Good luck!  

• Buy Schick Hydro 3 or 5 razor for $8.97
• Use $5 off 1 coupon from 06/13 SS - $3.97
• Get Back $4 in ECBs - FREE!
• Submit for Full Purchase Price Rebate - $9 moneymaker!

Thanks, Money Saving Mom!
 

 

 

 

So, I'm not quite sure why this week ended up as such a disaster.  No Stater Bros, messed up on Ralphs, no Riteaid.  Argh!  Unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to get CVS up on time either.  The girl who enters it for me had a really rough week and just let me know that she wasn't able to get it done.  We will hopefully be able to get it done by Monday.  Thanks for your patience this week.  I appreciate it.

 

One of the things I always (well, okay, not always....I have 3 kids under 3...c'mon, but I sure wish it was always) have with me at the grocery store is a calculator.  I use during almost every shopping trip. 

I use it to help me calculate price / ea so I know when a larger size of something is actually cheaper.  When I tell people this, they often say to me: "Don't you know that the price / ea is already calculated out for you on the price tag?  Just look a little closer."  Yes, they are right, the price per each is often calculated for you.  But there are two situations where this still isn't enough information:

Different Brands Calculate Price / ea Differently
For example, one brand of mouthwash may say $0.53 / oz on the price tag while another may say $0.018 / mL.  Those two prices are the exact same ($8.99 for 16.9 oz or 500 mL), but because the two brands use a different form of measurement, it is difficult to make a fair comparison.

Coupons Can Change the Price / ea Significantly
Coupons often make smaller sizes a better deal, but it is hard to be sure unless you have a calculator.  For example, Let's say jumbo pack diapers are on sale for $8.99 ($0.25 ea for size 3) and mega packs are on sale for $13.99 ($0.23 ea for size 3).  Without a coupon, you can quickly glance at the price tags and see that the mega pack is the better deal.  But what if you have a $3 off coupon?  Now, your jumbo pack is $5.99 and your mega pack is $10.99.  You will need a calculator to figure the price / ea because this isn't written on the price tag.  The jumbo pack is now $0.166 / ea and the mega pack is $0.183 / ea.  The jumbo pack is the better deal, but without a calculator you may not have know that!



 

The Riteaid ad will not be updated this week.  I entered all the data on Monday, but somehow between now and last night the file became corrupted.  Since I am not at home, I don't  have access to the program to re-do it.  I apologize for the inconvience.  Shannon at For the Mommas typically does a great matchup on Saturdays.

 

One questions I get from a lot of people is:


My answer is:  

• It depends on how you currently shop.
• It depends on the types of food you buy.
• It depends on how much you want to save.
• It depends on how busy you are.

Frugalicious Shopping consists of two parts:

• Stockpiling when things are on sale for a rock bottom price
• Stacking deals (stacking sales with coupons and / or rebates etc) for increased savings.

Our Grocery Shopping Tools tell you when something is on sale for it's rock bottom price before coupons. 

Can you save money with just that information?  Well, it depends.

It depends on how you currently shop.
If you already shop with a list, only buy essentials, and track prices on your own or have a fairly extensive Price Book, you won't save much more by using the Grocery Shopping Tools.  However, if you don't shop with a list, don't track prices, and just buy whatever you need each week, you should be able to cut your grocery bill by about 30%-40% by using the Grocery Shopping Tools without using coupons.

It depends on the types of food  you buy.
While there are coupons for organic and whole foods, they are less common that other coupons.  They can also be a little more difficult to find.  So, if you buy a lot of these types of foods, you will save less than someone else, but you will still save.


It depends on how much you want to save.
If you want to cut your grocery bill by 60%-80%, you will need to use coupons.  If you are comfortable with saving 30%-40%, you should be able to accomplish that without coupons (as long as you really focus on stocking up when things are on sale for a rock bottom price)

It depends on how busy you are.
"Couponing" takes time.  Personally, I believe it is well worth my time, so I have made time for it.  However, everyone's situation is different.  You may not have time to add it to your life right now; it may not be worth it for your family right now.  You can still save money.  I have a good friend who is extremely busy right now.  She simply glaces at the Current Deals List right before she goes shopping.  She filters it to show just the store she is planning to shop at and checks just 2-3 items that are on sale for a rock bottom price.  She stocks up on just those 2-3 items and does the rest of her shopping just like she normally would.  She has been doing this for almost a year now.  She has slowly built a nice stockpile of food without spending much time and without using coupons. Her grocery bill has lowered by about 15% from where it was 1 year ago and she has a nice stockpile of food.

• There are many coupons for the following: snack foods, cereal, baby supplies, frozen foods, canned goods, and boxed/prepared food, cleaning supplies, personal care items, medicines, cheese & yogurt, condiments, baking needs, and paper goods.

• There are occasionally coupons for these categories (more so if you use online coupons): produce, milk, eggs, bread, fresh meats, and lesser known organic or health food brands.

• If you choose to try and match coupons to sales on your own, it can take hours each week. If you choose to use the Grocery Shopping Tools provided here at Frugalicious which do most of the work for you, you should only spend 15-30 min a week on average.

• The average coupon is worth about $0.90. The Current Deals List database tracks coupon trends and suggests using about 60-80 coupons each week.
• Of the 60-80 recommended coupons, there will still be many for things you do not need, but even if you are very conservative and only use 1/8 of the suggested coupons (8-10/week) would save you $30-$40 a month. If you use multiples of any coupon (which you should if you are stocking up), you will save significantly more.
• Most people use 15-25 coupons a week on average, bringing their savings to $50-$90 a month.

• You can get a newspaper subscription through www.discountednewspapers.com for as little as $4-$8 a month. Even with multiple subscriptions, you will save significantly more than you spend.

 

I apologize for the mistakes in the Grocery Shopping Tools the last two days.  I am out of town and have minimal access to a computer so I didn't catch them until I checked my email this morning.  I believe they have all been corrected, but please let me know if you find anything else.  I will check my email again this evening.

 

 

 

 

I have mentioned this idea before, but in light of Father's Day coming up, I thought I would do a quick overview again.

Buying Discounted Gift Cards as Gifts
One of my favorite money saving tricks is to buy gift cards at less than face value.  Obviously, gift card can make great gifts for others: especially those that are a bit harder to buy for (ahem....my dad....ahem).  Buying a gift card means you won't waste money on something they don't really want, but paying less than the gift card is worth is what truly makes it smart shopping! 

One great place to do this is Plastic Jungle.  I use this website often for my discounted gift card purchases.  They buy gift cards that others don't want or can't use.  Then then re-sell them to others that do want or need them.

One reason I wanted to mention this a few weeks before Father's Day is because the good gift cards go FAST!  So, if there is a certain store you would like a discounted gift card to, but it isn't currently available, I would suggest you sign up now for  Plastic Jungle  "notifications" feature. Pick a merchant (or a few merchants), a minimum discount, and the card face value you are looking for.  Then, Plastic Jungle will email you immediately whenever a card that meets those requirements becomes available.

I typically get my gift cards within just a few days of ordering them. 

Stacking Discounted Gift Cards With Other Deals:

I buy discounted gift cards for myself.  Yep.  I do.  And I consider it very smart shopping.  In fact, I try to make all of my major purchases (especially clothing) with discounted gift cards.  It is simply one more way in which I stack deals.

Let's say you bought a $100 gift card for just $90.  Then, you used that gift card to purchase $130 worth of merchandise that is on sale for $100.  That is $130 worth of merchandise for just $90!  Combine that with a coupon code / printable couopn, free shipping code, and/or online cash back and you can save some significant money!

Anytime I see a great sale (one that is combined with a great coupon code or cash back) that will last for the next week or so , I quickly head over to Plastic Jungle to see if I can get a great gift card to go with the sale.

What about those great sales that only last a few days?  Well, this is the reason I really like Plastic Jungle's notification feature.  I sign up to be notified whenever gift cards to stores I'm sure I will shop at are on sale for a great price. Currently I am signed up to receive notifications for various grocery & drug stores, Costco, Target, Walmart, Payless, PF Changs, The Children's Place, Staples, & Ebay, and Kohls.

Whenever these cards go on sale for a great price, I pick one up.  Then I use it at some point in the future, always in combination with a great sale and/or coupons, rebates, or cash back.  That way, I am always saving 10%-20% (which is the discount applied to most gift cards) in addition to any sale, discount or coupon being offered.

I've found Plastic Jungle to be very easy to use / navigate.  If you have any questions, be sure to let me know!





 

Buy three Huggies at $11.99 - $35.97

• Use $5 off $25 - $30.97
• Use three Huggies $3 off 1 printables - $21.97
• Use $11.99 UP Reward - $9.98

 

If you are unfamiliar with Albertsons doublers, here is a brief summary:

• You can use them in addition to any manufacturer's coupon you have availalbe
• If your manufacturer's coupon is worth $0.01 - $1, your doubler is worth the exact same as the manufacturer's coupon
• If your manufacturer's coupon is worth $1 or more, your doubler is worth $1.

 Thanks, Shauna and Jen!

 

One comment I often get from cashiers when using coupons is this:

Often, this is simply untrue.  Most coupons can be used for quite a variety of items, they simply can't put a picture of each one on the coupon.  The item pictured is very often the most expensive item you could buy with that coupon.  The coupon will clearly state exactly what products it can be used on.  As a recent example of this, I had a coupon that stated it was for "any Maybelline eye product."  There was a picture of one of their more expensive mascaras on the coupon.  I decided to use the coupon on a less expensive eyeliner instead.  The cashier told me I couldn't use the coupon and gave me the above reason.  I carefully (and kindly) showed her the actual wording on the coupon.  And you know what?  She thanked me!  She said she had always wondered why people used coupons when they could each only be used for a very specific item (the one pictured).  She said now it seemed far more worth it to her.  I gave her my card and left with my very inexpensive eyeliner!  

Make sure you read the wording and fine print to find out what items the coupons can be used on: don't just trust the picture!