Here’s a really informative post that I wrote last year – I continue to receive a bunch of questions on how to save at the store while using coupons – here’s how I do it!

Every week I receive several emails asking for tips and advice on how to really save at the grocery store. More specifically, how do I stay on budget, plan my meals, and keep my sanity (okay, okay, I added that last one).

One of the emails I received last week was from Meredith and 2 of her specific questions were:

• Could you talk a little more about how you keep your spending so low?
• Do you strictly match coupons with what’s on sale and plan your meals that way?

.I thought I would use my grocery trip from last Friday to illustrate how I save big. Keep in mind, you may have to play around with these methods and find what works best for you and your family.

Meal Planning: I flip flop between two methods of meal planning on a budget without much rhyme or reason.

1. Some weeks I plan my meals around sales and matched up coupons.
2. Some weeks I plan my meals around foods that are currently in my stockpile. I might only need to pick up a handful of fresh ingredients at the store, as I am usually well stocked on pastas, meats, etc.

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Grocery Shopping: Simply put- I shop the sales WITH coupons. You have all probably seen my Acme and Superfresh matchups that I post each week. I scour the circulars and match current sales with coupons currently available either online or in recent newspaper inserts. Keep several things in mind when using this approach:

1. Buy multiple copies of the Sunday paper. I am telling you, if you want to build a decent stockpile (for pennies on the dollar) it really helps to buy a few copies of the paper for those valuable coupon inserts. Having multiple coupons allows you to purchase several of each item, thus building that stockpile. I decide how many copies of the paper to buy each week after checking out the coupon preview list (to see how good the coupons are based on typical sales in my area and what my family purchases). A good rule of thumb is to purchase one paper per family member.
2. Remember that there are other places to find coupons (make sure the stores you shop at accept internet printables before including them in your weekly shopping!). There are online coupons available at SmartSource, Red Plum and Coupons.com. If there is a super hot coupon for a product that your family LOVES, you can always purchase additional coupons from sites like The Coupon Clippers and Ebay. Last week I purchased 20 $.75/1 coupons for Breyers YoCrunch yogurt for $1 plus $.44 shipping. We LOVE this yogurt and Superfresh requently puts it on sale for $2-$2.50. Superfresh will double those coupons to $1.50 and I will be able to snag 4 packs of YoCrunch for $.50-$1 each. That’s a great stock up price!
3. Match sales to available coupons. You can do this yourself (I just keep a running list of current newspaper insert coupons in an MS Word doc) or find a blog that does the legwork for you. I am lucky to have several fantastic bloggers near me who cover the local stores that I don’t. I also like looking through store deals at www.afullcup.com.
4. Be flexible. The more flexible you are willing to be with brand names and stores you shop at will maximize your savings. I bounce back and forth between 3 or 4 different grocery stores in my area, depending on who has the best sales/matchups on any given week. Sometimes I will even hit 2 stores in one week to get the best deals from each one. Likewise, being flexible with the brands you buy will save you a lot. Brand X might be on sale for $3 from $5… but Brand Y might be on sale for $3 from $5 AND have an available $.75/1 coupon. You’ll pay $1.50 for Brand Y if your store doubles coupons- literally half of what you would have paid if you fell into the brand loyalty trap.
5. You don’t have to buy meat or other items every single week. To build a true stockpile, some weeks you will buy a mega pile of meat if there’s a great sale. You can freeze that meat and use it, even on weeks that meat is not on sale and you might not buy any. On any given week you will see a big variation on what I buy. One week I might buy 10 boxes of cereal because I was able to get it for less than $.50/box. You may not see any additional cereal purchases by me for another 2 months… it all depends. When I have a good stockpile of a certain item, the only way that I would buy more before it runs out is if I can get it for FREE to less than $1.
6. You can get things for FREE with coupons. This one baffles a lot of people- I know I was shocked to learn about it. There are so many times that you can get products for FREE using coupons. It’s simple: a product is on sale for $1. You have a $1/1 coupon= FREE. Or if your store doubles, a product could be on sale for even more… say $1.50 and you have a $.75/1 coupon= FREE. The scenarios are endless, but the result is always the same. Coupons can get you free product. Free is free- you win! When your store runs a catalina sale and you use coupons with catalina deals, you can even MAKE MONEY on what you buy.
7. Saving is not limited to coupons. Of course, I won’t lie. I save the majority of my money from coupons. But there are other ways to save some dough. Simply by shopping by the sales and using store loyalty cards, your savings will add up! Become a price savvy consumer: learn what prices are rock bottom markdowns for your store(s). That way you’ll know when it’s time to stock up on product.

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So keeping all of that in mind, let me show you what I purchased at Superfresh on Friday. My weekly budget for my family of 3 is $50. That does NOT include diapers (which we buy by the case @ Walmart every 2 weeks or so for $13.67).

You will see that I used my multiple coupons to purchase several of certain products. In other words, building a stockpile. The products that I bought multiples of were all on sale and I was able to use coupons for them as well, further lowering my price.

The shelf price for the food you see above is $72.08.

I paid $28.58.

Here are the following products that I stockpiled using sales and coupons and how much I paid/saved:

• Bounty Paper Towels: These rolls are usually $1.19 but were on sale for $1/each. I bought 6 ($6) and used 3 $1/2 coupons (-$3). I paid $3 for all 6 rolls, or $.50/roll. We actually don’t use paper towels much anymore. We use dishtowels for almost all wiping and cleaning in the kitchen. However we still keep paper towels on hand for pet messes and such. I consider $1 to be a good price for store brand paper towels, so to be able to get the name brand rolls for $.50/each was a great deal!
• Quaker Chewy Granola Bars: We love these to snack on so I always stock up when they go on sale. I would say between $.50 and $1 per box is a great stockup price. These were on sale for $1.24/box (when you buy 5). I bought 5 and used two $1/2 coupons. Total was $.84/box.
• Francesco Rinaldi Pasta Sauce: We use lots of pasta sauce, so I always stock up when there is a good deal. I won’t pay more than $1 for a jar of sauce. Normally $2.49, these sauces were on sale for $1/each. I bought 4 jars and used 4 $.30/1 coupons which each doubled to $.60 off. I paid $.40 for each jar of sauce.
• Rold Gold Pretzels: Such a healthy snack! I’m always looking for a great price on pretzels and this was one of the best I’ve ever gotten. Normally $2.99/bag, these were on sale for $1.50/each. I bought 2 and used 2 $.55/1 coupons which each doubled to $1.10. I paid $.40 for each bag of pretzels. (I was so excited about this price that I actually purchased a set of 20 more of these coupons on Ebay! These will be super for summer bbqs and snacks both at home and when we travel.)

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How does all of that sale/coupon matching add up?

I bought: 2 bags of Rold Gold Pretzels, 4 jars of Francesco Rinaldi pasta sauce, 5 boxes of Chewy Granola Bars and 6 rolls of Bounty Paper towels for a whopping $9.60. Price before sale and coupons: $55.77.

That’s a savings of 83%!!!

So, in a nutshell, that’s how I do it. That’s how I consistently save money while purchasing name brand items that we will use. Having only spent $28.58 at the store this week, I still have $21.42 left in our weekly budget. I went to the QMart over the weekend and purchased $15 in produce: 5 lbs potatoes, carrots, oranges, eggplant, green beans, lettuce, green peppers, yams, grape tomatoes and broccoli! We may also have to stop at the dairy for milk- 2 half gallons @ $2.05 each.

New to couponing? I highly recommend The Coupon Mom’s Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bill in Half- it is a fantastic, very easy to read book that will serve as your couponing bible!

I would love to hear your thoughts! Do you shop in a similar way? If not, what have you found that works for you?

When I very first started on this frugal journey, I quickly realized that saving heaps of money was not just limited to the drugstore and grocery store.

In fact, there are SO many ways to save upwards of 90% on CLOTHING – I can’t really imagine ever paying retail again to outfit my family.  I’ve already told you how much I love consignment sales and how much you can save at Salvation Army.  In fact, there are also many stores that consistently offer fabulous sales and clearance deals.  Kohl’s is one of my faves – they almost always have some great clearance deals and frequently mail coupons for up to 30% off in addition to the markdowns.

Old Navy is another store that offers some fabulous clearance deals.  Every few months they hold a “50% off clearance price” sale… and you can take an ADDITIONAL 50% off the lowest ticketed price.

My last trip to Old Navy was right after the 50% off clearance sale but everything in the store was 30% off – so I still scored some deep discounts with 30% off clearance price.

Here’s what I bought:

Keep in mind- these are brand new clothes.  The reason that I point that out is because the price I ended up paying easily rivals if not beats consignment sale or Salvation Army shopping – and that’s for gently USED clothing!

Original sticker price of everything pictured above: $98

Price I paid: $17.35

The breakdown:

Kids’ Holiday Long Sleeved Shirts: 2 were originally $8.50, 1 was originally $5 – I paid $.68 per shirt

Poker Themed Graphic Tee for Biker Bob: Was $14.50 – I paid $2.79

Denim skirt for me: Was $29.50 – I paid $5.59

Fleece jacket for Lily Bean – Was $12.50 – I paid $2.44

Sweater for Lily Bean – Was $19.50 – I paid $3.49

Not bad!

Now, when you are shopping clearance sales, many times you need to shop ahead for the next year.  The reason the winter clothes were on final clearance sale was because the store was getting ready to bring in their Spring clothing.  So I went into the store thinking ahead for NEXT winter.  Lily Bean is currently wearing 2T clothing… so I bought all 3T for next year.  I do the same thing each season – always filling Lily’s closet with cute clothes at a fraction of the retail cost.

Where do you find the best savings and discounts when it comes to clothes?

It’s been a long time since I posted a Groupon refresher. It’s been almost a year since Groupon launched and I am certainly addicted to the amazing deals. Here is some helpful information about Groupon, how it works and how it can save you some serious cash.

Last year, I kept seeing advertisements for Groupon.com, but had no clue what it was. I figured it was some sort of coupon, but beyond that, I was lost. Then one night here in Philadelphia, our local news ran a segment introducing Groupon- and I finally got it. AND I LOVED IT!

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Here’s the idea: Groupon actually stands for “Group On.” Each day there is 1 super fabulous deal offered, one per city. The deal could be anything from a restaurant discount to laser hair removal to bowling. The featured merchant offers a product or service at a substantial discount for one day only.

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Ah ha- but there’s more. In order for that discount to be accepted, a certain number of people have to purchase it (behold, the power of collective buying!).  Once the group reaches a certain set number (usually around 20 or so), the GROUP is ON. The merchant will accept the coupons, your credit card will be charged, and you will save a boatload of money!!

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You don’t have to rush right out to use your coupon. From what I have seen, many of them are valid for 6 months to a year after you purchase them.

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What happens if not enough people sign up? Your credit card is not charged.  The deal is dead.

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Here’s an example of a great past Groupon (note- these are one day deals ONLY- you cannot purchase old deals!). In Dallas, there was this phenomenal deal for a local bowling alley.

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Let me dissect the deal for you:

1) Pay just $19 for $50 worth of bowling and entertainment

2) 20 people need to purchase in order for the GROUP to be ON

3) The GROUP is ON!! You can see that they blew past the required 20 people.

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Go head- try Groupon today! Sign up and then wait for a fantastic deal (or 2 or 3!) to come along.

Still not sure? Watch the video below- it’s a fantastic tutorial!

Just in case you are still undecided as to whether or not you want to make time for coupons, I thought I would give you a visual.  Last week I wrote about how to use coupons to plan your meals and create a stockpile for way less than retail.

A few days after that, I made a quick trip to Superfresh.  I had ordered some coupons and wanted to use a bunch of them up on current sales.

Before coupons and store card savings, the total for all of the groceries below was $55.32.

I paid $9.80.

Here’s the breakdown:

Hillshire Farms: I had two FREE coupons for these products from the manufacturer.

Breyer’s YoCrunch Yogurt: On sale for $2.  I used $.75/1 coupons that doubled to $1.50 off of each one.  Total came to $.50 each or $2 for all 4 packs.

Rold Gold Pretzels (assorted varieties): On sale for $1.50.  I used $.55/1 coupons that doubled to $1.10 off of each one.  Total came to $.40 each or $4.80 for all 11 bags.

Bounty Paper Towels: On sale for $1.  I used $1/2 coupons.  Total came to $.50 each or $3 for all 6 rolls.

You still may think that couponing just isn’t your thing… and that’s okay.  For myself, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to NOT coupon- the savings are just too substantial.  The shopping trip above took about 20 minutes to plan and cut coupons.  Those coupons and sales enabled me to save 82% off of retail price.  Love it!

I am asked all the time if I think that coupon books, for example Kids Stuff Books and Entertainment Books, are really worth the money that you pay for them.

Coupon books are popular fundraiser choices for school and other group fundraisers because they offer a high profit margin for those organizations.  The price tag for these books can vary, but are typically $20 – $30.  So when you find a great deal, you’ll want to jump on it.

I have owned both an Entertainment Book and a Kids Stuff Book and have found pros and cons with these coupon books.  Though I have to say, my opinion of them is overwhelmingly positive.

Here are some pros and cons when it comes to purchasing and using a coupon book:

Pros

:: Pays for itself after just a few coupon uses. Last year our Entertainment Book paid for itself after 3 different museum visits where we used B1G1 free admission coupons!

:: Offers a wide variety of coupons: restaurants, retail stores, attractions, etc

:: Has coupons for both national chain stores and smaller, independent stores

:: Some books (Entertainment Book, for example) offer additional coupons online – free with your book purchase

:: Long time to use, depending on when you buy your book.  Coupons expire at the end of the year..  November 1st for the Entertainment Book, December 31 for the Kids Stuff Book

Cons

:: You must purchase the books, usually selling for $15+

:: Books are sold by geographic location so you may want to purchase another book if you plan to take a trip to a different area (if you feel that you would use a fair number of coupons during that trip)

:: The later you purchase the book, the less time you have to use the coupons before they expire at the end of the year

:: You have to get into the habit of remembering to bring the book with you when you go out, or leave it in your car

Well, that’s all fine and good.

But, Mama Cheaps, do you REALLY use that many coupons from your book?  I mean, c’mon, really?

So I have decided to try a little experiment.

In October, I purchased a 2011 Kids Stuff Coupon Book from a friend.  Her son’s preschool was selling them for a fundraiser. Kids Stuff Books are a tad different than Entertainment Books, in that many of the coupons are aimed at kids.  Free kids meals, free admission for kids at area attractions, etc.  I would say that most of the book’s coupons are adult oriented, but there is a plentiful selection of kid savings as well.

I paid $25 for the book.

I decided to keep track of my coupon usage throughout the year to see if I make up my initial $25 or not.

As of 12/11/10 (not even 2011 yet!) I have already saved the following:

$1.01 at Dunkin’ Donuts (Used a $.99 hot coffee coupon)

$3.29 at McDonald’s (Used a B1G1 free Big Mac coupon)

$2.80 at Michaels (Used a 40% off one regular price item coupon)

$4.99 at Applebee’s (Used a free kids’ meal coupon)

Total saved so far: $12.09

Total needed to recoup book purchase:  $12.91

Alrighty.

On Friday I showed you how to rock a presale at a consigment sale: get in, canvas the area, grab the big stuff that you REALLY REALLY want and are willing to pay list price for.  I had a blast finding so many treasures to bring home- and that Joovy Caboose stroller at about 70% off list price was the icing on the cake.

Now for clothes…

I have a different method for loading up on cheap clothes- I wait until 1/2 off day. In fact, I didn’t even look at clothes (besides jackets) on Friday (full price day).  I wait for the discount day and head to the racks.

Here’s the thing…

Lily Bean is NEVER at a shortage for clothes.  She gets new clothes for her birthday and Christmas each year.  She gets new clothes from various clearance deals that I come across, for example at Kohl’s or JCPenney.  She gets new clothes from doting grandmothers who like to send surprise packages. She gets gently worn clothes from her cousin who is almost exactly 1 year older than her.  This kid’s closet is usually always belching clothes.

That being said, she is a kid.  Kids stain, rip and otherwise destroy clothes- especially the everyday play clothes.  So it should come as no surprise that I LOVE to stock up on those as frugally as possible.

My favorite thing about buying clothes at consignment sales is that you can find high quality clothes for a fraction of the retail price. I will look through the clothes and only consider pieces that are $1-$2.50ish.  Maybe up to $3 if I really really love it.  No higher.

My sister made me laugh today.  She saw me picking out pair after pair of khaki pants for Lily Bean.  She said, “Yeah, I’d love to dress Ava in khakis, but they just stain so easily.  She always ruins them.”

To which I said, “And THAT is why I load up at consignment sales!  When Lily ruins her $1 Gap khaki pants, I couldn’t care less!  If she splattered spaghetti sauce on a pair of Gap khakis that I paid $30 for, I would cry.”

Between the stain potential and the speed with which kids grow, you just can’t beat stocking up on clothes… and the bonus is that you can pay Walmart-esque prices for Children’s Place/Gymboree type clothes.

Check out my haul from today!

:: Cherokee Khaki Pants – $1.50

:: Cherokee Jeans (new with tags) – $2.50

:: Gymboree Sweater – $1.75

:: Okee Dokie Shirt – $1.75

:: Ocean City, NJ Hoodie – $1.50

:: Osh Kosh Cowgirl Denim Jumper (LOVE!!) w/ long sleeved shirt- $3

:: Osh Kosh Cardigan (new with tags) – $2

:: Circo Denim Skirt – $1.25

:: Osh Kosh Khaki Jumper with Shirt – $1.25

:: Sonoma Khaki Pants – $1

:: Jumping Beans Khaki Pants – $1.50

:: Lite Wear Jeans – $1

For a grand total of $20 for all of those clothes: 1 skirt, 2 jumpers, 2 sweaters, 1 sweatshirt, 2 pairs of jeans, 3 pairs of khaki pants and 3 shirts!

Now for shoes…

:: Saddle Shoes (brand new in box) – $2.50

:: Circo Sneakers – $1.25

:: Sketchers Sneakers – $1.50

And the miscellaneous stuff that I couldn’t resist:

:: Melissa and Doug Magnetic Weather Board – $3.25

:: Blue’s Clues DVD – $1.50

:: Car Travel Mat (new in package) – $.50

:: Plex Plush Doll – $1

:: Infantino ABC Puzzle – $2

Let’s sing a song, shall we?

It’s called “Oh, I LOVE CONSIGNMENT SALES!”

Here’s the song, “La La La!  I love consignment sales!  Yippee!  La La La!”

*Jazz Hands*

LOL

Er, sorry.  Now that that’s out of my system…

The Clothing Tree sale is this weekend (local readers – it’s in Richlandtown, near Quakertown).  The public sale starts THIS MORNING (Saturday).  I went to yesterday’s presale with absolutely nothing in mind that I needed or really wanted.  It turns out that’s the best way for ME to shop these consignment sales.

In the past, I would find myself have a near anxiety attack because I HAD TO HAVE AN EXERSAUCER or I WAS DESPERATE FOR AN INFLATABLE RUBBER DUCK TUB.

This time around, I seriously did not need anything. Christmas shopping is finished, birthday just ended, closet is brimming with clothes.  This was truly a pleasure shop for me- and I think I ended up walking away even more excited than usual- b/c everything was unexpected.  Everything was a bonus.  My heart rate also stayed at a healthy rate because I was not formulating a “divide and conquer” gameplan in my head. 

If you’re new to consignment sale shopping, keep in mind the two big seasons for sales are Spring and Fall.  Both sales have all of the usual: baby equipment, clothing, toys, etc.  But the fall sales will have the winter duds- jackets, snow pants, boots, etc and Halloween costumes.  The spring sales will have bathing suits, and other summer/pool items.

Here’s how we did!

We spent a whopping total of $90.  But our savings were HUGE!

:: 2 jackets for Lily Bean!  Pink winter jacket is in like-new condition and was $5.50.  Brand new Levis jean jacket (tags still attached) was just $2.50.  That jacket will be perfect for our fall road trip to Texas!

:: Whole bunch of great stuff we will use here!

• Sound maker that is identical to the one in Lily Bean’s room- we grabbed this for our road trip for $5.
  
• New in package sun shades for the car  – $1.
  
• Safety latches (we need more!) – 2 boxes for $3.
  
• 2 juice box holders- I will be stuffing one of these in the diaper bag for times we eat at a restaurant and the kid’s meal includes a juice box (like Baja Fresh).  We got both holders for $1 ($.50 each).
  
• Bed rail for our camper (going camping in 2 weeks!) – $4.
  
• Circo (Target) sneakers- $2.
  
• The very same BOOTS that Lily has (and LOVES) now!  These are BRAND NEW (not a single scuff mark on bottom) Osh Kosh brand boots for $6.  They are 3 sizes bigger than Lily wears right now-  so she’ll be able to return to her beloved boots at some point.

Crazy barn tent/tunnel contraption that Biker Bob insisted that we get.  Fortunately Lily Bean thinks it’s fantastic too. We got this for $5.

I LOVE this Little Tikes picnic table!  It’s cute, in like-new condition, and it even folds up so that we can easily move it or bring it to picnics/parties if needed.

We paid $8 for this.

AND FINALLY!

The item that I am the MOST excited about… I have been wanting one of these for about a year now- ever since I saw one for the first time at the aquarium.  It’s a Joovy Caboose Tandem Stand-On Stroller!!!  Meaning, Lily Bean (or future someday baby #2) can ride in the front like a regular stroller (there is even a CAR SEAT attachment so that you can snap an infant seat right in) but THEN! there is also the option for her to sit on the bench in the back…  OR!  She can stand up and hold onto the railings like a big girl!

This stroller is in fantastic shape.  The only blemish or even sign of wear that I could find was a sticky spot on the snack tray.  It scrubbed right off when I got home and now is seriously in GREAT shape.  The best part is that Lily, who likes to put up a huge protest when she is done with her stroller, LOVES this thing.  She thinks the bench on the back is AWESOME and doesn’t realize that she’s still being confined and pushed around. 

We picked up this gem for a mere $55.

I am so happy about these finds.

What is your favorite way to shop consignment sales?  Do you do better with a set list in mind of things to check out?  Or do you like throwing caution to the wind and finding whatever jumps out at you?  Or a little of both?

I am definitely a little of both.  There are sometimes when I can’t help but hope that I find something particular.. but others when browsing is the word of the day.