Grocery Shopping for Deals

Grocery Shopping, I know you hate to do it, so you make it quick. Just run in and run out grabbing the things that you need for the next few days. If you go at all. You would be surprise how many people skip the grocery store and order take out every night. But grocery shopping is a necessary evil especially if you are trying to save money. And you can't buy your Mr. Clean from Domino's. Taking the time to plan your visit will save you money every month. And yes you will notice the savings. If you are like me, you have 2-4 different grocery chains within a few miles from one another. And each one every week has specials for you to take advantage of. I'm not telling you to go to every store every week and I'm not telling you to buy something you wouldn't normally buy. But if boneless chicken breasts are on sale for $1.99 / pound why would you just buy enough for one meal? Priced normally at $5.99 and up, buying several pounds of chicken and freezing it for future meals adds up to huge savings. Only use Tide to do laundry. Well guess what, when it goes on sale by two or (gasp) even three and you have enough to last you until the next time it goes on sale. Only use Gillette razors - well you get what I'm talking about. It's called the art of stock piling. And it saves people $$$$ every time you shop. Every week, grocery stores send you their weekly specials in the mail and more than likely every week, you throw them out, without looking at them. Well glance at them next time you are eating your shrimp fried rice. Find out which store has the most items of your favorite items on sale, MAKE A LIST, and spend some time visiting the aisles of your grocery stores, stocking up on your favorite items. Look at that insert, Cereal is only $2.00! There are pages of sale items every week from stores begging for you to visit them. Note, If you don't get the sale circulars in the mail you can always go on-line and view the weekly sales from the store's website. Most even have the ability to create a shopping list on line so you can print a ready to go list.

Also, in order to take advantage of most sales, you have to join their club. DO IT! It's harmless. If you don't want to carry a card every where you go or if you are prone to losing them, several stores can look you up by phone number. And if you are still paranoid more than likely, the cashier or the customer next to you in line can offer you one to scan - especially since they are getting the credit for your purchases which adds up to bigger savings (for another post, don't want to confuse you).

I admit, I feel funny when I have four boxes of Cocoa Puffs in my cart and on my shelfs but I can't live without my chocolate fix. And if I can have it and save money at the same time, I'm CucKoo for them (sorry, had to throw that in)

Bed, Bath & Beyond Coupons

You get them in the mail every week, they show up in your Sunday paper. They populate like rabbits and I bet you throw them all away. Well knock it off! Don’t you know how much money you can save. Especially since:

1. Even though they say they expire - they don’t. You can use them no matter how old they are.
2. You can use Bed Bath & Beyond Coupons at Linens & Things and vice versa.
3. You can used one coupon PER item you buy. So yes for those sitting in the cheap seats, if you have 5 $100 items you can use 5 coupons saving you 20% off of each item. Not bad.

Make sure you pay attention to the coupon some of them say $5.00 off of $20.00, $10.00 off of $30.00 and once or twice a year they send out a 20% off of your entire purchase. But generally what you see above is what you get. So stick a few in your cars or at work so you have them for those days when your toilet overflows and you need to buy a plunger (I speak from personal experience on that one).

Remember both stores sell a lot more than just towels and sheets. After all it is Bed, Bath & Beyond!!!! Appliances, candles, cleaning supplies, and yes even coffee and food. Seasonal items like Margarita Mix in May and Hot Chocolate in December I even saw a Beer of the Month box there once (hiccup).

Go in, take a look around but don’t forget the coupons.

Not too bad. Can perhaps be a higher rating if you walk to the register with 15 items and 15 coupons but trust me, those cash register girls are use to it.