St. Petersburg -- We invited three couponers to join us on 10 News and share their best advice to save money at the grocery store to save money every week, but especially during the holidays.
Kim's Money Savers/iheartcoupons.blogspot.com
1. Use the Rewards programs: Walgreens Register Rewards and/or Fuel Perks at Winn Dixie, also Swagbucks online. No coupons needed to use these!
2. Don't be afraid to stock up when you find a deal! Buy what your family needs of a product, especially those with a long shelf life or things you wouldn't normally buy and donate them!
3. Sales cycles. Not just linens and exercise equipment is on sale the first of the year! Now is the time to stock up on baking supplies and cold meds, frozen foods around March, etc. and don't forget about clearance! End of season or holiday is the PERFECT time to stock up for next year.
4. Stack coupons for bigger savings! Using Manufacturer coupons AND store coupons can reduce your grocery bill even further!
5. Know your stores...make sure you know what to expect BEFORE you get to the register. Some stores may increase the price on a BOGO sale, some stores will price match and/or accept a competitor's coupons. Knowing the store's policy can ensure you are maximizing savings.
6. Brand loyalty does NOT pay off. Be flexible to buy the brand that is on sale and save more.
7. Think outside the grocery store! More and more deals can be found on resturant.com, amazon.com, groupon.com, and local businesses partnering with bloggers. Make sure you have the promo codes you need to save BIG!!
8. Know what to search for and get all the info you need for FREE!! Use http://iheartcoupons.blogspot.com/ or link to others. MANY deal sites and coupon matchups are available for FREE. Search the store name + "coupon matchups" or store name + "ad scan"
Loretta's Money Savers/TrueCouponing.com
1. Be Organized - The Holidays are hectic, you can save time because our website shows you exactly which coupons to "Match Up" with the items already on sale at the store.
2. Lowest Price - That means you may want to buy an extra Turkey to freeze for Christmas RIGHT NOW when they are cheapest at Thanksgiving.
3. You need a Coupon Buddy - Shopping with a friend and comparing notes is always beneficial. On TrueCouponing.com we have a Community where people are mentoring each other to learn this stuff fast.
4. Shop at a Local Produce Stand/Farmer's Market for cheap produce! I get a Banana Box full (3 weeks worth) of produce (including 1/2 Gal of Orange Juice) for only $30 (that's $10/week in produce).
5. Plan ahead - Especially for holiday shopping, minimize time in the store by going shopping today or tomorrow (it will be more hectic on the weekend). Have your coupons already cut and ready (organized) so you spend less time in the store. Be disciplined, stick to your shopping list!
Kati's Money Savers/TrueCouponing.com
1. Healthy Foods Too! - as a person that prefers healthy and organic foods, you would think that there are no coupons for healthy foods, but if you have certain items you buy, go to the Mfr website and sign up for emails to get special offers for their products. Also, when you go to use a coupon, you can CHOOSE the healthy product within the Mfr's line of items (Quaker Oatmeal Raisin Spice Instant has NO artificial colors or preservatives...all the other flavors do)
2. Utilize the Drug Stores - You can sometimes get things for absolutely free...deodorants, shampoos, medicines. The trick is making small purchases and using your rewards every time!
3. Money Makers - Manufactures will pay you to buy their products! This happens when a coupon is more than the Sale Price! There are several examples going on for the current sale, I will find and cut the coupons and bring them with me!
4. Coupon Effectively - Buying now when things are at their cheapest means you will be saving for longer! Buy enough to last until the item goes on sale again! Stock up! (There are at least 10 common products that you should pay less than $1 for!)
5. Blessing Others! ESPECIALLY at the holidays, when you are getting thing so inexpensively, it is a natural reaction to give some of your extras away to friends and family and shelters, food pantries that are in needs this time of year! We teach you how to do this and make it easy so you can easily bless people out of your own stockpile.
6. For a BOGO Promotion: Use a Mfr Coupon on the Buy One and a Mfr ALSO on the Get One
7. Stacking Coupons: You can also use a Mfr Coupon along WITH a Store Coupon - Publix, Sweetbay, WinnDixie, Walgreens and CVS all have store coupons!!
8. You need multiple papers - most people don't know that the trick to keeping your budget low is to use a coupon on EVERY item you are buying, so if you are buying (4) Spaghetti Sauces (because they are so cheap), you need 4 coupons, that means you need 4 newspapers!! This is the MOST COMMON reason people are not saving what they could.
9. Competitor Coupons - Publix and Sweetbay accept competitor coupons, so a Target Store Printable coupon could be used at Publix or Sweetbay for additional savings!
10. Coupon Booklets - Stop off at Customer Service and ask for any current booklets