The basic idea of Frugalicious shopping is just what the definition says:  buying things that agree with or delight you at very little expense.

If you want to quickly lower your monthly bills, one of the quickest ways to do this is to become a Frugalicious grocery shopper.

Have you ever been behind someone in line at the grocery store, or seen someone on a talk show that spends $3 on $120 worth of groceries? Do you wonder if it is really possible to do that regularly? Is it even legal? Does it take an enormous amount of time? Where do they get all those coupons anyway?

The best part?  Well, the principals you learn in Frugalicious grocery shopping can be applied to almost anything you purchase.  So, you can eventually save in almost every area of your budget.

So, how exactly does Frugalicious grocery shopping work?

Well, most people shop in one of two ways:

• Necessity Shopping

Decide what you want to eat for the week. Make a list of the items you will need. Go to the store and buy those items.

• Sale Shopping

Decide what you will eat based on what is on sale that week. Buy only items that are on sale.


With necessity shopping, you are forced to pay whatever each item is being sold for that particular week. Even if you shop with a list (which does save money), you will still be spending quite a bit more than you need to.

With sale shopping, you may not always want to eat what is on sale that week, or there may not be enough items on sale to make a week's worth of meals. In addition, just because something is on sale doesn't mean it is actually a good price. Haven't you ever seen an item "on sale" for less than it was "on sale" for the week before?

So, what is the solution?

Frugalicious shopping is a method of shopping that allows you to spend the least possible amount on things (buying them all at rock bottom prices) while still buying the products you love. Two things make this possible:

1. Deal Stacking
2. Price Tracking & Stockpiling

• Deal Stacking

When trying to save money on groceries, the first place most people look is to the store circular:  they start buying the things that are advertised on sale. While this is good, it usually isn't enough to make a noticeable (40% or more) difference in your monthly grocery bill.

However, if you can "stack" those sales with other deals, say a manufacturers coupon, a store coupon, or a rebate for example, you will begin to notice a bigger difference.

Take the following example:

Toothpaste:

• Regular Price: $4.50
• Sale Price: $3

Now, let continue stacking deals:

• Available manufactures coupon: $1 off 1 (now each toothpaste is $2)
• Available Store coupon available: $.50 off 1 (now each toothpaste is $1.50)
• Available Rebate: Get $4 back when you buy 4 (now each toothpaste is $0.50!)
  

The sale price only got us 33% off the original price, stacking deals got us 89% off! That is a big difference!

While you won't be able to stack deals like this on every item you buy, doing so on the items you can will make a huge dent in your grocery budget!

• Price Tracking & Stockpiling

The next reason that shopping just from the store circular doesn't work is that just because an item is on "sale," doesn't mean it is on sale for a great price.  Some items in the circular are on sale for a rock bottom price, but others aren't.

So, how do you tell the difference?  Well, keep a record of the prices you see for the items you buy most.  After a few weeks or months you will know what the low price is for that item.  (Or, if you don't want to do that work, you can become a contributor to our Weekly Tools where we track thousands of items for you)

Now comes the fun part: Stockpiling!  When an item goes on sale for its rock bottom price, stock up! Buy a lot! If your favorite cereal is on sale for $0.50, buy 10 of them!  Stack that with a coupon, and you may even get your cereal for free!

If you do this with every (or most) of the items your family uses, you will eventually have a mini store in your own home full of just the items you love that you bought at great prices. You will never have to pay full price, or even an average sale price for those items again. The more items you stockpile, the more you will lower your grocery bill.

In addition, you can eat whatever you want each week b/c you can shop out of your stockpile instead of being limited to just what is on sale that week.


So, that's it: learn to stack deals, and learn to track deals & stockpile and you will be well on your way to becoming a great Frugalicious grocery shopper.


Here is an example:

One of my favorite stores in The Children's Place.  Most of my kid's clothes come from there.  So in order to shop in a "Frugalicious" way, I do two things:

1. Track sales and Stockpile. 
I know that although they will likely have many things "on sale"  each week, there is twice a year that The Children's Place sells their inventory for a rock bottom price: during their Monster Sale.  So, I stock up on kids clothing twice a year during that sale.  I buy what my children will be wearing in 6 months.  I actually rarely buy clothes any other time.

2.  Stack Deals
Not only do I shop during that sale, but I stack that rock bottom sale with some online cash back, an online coupon code (or printable paper coupon), and a gift card I bought at a discounted price.

Here is how it breaks down:

I recently bought 7 shirts, 3 pajamas, 4 pairs of shorts, 1 pair of sandals, church shoes, a hat, and 1 jacket for each of my twin boys and 2 dresses, 3 pairs of pants, 7 shirts, a hat, 2 pairs of shorts, & 3 pajamas for my daughter.

Total before any discounts:  $559
Total after Monster Sale: $223


Online Coupon Code applied for an additional 15% off: $190
Used gift cards that I purchased at 15% off: $161.50
Got 5% cash back on my purchase: $152 or 75% off the original prices!

You can do this same thing at your favorite stores, and we will help you.

Every time we post a deal/coupon on our blog, we do our best to help you find some way to stack it with another deal/coupon etc.  With the help of those posts, our many existing tutorials, and ongoing tips, you will be a Frugalicious shopper in no time!





Was this helpful? Did you know you can get regular updates by email or in your favorite reader when we post new deals and tips? In addition, if you know someone else who may find this helpful, you can easily share it with them by clicking on a button below (not available if you are reading this by email or in a reader):