Stop and smell the roses. How does that apply to the supermarket.

About 10% of all products in the supermarket are specially marked packages. I’ll bet that the marjority of these great deals are passed up.

A specially marked package bears some type of an extra bonus as part of its makeup. These could include:
• A peel off coupon
• Extra product at no extra charge
• A buy one get one free (BOGOF) as a bundle pack
• A free toothbrush on the container of toothpaste.
•
Here’s what I just found:
$15 in savings on a Tropicana 64oz. container
Free toothbrush on Crest
Free travel bottle on the Listerine
$1 Peel off coupon on the 2 liter coke
$.55 coupon on Hefty Bags
Extra bags inside Ziploc
2 free Quaker Oatmeal inside the instant box
Full purchase price refund on Clorox 2

I could name many more. How many have you spotted lately? If you become aware of that these bonuses exist, you’re more likely to be alert when shopping. If you find some, post them on the discussion board: www.selectcouponprogram.com to share with others.

The horizons of savings are almost limitless and what a boon for the consumer especially the saavy shopper.

Upromise was started at least 10 years ago as a form of a college savings program. You can enlist friends, grandparents and others to help contribute to your student’s long-term goals. I started one for Adam years ago, and it’s easy to sign up.

Just go to the web site: upromise.com and have all of your frequent shopper cards ready. Each time you purchase many of the 1000’s of items listed, you earn money which goes into a 529 account.

Give it a shot, and share this information to help others get started too.

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.”

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.

Have you noticed how many coupons are issued outside the supermarket from books to clothes and everything in-between.

Competition and the economy are creating new and innovative marketing tools that can save us money on almost all of our purchases. That doesn’t mean that we have to run out and buy it all, it just means that if we need it, we can effect great deals.

For example, I received 3-$10 Old Navy coupons with a minimum purchase of $10. Each coupon was to be used one a week over a 3-week time frame. The first week I purchased 3 pairs of boxers for $12, my cost $2. Week 2 the handkerchief bags were on sale for a little over $5 each. I bought 2 for about $1. The last week I needed jeans, not on sale, still a good deal at $19.

Next onto TruValue hardware for the $5 coupon off a $25 purchase. I bought compact fluorescent bulbs in size R30 and R40 for our high hats. Both sizes were on sale, and I got enough to cover the $25.

The ever popular Bed, Bath & Beyond 20% coupon came in handy during a recent cold snap. I got the Lasko heater, priced at $50 for $40.

Before making purchases check for the likely places and coupon deals and add to your savings.

Competition among supermarkets has increased in this economic climate. This is all to our benefit.

Supermarkets are now accepting competitor coupons of similar types of stores. For example at my A&P I was recently able to use coupons from Pathmark and Shop Rite.

Pathmark had the 24 count Poland Spring Water for $2.99. What a deal. And from Shop Rite I gleaned a Brawny 6 pack coupon for $3.99.

While they will not match an advertised special they will honor a coupon printed in the flyer.

But the competition is limited to other supermarkets. When I found the Pantene hair care on sale at CVS for 2/$6 with the attached coupon, the A&P considered this a different category of store and turned down my request.

Once again, be specific with the manager, and determine in advance which competitor coupons are accepted at the checkout.

Getting an extra product for free is always fun and some stores use this savings technique from time to time.

There are a few tips to consider when shopping what is called a BOGOF. If you have a free coupon for the same item that is a BOGOF that’s the time to use it. About 2 months ago, Acme Supermarket in Philadelphia (I happened to be there), had a real special deal on Gain detergent. It was a Buy One Get 2 Free. The single price was $6.99 or about $2.33 per 50 oz. bottle. However, I had a ‘free coupon’ for Gain giving me all three for free, for an actual savings of almost $21.00. I also used 2-$1 Gain coupons on 2 more of these specials. For the 9 bottles the cost was about $12, $1.50 per bottle for a total savings of $51.00. I’m still using the detergent.

Next is the coupon that offers BOGOF. Not long ago Pantene had such an offer. In addition, in the same flyer, Pantene had a $2 coupon. With my 2 flyers, I had 2 sets of coupons. The Pantene was on sale for $3.33 each. For $2.66 I got 4 Pantene. I saved about $11 on the sale price or about $17.50 on the regular price.

And last is the manufacturer’s package of BOGOF. Often to promote a product, a manufacturer will package 2 items for the price of one. This happens quite often. I always check for Zoya’s favorite Pupperoni at Petco. The health and beauty sections are a famous for this too as is the household cleaning products.

So keep a sharp eye out for these bonus deals.

As you all know I live in New York. We have a number of major chains. They include A&P, Pathmark, Waldbaums, Shop Rite and Stop & Shop. Some smaller and specialty chains include Trader Joe, Whole Foods, Stu Leonards, Food Emporium, and DeCicco.

All of our major chains accept and double coupons with different limits. Some of them accept internet and competitors coupons as well. Most of these variations are highlighted on the store’s web site or weekly circulars. But I always verify this information before I shop.

For example, if the store is offering a BOGOF sale, I can only use 1 coupon since my stores consider that a single purchase. If the same item is on sale for 2/$6.00 I can use 2 coupons on this particular purchase.

After speaking with lots of good coupon shoppers here in Florida, I found the policies are different. On a BOGOF sale, shoppers here can use 2 coupons.

My point, check the options for your store carefully so you can maximize your savings fully.

Visit us at: Select Coupon Program

This is a topic that deserves some more in depth discussions.

I’ve told you about my organizer with about 20 categories, and separate sections for
• Rainchecks,
• Miscellaneous items like batteries and bulbs,
• Retail coupons i.e. TrueValue, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Old Navy
• Coupons waiting to be filed

This has worked very well for me for the last 35+ years.

But I have seen a few other styles that work well too. In Clermont, FL I met up with Diane. Diane’s organizer was a looseleaf book divided into categories. Her coupons were placed in clear plastic pages, good for baseball cards. Each pocket contained similar coupons. For example in her cereal category I could see her internet, store and manufacturer coupons for Kellogg’s cereal. Upon flipping to toothpaste, I could see all the coupons from various brands saved as well.

Diane flips through the pages as she shops the aisles by categories, and pulls out the matching coupon. She loves her system.

Gina was another attendee. She had a small organizer, about 3” x 7” that she made herself from yellow colored poster board. She stapled the ends together and placed her coupons inside in alphabetical order. Hers fit perfectly inside her handbag so no matter when or where her coupons accompanied her.

The point of all this, is whatever system works for you, that’s the best system. So get your coupons ready and head off to the supermarket and your savings.

Coupons on the internet are all around us. And with so many consumer friendly sites, we can all share in these savings without much trouble.

First, almost every manufacturer has its own site. Many of these offer coupons and promotions. Often requiring a simple sign up, you’ll receive weekly or monthly e-newsletters with coupon offerings and other promotional updates.

This means you can receive goodies from Kraft, Betty Crocker, General Mills but also from retail outlets like Lord & Taylor, Borders books, TrueValue, and slews of others. The savings are plentiful, and all can be combined with specific store sales. Last year Borders had a 40% coupon on any single item. I was able to get my son Adam the 11 season of Southpark at a good buy.

And just a few weeks ago but old vacuum stopped working. To repair the burnt out motor, the cost was $180 plus tax. I priced out a Hoover Canister vacuum. Every local store was selling it at $299. I took my 20% Bed, Bath and Beyond coupon and paid $239. I saved on the tax too.

To access almost any site, put in the company name and add .com. That should bring you into the world of cyberspace savings.

One last tip, to reduce clutter in your inbox, set up a separate email address for all these individual signups. That way you can view all the savings at once and keep the rest of your emails separate.