When to Use Coupons on Groceries: How to Save More on Food Costs
It's mind-boggling how some people have learned the right combination of coupons to get the price of Ketchup down to $0.07 per bottle. However, the amount of time that goes into that type of couponing is extraordinary as well. I looked into doing it myself because, who wouldn't want to save 96% on groceries? But this wasn't going to work with my 40+ hour work week. I just didn't have enough time to research, plan, and stack coupons. Instead, I found ways I could still use coupons to my advantage but would fit within my lifestyle and work week. This way I could still save money on groceries but didn't have to take up a second job doing market research for items I may not even need.
Below lists some simple ways you can get your grocery costs down with coupons:
Study when your local grocery store marks down items. Over time you'll not only learn the rock bottom prices for your favorite foods but also when they go on sale. At my local store this usually happens on Wednesdays when new shipments arrive. Combine the sales price with the store's printed coupons (routinely done at Kroger for frequent purchases), and you save even more. For example - my husband and I will wait until our favorite frozen dinners are marked down, then use a store printed coupon for an extra $2 off a quantity of eight. This helps us save a few extra dollars here and there which really adds up by the end of the month.
Learn how to save on your most expensive items. Oddly enough, the most expensive things we purchase at the grocery store aren't food related. They're miscellaneous items such as cleaning products, shampoo, lotion, razor blades, etc. Buying store brand over name brand may help save a little on these types of things, but what helps save even more is searching for coupons on the manufacturers' websites. Combining a manufacturer's coupon with a sale price really made a dent in our highest priced grocery items.
Know which coupons your local stores will accept. A manufacturer's coupon with a CVS logo on it may not be accepted at Kroger or other non-CVS stores (even though technically they can be used anywhere). Read your store's coupon policy. If a coupon isn't valid but you feel it should be, speak to a manager. I've never actually had to do this, but it's always an option.
What helped us save time was using the Krazy Coupon Lady app. All the research is done for you through the app. You just search for deals at your selected stores and save them to your shopping list in the app. However, keep in mind not all coupon deals are cheaper when compared to the store brand products.
Look for deals such as 10 items for $10 in store. Then combine the sale item with a $1 off coupon for the same product, and you just got a can of beans for FREE. If the store's policy allows it, this will be an added savings to your food budget.
We also wait for BOGO (buy one item and get one free) offers in store, and add any additional coupons we can to those items.
Walmart will both match competitor coupons and give you cash back. For example - if your coupon is for $1.50 off Cheerios, which is already marked down to $1.29 in store, you will get $0.21 cash back, or if you are buying additional items the credit will be applied to those.
The trick that helped us save the most was waiting for our items to go on sale, then adding our coupons at check out for additional savings.
We gathered all of our coupons from multiple places - in store, our grocery store's website, reputable online coupon sites like coupons.com, manufacturer websites, and through the mail. We'd then quickly sort the coupons we could use by expiration date and store. All of our coupons we kept in an envelope in my wallet to have on hand and ready whenever we went to the grocery store. This allowed us to be prepared and organized during our grocery store trips.
Hope these tips and tricks help you start saving even more with coupons on your next grocery store visit.