Have you noticed the new and improved Supermarket Sites now available online? I have, and I thought I’d share some of the better parts of the sites.
Since I mostly shop at the local A&P, I’ll use that store as my guide. But most stores have equally user friendly and helpful sections. Remember in this case “Forewarned is forearmed.â€
First, the entire weekly sales flyer is offered online. You can turn each page to view all the specials. So with the speed of your computer you can manage it all. Now the fun begins. With the specific sale item I want, I click and add it to a shopping list. As I turn each page my savings and my list grow. But the time I’m done, I’ve planned the bulk of my weekly shopping list. And with a click of the print button my list is ready.
Still there’s more. I click on the coupon link on the supermarket site, and I can download coupons for the same items right onto my frequent shopper card. The deductions are taken at the register. And last, I can print off other coupons that will further reduce my shopping bill.
Naturally I fill in my coupon needs with those from the www.selectcouponprogram.com so that weekly I save between 40-60%. The reason I know about my exact savings is that each and every week, at the bottom of my receipt is a little blurb ‘you saved 63% on you groceries’.
I love getting free items in the mail. In any particular issue of Refundle Bundle magazine I have about 50-100 different freebie offers.
I’m able to accumulate this amount of freebies for a few reasons. First, some of my most loyal readers such as Virginia Ann Senyk, Lilly Petronka, Ben Salkin and Maureen Slovaki send them along to me.
I also check a group of my favorite sites from time to time to see what’s available. Kraft has been giving away lots of goodies, but it’s important to have the correct url address to access the freebie.
E-newsletters will sometimes have a freebie listed along with coupons.
Recently I’ve received Granola bars, a sample of Kashi, a Debbie coupon, and a free wonder cloth.
If you come across any free things, please post them on the discussion board for all to share.
Just yesterday I shopped at Publix Supermarket in Nashville, TN. Since we have no Publix in New York, this was an interesting experience for me.
I had always heard about Publix BOGOF offers but I was able to fully enjoy the experience by pairing up the BOGOF with some great coupons of my own.
Here are a couple of my coups:
• Hellmann’s Mayonnaise: BOGOF combined with my own free coupon, I got both and saved $12.
• Del Monte Vegetagles: BOGOF combined with my $.50 Del Monte coupon doubled to $1, I got 6 cans free for a $9 savings.
Maximizing coupon use really makes sense in this case. If the coupon has a long enough expiration, use it when there are specials such as this.
The manager also mentioned that the BOGOF offers ring up as ½ price each that’s why you can use 2 coupons on these deals.
Check with your local store for their policies so you won’t be disappointed at the checkout.
Checkout out at the supermarket has become much easier. You can now self check-out and still use your coupons. This is great especially if the supermarket is busy, and there is always a checker to help the process at the self check-out lanes.
But have you ever noticed errors on your cash register receipt? Even with all the new and innovative systems, mistakes do occur. Most often, it’s because the special price has not been correctly entered into the main computer. So how much do-diligence should you exercise?
I found that if I checked my receipt upon my return home, I almost never returned to the store for the correction.
As a result, lately, I check the receipt before I leave and if and when I find an error I can get it fixed immediately. Recently Edy’s churned ice cream, Steve’s favorite, was on sale 2/$5. They rang up at the full price of $5.98. I got $6.98 credited back to my card.
But then I made a mistake, and the store let me correct it. The sale for Mott’s Apple Juice stated: Buy 1, $ 3.99 each, Buy 2 $2.99 each, Buy 3 $1.99 each. I only saw the $1.99 and took 2. My receipt showed each at $2.99 or $6 for the 2 instead of for 3. They gave me a paid sticker and the third apple juice gratis.
Mistakes go both ways. My store is willing to accept theirs and mine, and make good.
Be careful, check before leaving the store for a quick correction.
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.
