Strategic Shopping My other Job

A friend of mine asked to take lessons when she read my status on Facebook last week about only paying $17 for $71 for groceries. That made me laugh because I just follow several deal blogs & do what they tell me! 

Especially my friend Gwen’s site, The Savings Jungle, which details the local sales & coupon deals.

Here is my routine!

1.  I buy two St. Louis Post papers & one local paper every Sunday on the way home from church.  (My kids love this because they get to read the comics—family tradition here)  This costs me about $5.  If I use just 5 coupons I will break even.

2.  If I get the time on Sunday, I flip through the coupons & take out & clip any I KNOW that I will use.  If not, I will do it while watching a movie one night that week.

3.  I combine the coupon inserts.  That way I have the same coupons together.  Notice I am not clipping at this time.  I also throw away all the non coupon(ads) pages from the inserts to reduce the bulk.

4.  What is left of the inserts gets put in my coupon binder.  I mark on the front of the inserts the dates so I can easily find a coupon I need(based on the date).  Helps my poor eyes not have to read the fine print later.

5.  Locally, there is a free paper that is delivered on Wednesday evening.  When that arrives in my drive way I look through the ads for items that I feel are good deals.  I frequent several stores—Schnucks, Gerbes, Mosers, Hy-vee, & Aldis.  I also go to Target & Wal-mart on less frequent occasions.  I also keep a price book to help me with knowing if a price is a good deal.

6.  When I find a good deal I circle it in black sharpie so it really jumps off the page at me.

7.  Thursday morning I make a weekly deals round up page from the black circles(idea from Life..Your Way) so I can see easily what I am shopping for when I go.  I also mark down any coupons I know about that match up on this page.  I check The Savings Jungle to see if she’s found a few more good deals & mark those down on my page.

8.  I check my Menu Plan to see what I am going to need  for the the next 7 days and add any ingredients that are needed.  Fresh fruit, vegies, bread, & milk get added here too.

9.  Lastly I really looks to see what stores have the most deals.  I might go to just one or two.  Gas prices factor in to this decision. 

We have piano lessons on Thursday so I hit the stores that are on the way & closest to that.  I shop while the kids are at their lesson so I am using my time wisely.  We are also out on Tuesdays so I can go to the other stores then if I decide it is really necessary.

10.  After my round up page is created I gather the coupons that I need from my binder or my clipped coupon stash(this travels with me).  I don’t take my big binder with me to the store.  I also print a lot of coupons off the internet and I store those in my traveling stash.

11.  Now I am ready to shop.  I take along my list & my coupon stash every time I go in to town because you never know when you might have time to swing in a store.

All these steps have evolved and are still evolving today.  I am sure a year from now I will have found something new or better to use.  So take what works for you and leave the rest!  But I hope this helps you save money & find a little more wiggle room in your budget!