First, let me say that I am no expert or guru. I get better every week, but I still have a lot to learn.
But, here are some of the best ways to save money:
Sign up for the loyalty card programs for your local stores. Grocery stores, drugstores...any stores that you regularly shop at, and even those you don't! I have a loyalty card for every grocery store in my area, even for ones that I've never shopped at because they don't have locations that are all that convenient to me. However, I still keep an eye out for spectacular deals at these stores, just in case. Most stores with loyalty programs will only honor their sales prices for card holders; other loyalty programs entitle you to a certain percentage of savings with every purchase, special coupons, etc.
Learn about other programs that those stores run, or programs that stores without cards run. For example, Rite Aid and Walgreens do not have loyalty cards, but Rite Aid has their Single Check Rebate (SCR) program, and Walgreens has a Register Rewards (RR) program. CVS has their ExtraCare card, and with that comes the ExtraCare Bucks (ECBs) program.
Comparison shop! Your favorite store may not always have the best deal available for a particular product. For example, the Gillette Fusion razors I mentioned in my CVS deals for the week. CVS has these razors on sale for $9.99, and you'll earn $5 in ECBs. There was a $4 coupon in Sunday's paper, so you'd pay $5.99 for the razor (unless you already have some ECBs to roll into the deal). But wait! Rite Aid also has the Fusion razors on sale this week - but for $9. It's also a rebate item this week, with a rebate value of $5. Why spend an extra $0.99 on the razor at CVS when you can get it completely free after rebate (FAR) at Rite Aid? Or here's an example from my grocery shopping this week: I needed to purchase some of the Dole fruit bowls for Noah. They're $2.69 each at Harris Teeter, and $2.57 each at Food Lion. Now, if I had had a coupon whose value would be doubled at Harris Teeter, the deal would have been better there, but the coupon I had was for $1 off of three - so my better deal was at Food Lion.
If you have the time and/or inclination, make a spreadsheet to keep track of the prices of items you routinely buy. Note the prices at different stores, and keep an eye on the prices during sales. Eventually, you'll notice a pattern and will know when and where you'll be able to get the best price possible for those items. Alternatively, you can join The Grocery Game and let them do the hard work for you - their system is color coded to let you know when something is on sale for the best price possible.
Combine coupons with sales as often as possible. This works even better if you have lots of storage space in your house, so that you can stock up on items when the sale and coupons are really great. I, unfortunately, do NOT have a lot of storage space, so I take advantage of what I can, when I can.
Don't be afraid to try a different brand or even a new product. A few weeks ago, Food Lion had the Bird's Eye Voila! meals on sale for $1.99. I had a couple of $1.00 coupons, so I got two of them for $0.99 each. We liked one of the meals and didn't like the other very much, but they were so cheap that I didn't mind the fact that we ended up not liking one of them. At least now I know something not to buy in the future.
For that matter, sometimes you'll end up buying things you don't necessarily need or want. As I mentioned in a previous post, I have eighteen tubes of unopened toothpaste in my house right now. Why? Because I either got them completely free or the store actually paid me to take them. I have the option to either not buy another tube of toothpaste for a couple of years, or to donate some of them. There are plenty of other deals like this; you may even find deals for items that you yourself may not want, but hey, Uncle Joe really likes product XYZ, so let's set it aside for Christmas! There are also tons of items that various shelters or other organizations in your area could use - if you're getting the item for free or are getting paid for it, why not do some good in your community and donate it?
Know where to find coupons! The Sunday paper is always a good place to start - and don't be afraid to buy multiple copies of the paper if the coupons that week are good ones for you. Write to companies whose products you enjoy; sometimes a simple email or letter complimenting their products is enough to score you some coupons, sometimes you'll need to ask outright if they can add you to any coupon mailing lists they may have. Join a site like Hot Coupon World (you can find me on there as stacym) and trade with other members. You can often find good coupons on eBay, and there are coupon clipping sites out there as well - I like The Coupon Clippers. Keep an eye out in the stores for blinkies (you know, the little machines that blink and spit out coupons LOL), tearpads, booklets, etc. Don't ignore the ads in your magazines - sometimes there are coupons there! All You magazine has some great coupons usually. Check the packaging on the products you buy - sometimes there will be coupons on the packaging itself, or contained within the packaging (for example, the Sargento Salad Finishers currently have $0.55/2 coupons inside the bags).
Have a method for organizing your coupons. I use the binder method, but that may not work for everyone. Find out what does work for you - you want to be able to find what you have quickly.
There's a lot more to the art of saving money, but it's late and the baby is actually asleep right now, so I'm going to go catch a few zzz's myself. Keep an eye out for more money saving tips in the future, and don't hesitate to let me know if there's something in particular you'd like to see me cover or if you have questions on anything. Happy shopping!
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