones. Most of the store is self-service and items are sold in bulk. Coupons are accepted in a very limited way, and there are rarely any additional store sales. What you see is what you get.
I enjoy an occasional trip to Costco because I enjoy the samples and I have found a few items that are really good buys. For example, the 32 count of Yoo Hoo at $7.49, is much cheaper than anyplace else. Three dozen eggs sell for $2.49, a best buy. But my objection here is some of the bulk buying. A 69oz. box of Cheerios will last too long in my house to maintain its freshness. The 15-roll pack of Bounty paper towels comes out to about $1 a roll. I can do much better at CVS when the 8 pack is on sale for $4.99 or $3.99 with my $1 coupon, just $.50 a roll.
The store flyer is really a wealth of information, savings, and tips. I prefer the hard copy, but lately I have used the online versions as well. The flyer helps me determine my weekly purchases. So I use it before I ever enter the store.
First and most important is the organization of the flyer. It’s divided into the same categories as the supermarket so planning is made easier. Next special coupons and promotions are printed throughout.
The front page usually has all the best sales, sometimes called loss leaders. That means that items are sometimes sold at cost to attract shoppers. On the front page of the Tom Thumb flyer in Dallas, TX, a gallon of milk was selling for $1.49, baby carrots $1 for a pack, a head of lettuce $.77, and $.99 for Quaker granola bars. All fantastic deals.
The inside pages include frozen, beverage, snack, dairy, meat, deli, health and beauty aid specials among others. These are all legitimate sales. But as always some sales are better than others. Take the Quaker granola bars. The regular price is $2.99 each. Some sales are 2 for $4. At $.99 the savings is 66%. Now that’s a great sale and the time to buy.
So knowing the prices for the items you generally buy will help you decide the value of the sale and the reason to make a purchases.
It’s certainly a fact that the checkout is time-consuming. But there are definite ways to speed up the process. Here are some suggestions that have worked for me.
Have your loyalty card ready (if unavailable your phone number usually does the trick.)
Make sure all you coupons are readily available. I like to put each coupon in the front of my file as I pick up the product. That way I never miss a deduction.
Check your coupons-they must match the item exactly. Scanners automatically verify this.
Try and stack similar items on the conveyor belt so the packer can keep all like and perishable items together. This is especially helpful in the summer.
Check your register receipt before leaving the store to make sure you received all the store’s specials. If not, a quick trip to the courtesy desk can resolve these issues.
That’s it. Each trick to save time and money is always worthwhile.
For years I have used Store Circulars to alert me to sales and specials. Circulars change weekly, and each local area varies the start date of the sale. For as long as I can remember, our sales always started on Sunday. However, for the past few years, that’s changed. Most of our sales now begin on Friday.
I don’t like this new change for the following reason. Coupon inserts are generally found in the weekend papers. The coupons often correspond to store sales. This translates to shopping without the benefit of the new coupons. I’m not sure why this change has taken place, but for the average shopper this is no benefit.
For me, I like it even less. A few of my local stores have a 4-day weekend special from Friday to Monday. So unless I can wait until Sunday, I lose the benefit of these extra coupon savings.
One interesting phenomenon is that with the advent of the internet Store flyers and other promotions are now on the Store’s web site. My local A&P has the following on their site:
The full sale circular
Coupons downloaded directly to my loyalty card
A shopping list I can customize from the sales
So put in your store name, add .com and see what benefits you can glean from your store’s site
Way back in June I shopped at a Sweetbay Supermarket for a TV show in Tampa, FL. Sweetbay offering varied types of community programs thought a coupon seminar would be another great outreach program for their shoppers. So here I am in Florida visiting 8 Sweebay markets.
We completed 3 seminars so far, but we have 5 more scheduled so I thought I’d list them here and hopefully some of you can find time to attend. Sweetbay is also giving out a $5 gift card for their store to all those in attendance.
Monday, October 19, 4 PM: Bonita Springs Store: 8951 Bonita Springs Rd. & US 41, Bonita Springs
Tuesday, October 20, 11 AM: Golden Gate Store: 4995 Golden Gate Parkway, Naples
Wednesday, October 21, 5 PM: Santa Barbara Store: 4015 Santa Barbara Blvd., Naples
At the seminars I’ve seen some great coupon organizers and picked up lots of tips about couponing policies here in Florida. If you get a chance I’d love to see some of you too. Come over and say hello.
I enjoy purchasing some of my health and beauty
aids in the many discount drug chains that surround me. Each one has a different loyalty program that affords great savings. The 3 near me are: CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid.
CVS has the Extra Care Bucks program. It works like this. Sign up for the CVS card. Check for sales and ECB on their weekly online or paper flyer. For example Energizer batteries were on sale for $5.99 for the 8 pack. In addition, with the purchase of $15 in batteries you received $5 in ECB. I could still use my Energizer manufacturers’ coupons. I now had $5 to use on any other purchase in the store.
Walgreens savings program. This works very similarly to CVS. Walgreens always has sales, combine with their Register Rewards and you could save a lot. Check their printable coupon section too.
Last, Rite Aid not only has sales but they also have Single Check rebates that can be done online or mailed in. Each time you make a purchase, submit your register receipts online to see what savings you’ve received. At the end of the month with one click all your receipts are tallied and Rite Aid sends your check. No computer, just send in your receipts for your monthly rebate.
It’s a fantastic system and another way to add to your nest egg.
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.
Just recently I did a shopping in Pittsburgh and bought $200 worth of the groceries for only $20! See me in action: Grocery Coupon Shopping.
I have wonderful memories of Pittsburgh. About 18 years ago when our sons were still young they often traveled with us. I was doing a shopping trip for a local Pittsburgh station, and they offered us tickets to a baseball game at Three River Stadium. Two of our sons, Mark and Michael are big sport fans, so we thought this was a great perk for them. As it turned out, the day was perfect, blue skies, comfortable temperatures and the Pittsburgh team was giving out free back packs. What could be better.
As we sat through the game, I admired the view. It was spectacular. I don’t actually remember who won or lost, but imprinted in my memory is a delightful day for all of us at Three River Stadium. Sue
For 37 years since I started Supershopping, I have rarely ever bought a generic brand. I feel my system of coupon shopping, store sales and refunds have chopped the price of all my products below any generic brand.
Let me give you a few examples. Hunt’s Tomato Products were on sale: 4 for $5. or $1.25 per can. I had a coupon for $1 off 4, bringing my cost down to $1 per can. The store brand for the same size was $1.99 or twice the price per can. Next, Nature’s Own Apple Juice was sale-priced for 2/$3 or $1.50 per 64oz. bottle. The store brand was $2.49 per bottle. I saved $2. And last Angel Soft Toilet Tissue was $1 for the 4 roll pack. With my $1 coupon, my cost was $00. The store brand was $1.99 for the same size.
So using coupons is a big money-saving plus. Let me hear your stories. We can all learn from each other.
A great bonus to alert shoppers are Unadvertised Specials and Specially Marked Packages.
Let’s talk about unadvertised specials. Most sale items are outlined in the weekly store flyers. But sometimes, a supermarket may have an abundance of a product or received too much product and employs the ‘unadvertised special’ to promote the item. These are usually shown at the end of the aisle or in a prominently visible display. For me, and for the savvy shopper these are a great bonus. Since I always take all of my coupons along, I can easily sort through my organizer and match up a coupon to this super-special.
Next are the Specially Marked Packages. They vary and offer great savings at no additional cost.
Products packaged with 25% more volume
Items offering coupons on current or future purchases
Full purchase price refunds on the purchase
In-product promotions most common in the cereal and pet food aisles
BOGOF: Buy One Get One Free pre-packaged items
So join the refunder’s bandwagon of savings, fun and alert shopping.
