Coupons and Meal Planning
August 21, 2012 10:25 AM Subscribe
Someone please explain the basics of grocery store coupons and meal-planning as if I were a child.
So now that we're doing meal-planning, I figure those giant things of coupons that show up every week are going to be useful. So how does one do this? Browse the coupons to look for good sales? Look to see if stuff we normally buy is on sale? The grocery stores my family shopped at when I was a kid didn't do coupons, so I really have no idea how this is done. I'm somehow afraid that this is going to leadus me (my girlfriend has a lot more self-control at the grocery store) into spending more money because hey that expensive delicious thing is on sale.
So now that we're doing meal-planning, I figure those giant things of coupons that show up every week are going to be useful. So how does one do this? Browse the coupons to look for good sales? Look to see if stuff we normally buy is on sale? The grocery stores my family shopped at when I was a kid didn't do coupons, so I really have no idea how this is done. I'm somehow afraid that this is going to lead
We have "staples" and then we have planned meals.
Staples are stuff we always keep around/have a need for: Eggs, rice, cooking oil, flour, milk, cereal, paper towels, oats, peanut butter, etc.
If you see a coupon for a staple and you need it (or are close to needing it and it's not very perishable), then buy it.
For meal planning we plan our meals for the week around what is on sale in the circulars/coupons.
Don't buy stuff just because it's on sale.
Don't go grocery shopping hungry.
We don't actually use coupons much because a lot of times they seem to be for pre-cooked junky stuff or snacks, which we don't usually eat, but Costco sometimes sends us coupons for stuff we normally buy like toothpastes/toilet paper/detergent.
posted by ghharr at 10:38 AM on August 21, 2012
Staples are stuff we always keep around/have a need for: Eggs, rice, cooking oil, flour, milk, cereal, paper towels, oats, peanut butter, etc.
If you see a coupon for a staple and you need it (or are close to needing it and it's not very perishable), then buy it.
For meal planning we plan our meals for the week around what is on sale in the circulars/coupons.
Don't buy stuff just because it's on sale.
Don't go grocery shopping hungry.
We don't actually use coupons much because a lot of times they seem to be for pre-cooked junky stuff or snacks, which we don't usually eat, but Costco sometimes sends us coupons for stuff we normally buy like toothpastes/toilet paper/detergent.
posted by ghharr at 10:38 AM on August 21, 2012
I watch for coupons for things that I buy often and use a lot - fresh fruit and veg, frozen fruit and veg, rices, beans, breads, cheese, milk. Stuff that will keep a bit and we use - canned pasta (hurricanes, emerg lunches), tissue paper (always need to send to school). Also clip coupons for occasional treats (candies, desserts) or occasional last-minute party foods (quick appetizers, frozen pizza, frozen/fridged rolls).
I have a number of planned meals I work from, and throw in a few "new" things - found a good deal on a roast and it was roast, burritos, and if we hadn't finished it up, roast/potato egg rolls.
posted by tilde at 10:40 AM on August 21, 2012 [1 favorite]
I have a number of planned meals I work from, and throw in a few "new" things - found a good deal on a roast and it was roast, burritos, and if we hadn't finished it up, roast/potato egg rolls.
posted by tilde at 10:40 AM on August 21, 2012 [1 favorite]
I am no extreme couponer, nor am I a particularily strict meal planner (but I do try!) but here is how I look at it:
Level 1 is to look through the coupon book to see if anything that I had in mind to buy is on sale/has a coupon. I pretty much do this everytime I shop (my grocery store has the coupon books by the entrance) because if I was going to buy chicken, and there is a coupon that makes that self same chicken cheaper, then not using it means leaving money on the table.
Level 2 is using the coupons to choose a different brand than I would normally go for. I like Hunt's ketchup, and all things being equal, if I need ketchup I will buy Hunt's. But if Heinz is on sale/has a coupon that makes it significantly cheaper, I might buy that instead. I am pretty careful about this because there are some brands that I just like, and some that I just don't. I won't stock up on 2 months worth of a brand I don't trust yet, but there are plenty of places where brand loyalty doesn't matter.
Level 3 is letting the coupons and sales influence my meal choices. While sometimes I walk into the store with a specific meal in mind (e.g. lasanga bolonese, must have ground beef, preferably 80/20), sometimes I just want "a stir fry", or "stuff for omelets". In that case, if pork is cheaper than chicken, it will be pork stir fry, and if snap peas are out of season but bok choi is in, I'll do that. At level 3, it's important to keep in mind what your limits are for what's reasonable to spend. Sure, lamb shanks at $10/lb might be a great deal, but can you really afford meat at $10/lb this week? It's this discipline that can keep you from overspending on "deals".
In my real life, I'm pretty much always at level 1, and I try to keep levels 2 and 3 in mind when I make choices but sometimes I just want what I want, you know? I'm also not one of those people who gets coupons from all of the stores and compares prices and shops at three different stores every week. That's just too exhausting for me and my time is worth money.
In general, I think the most important rule is that if it's not on your list, and it doesn't work to substitute for something that is on your list -- don't buy it, even if it is on sale this week. It will go on sale some other week and maybe you can work it in then.
posted by sparklemotion at 10:41 AM on August 21, 2012 [4 favorites]
Level 1 is to look through the coupon book to see if anything that I had in mind to buy is on sale/has a coupon. I pretty much do this everytime I shop (my grocery store has the coupon books by the entrance) because if I was going to buy chicken, and there is a coupon that makes that self same chicken cheaper, then not using it means leaving money on the table.
Level 2 is using the coupons to choose a different brand than I would normally go for. I like Hunt's ketchup, and all things being equal, if I need ketchup I will buy Hunt's. But if Heinz is on sale/has a coupon that makes it significantly cheaper, I might buy that instead. I am pretty careful about this because there are some brands that I just like, and some that I just don't. I won't stock up on 2 months worth of a brand I don't trust yet, but there are plenty of places where brand loyalty doesn't matter.
Level 3 is letting the coupons and sales influence my meal choices. While sometimes I walk into the store with a specific meal in mind (e.g. lasanga bolonese, must have ground beef, preferably 80/20), sometimes I just want "a stir fry", or "stuff for omelets". In that case, if pork is cheaper than chicken, it will be pork stir fry, and if snap peas are out of season but bok choi is in, I'll do that. At level 3, it's important to keep in mind what your limits are for what's reasonable to spend. Sure, lamb shanks at $10/lb might be a great deal, but can you really afford meat at $10/lb this week? It's this discipline that can keep you from overspending on "deals".
In my real life, I'm pretty much always at level 1, and I try to keep levels 2 and 3 in mind when I make choices but sometimes I just want what I want, you know? I'm also not one of those people who gets coupons from all of the stores and compares prices and shops at three different stores every week. That's just too exhausting for me and my time is worth money.
In general, I think the most important rule is that if it's not on your list, and it doesn't work to substitute for something that is on your list -- don't buy it, even if it is on sale this week. It will go on sale some other week and maybe you can work it in then.
posted by sparklemotion at 10:41 AM on August 21, 2012 [4 favorites]
I'm somehow afraid that this is going to lead us me (my girlfriend has a lot more self-control at the grocery store) into spending more money because hey that expensive delicious thing is on sale.
That is the point of them, after all.
The best thing to do is to use them only on things that you would have bought anyway, or on things that are equivalent to things you would have bought anyway (that is, if a coupon makes Oscar Meyer ham cheaper per-unit* than the store brand that you usually buy). My spouse and I go through those giant things of coupons and sort them by "Nope" and "Yep," then tack them to the fridge with a magnetized clip. If one of us is headed to the store, we go through the coupons first and take along the ones we need. If you always use the same vehicle to go to the grocery store, you can keep them in there as well, in case you remember you need something when you're not at home. We go through the pile every week or so and toss the expired ones.
We only occasionally will make a meal plan based on coupons, because that can indeed lead to buying more expensive stuff based on a coupon. But sometimes a coupon will jog our memory of something we've been thinking of trying anyway, so that's okay.
Pay particular attention to coupons for non-perishables. You can buy a ton of toilet paper when you have a coupon or when it's on sale, but buying twelve gallons of milk because each one is a nickel off is probably less useful.
Also, don't shop hungry. It sounds lame, but I know that I buy more crap when I go shopping in the middle of the night than if I go right after dinner.
Lastly, stick to one store and join their loyalty program. A lot of stores these days will send you coupons for stuff you buy regularly, or stuff equivalent to it. This is either to get you to try the more expensive items (and get hooked on them) or to try the store-brand items (which may have higher profit margins for the store).
* -- Per-unit pricing is what to look for, not per-package. If you get 8 ounces of ham for $2.50, and the 12-ounce is less than $3.75, get the bigger one, unless you're dead-certain that you only need exactly 8 ounces of ham and the rest will sit around and rot. Most grocery stores will have this on the little shelf tag, but if you have a coupon, use the calculator on your cell phone to do the new math.
posted by Etrigan at 10:41 AM on August 21, 2012 [1 favorite]
That is the point of them, after all.
The best thing to do is to use them only on things that you would have bought anyway, or on things that are equivalent to things you would have bought anyway (that is, if a coupon makes Oscar Meyer ham cheaper per-unit* than the store brand that you usually buy). My spouse and I go through those giant things of coupons and sort them by "Nope" and "Yep," then tack them to the fridge with a magnetized clip. If one of us is headed to the store, we go through the coupons first and take along the ones we need. If you always use the same vehicle to go to the grocery store, you can keep them in there as well, in case you remember you need something when you're not at home. We go through the pile every week or so and toss the expired ones.
We only occasionally will make a meal plan based on coupons, because that can indeed lead to buying more expensive stuff based on a coupon. But sometimes a coupon will jog our memory of something we've been thinking of trying anyway, so that's okay.
Pay particular attention to coupons for non-perishables. You can buy a ton of toilet paper when you have a coupon or when it's on sale, but buying twelve gallons of milk because each one is a nickel off is probably less useful.
Also, don't shop hungry. It sounds lame, but I know that I buy more crap when I go shopping in the middle of the night than if I go right after dinner.
Lastly, stick to one store and join their loyalty program. A lot of stores these days will send you coupons for stuff you buy regularly, or stuff equivalent to it. This is either to get you to try the more expensive items (and get hooked on them) or to try the store-brand items (which may have higher profit margins for the store).
* -- Per-unit pricing is what to look for, not per-package. If you get 8 ounces of ham for $2.50, and the 12-ounce is less than $3.75, get the bigger one, unless you're dead-certain that you only need exactly 8 ounces of ham and the rest will sit around and rot. Most grocery stores will have this on the little shelf tag, but if you have a coupon, use the calculator on your cell phone to do the new math.
posted by Etrigan at 10:41 AM on August 21, 2012 [1 favorite]
In my experience, unless you really like name brands (and there's nothing wrong with that), then coupons are not going to save you that much money. Also, in NYC as we are, there aren't too many (if any?) double coupon places. The "extreme couponing" folks usually assume these 2 things (name brands and doubles). One exception is toothpaste and some toiletries. What with coupons + sales, you can do pretty well on those. I just found a $1 coupon for Nutella. But in general I don't do much business with coupons.
What is your friend? The STORE CIRCULAR. Almost all stores have them available online, too. You can sit with 2 browser windows open and see what's cheaper where. Rite Aid and Duane Reade (New York drugstores) also have pretty good deals on food. Buy what's on sale in the circular and then fill in the gaps with store brands. When you have extra money, stock up when you see the sales (28 oz. canned tomatoes for $1, pasta $1 or less a box, frozen waffles 2 or even 3 for $5, etc.). It doesn't take much to get to a point where you can go weeks without buying anything if you have to.
NYC is also blessed with some very sophisticated 99c stores. The nonperishables there are often a rip-off, but the frozen foods can be pretty spectacular. I have even found Argentinian kosher frozen pizza there, Tabatchnik's, pretty impressive stuff (examples given not to make you keep kosher or eat processed foods, rather simply as an example of the surprising selection). When you pass by an unknown 99c store, stop in if you have a spare moment so that you can file the inventory away for future reference.
posted by skbw at 10:41 AM on August 21, 2012 [3 favorites]
What is your friend? The STORE CIRCULAR. Almost all stores have them available online, too. You can sit with 2 browser windows open and see what's cheaper where. Rite Aid and Duane Reade (New York drugstores) also have pretty good deals on food. Buy what's on sale in the circular and then fill in the gaps with store brands. When you have extra money, stock up when you see the sales (28 oz. canned tomatoes for $1, pasta $1 or less a box, frozen waffles 2 or even 3 for $5, etc.). It doesn't take much to get to a point where you can go weeks without buying anything if you have to.
NYC is also blessed with some very sophisticated 99c stores. The nonperishables there are often a rip-off, but the frozen foods can be pretty spectacular. I have even found Argentinian kosher frozen pizza there, Tabatchnik's, pretty impressive stuff (examples given not to make you keep kosher or eat processed foods, rather simply as an example of the surprising selection). When you pass by an unknown 99c store, stop in if you have a spare moment so that you can file the inventory away for future reference.
posted by skbw at 10:41 AM on August 21, 2012 [3 favorites]
I used to do coupons until I got a little obsessive- like, multiple binders, use multiple computers to print coupons excessive. I used a site called Southern Savers which really helped in terms of matching coupons with sales. For menu planning, I just took stock of what I had in the pantry and made a separate produce-to-buy list, as extreme couponing had me stocked on staples.
posted by PorcineWithMe at 10:47 AM on August 21, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by PorcineWithMe at 10:47 AM on August 21, 2012 [2 favorites]
I check the circulars that come in the mail weekly for the two grocery stores nearby. There's usually different meats (steak, chicken, fish, or pork) on sale at either. I pick the main portion of each dinner based off of what's on sale. My wife meanwhile clips coupons, and we pick sides for our meals, preferring those for which we have coupons.
Note that in the circulars, the meats on sale often require that you buy 3 pounds minimum in order to get the good price. You can freeze pretty much anything, and leave it out when you head to work to have it thawed for cooking that night.
If they have a rewards program at the grocery store, you'll probably have to be a member of that in order to get the good price as well.
I'd suggest going to the store and writing down the prices of ingredients you like when they're not on sale, so you have a point of comparison. They often tell you the sale price without mentioning the regular price, and a savings of $0.05/lb is not worth changing plans for.
posted by bessel functions seem unnecessarily complicated at 10:48 AM on August 21, 2012
Note that in the circulars, the meats on sale often require that you buy 3 pounds minimum in order to get the good price. You can freeze pretty much anything, and leave it out when you head to work to have it thawed for cooking that night.
If they have a rewards program at the grocery store, you'll probably have to be a member of that in order to get the good price as well.
I'd suggest going to the store and writing down the prices of ingredients you like when they're not on sale, so you have a point of comparison. They often tell you the sale price without mentioning the regular price, and a savings of $0.05/lb is not worth changing plans for.
posted by bessel functions seem unnecessarily complicated at 10:48 AM on August 21, 2012
I totally forgot, I also buy things on sale. D'oh. Like the cereal my kids eat. Like fruit (the store had cut up fruit bowls bogo - I munched on one for the whole week and the kids got their own!).
Keeps the kids occupied at the store, too. "Is it on sale? Nope. I guess we'll wait till it is, mom."
from coupons com (right now) - I'd print out:
$1.00 off 1lbs of any brand of cheese (my kids are part mouse)
$(varies) off Big G cereals (though I'm stocked for now, might ignore - and I tend to go for "box top" brands for school")
$1.00 off Motts apple sauce to go (have a unplanned string of lunches to pack - the kids usually do the cafeteria)
$1.00 New to me brand of string cheese (kid lunches again)
$1.00 2 pillsbury ready dough things - I know they're on sale, so double savings, plus I have a coupon from another one "save $1 on three next time!"
$.55 off of eggs I usually buy
$1 off Morning Star meat sub foods (currently bogo)
$2 fish oil (buy one get one half off this week)
$2 kids allergy med (though their website direct has better ones usually - combine with drugstore sale)
skipped - pet foods (no pet) soaps and detergents (buy in bulk online once a year) yogurts (it's always for the little cups), frozen foods (nothing useful or yummy this week) soda pop (don't drink) cereal bars (don't eat), contact lens stuff (don't use), paper goods (I use generic unless it's bogo + coupon + I need). Bottled water, baby formula, vitamins, toothbrushes, - I don't use or I use generic.
I'm 4 miles from a grocery store, 1.5 from a pharmacy, walking from the other, so I can usually keep a good running total of "usual prices" and "usual times" for things to go on sale. You might want to keep a tally a while.
posted by tilde at 11:19 AM on August 21, 2012
Keeps the kids occupied at the store, too. "Is it on sale? Nope. I guess we'll wait till it is, mom."
from coupons com (right now) - I'd print out:
$1.00 off 1lbs of any brand of cheese (my kids are part mouse)
$(varies) off Big G cereals (though I'm stocked for now, might ignore - and I tend to go for "box top" brands for school")
$1.00 off Motts apple sauce to go (have a unplanned string of lunches to pack - the kids usually do the cafeteria)
$1.00 New to me brand of string cheese (kid lunches again)
$1.00 2 pillsbury ready dough things - I know they're on sale, so double savings, plus I have a coupon from another one "save $1 on three next time!"
$.55 off of eggs I usually buy
$1 off Morning Star meat sub foods (currently bogo)
$2 fish oil (buy one get one half off this week)
$2 kids allergy med (though their website direct has better ones usually - combine with drugstore sale)
skipped - pet foods (no pet) soaps and detergents (buy in bulk online once a year) yogurts (it's always for the little cups), frozen foods (nothing useful or yummy this week) soda pop (don't drink) cereal bars (don't eat), contact lens stuff (don't use), paper goods (I use generic unless it's bogo + coupon + I need). Bottled water, baby formula, vitamins, toothbrushes, - I don't use or I use generic.
I'm 4 miles from a grocery store, 1.5 from a pharmacy, walking from the other, so I can usually keep a good running total of "usual prices" and "usual times" for things to go on sale. You might want to keep a tally a while.
posted by tilde at 11:19 AM on August 21, 2012
My wife and I do meal planning while we make up our shopping list every week. We don't look at supermarket fliers but we do have a share of a CSA, so instead of "Hey okra is on sale this week," it's "Holy crap we have a buttload of zucchini to use up." We have a stable of recipes that we like, regulars that we do at least twice a month but also a shelf of bookmarked cookbooks and a binder full of printouts of what we've found online. The internet is a huge help. This week we had a lot of potatoes and lemongrass on hand; we plugged that into google and I am right now eating leftover potato-lemongrass-mock chicken curry for lunch.
Our shopping list has three main sections.
1) Stuff we need. This gets started during the week as we use up our staples. We use this handy notepad. I've been meaning to make a customized version.
2) Stuff we have on hand. This is what came in our CSA share or was leftover from last week. It could be what you find coupons for. Looking at this list helps us with the next item.
3) The menu. For us it's a list of evening meals for every night of the week we plan to be home. We don't go into much detail; it's not rigidly organized by day but we do note where we found the recipe if that would help.
The menu really helps because whoever gets home first can decide what would be good for that evening, based on the time we have or what really needs to be used up first. There's no problem solving or wondering if we have the needed ingredients while we're tired and hungry.
When we do use coupons we do what Etrigan does, only we usually go to two of the three stores near us depending on what's on our list. We know that local independent HarvesTime always has produce at a great deal, but they don't have much of the packaged groceries that we like. We go to large corporate chain Jewel for that and to take advantage of their weekly discounts and the few coupons they push on us that we're interested in. Or occasionally we stop by Trader Joe's, which is more for stocking up on their interesting house brand stuff.
posted by hydrophonic at 11:19 AM on August 21, 2012
Our shopping list has three main sections.
1) Stuff we need. This gets started during the week as we use up our staples. We use this handy notepad. I've been meaning to make a customized version.
2) Stuff we have on hand. This is what came in our CSA share or was leftover from last week. It could be what you find coupons for. Looking at this list helps us with the next item.
3) The menu. For us it's a list of evening meals for every night of the week we plan to be home. We don't go into much detail; it's not rigidly organized by day but we do note where we found the recipe if that would help.
The menu really helps because whoever gets home first can decide what would be good for that evening, based on the time we have or what really needs to be used up first. There's no problem solving or wondering if we have the needed ingredients while we're tired and hungry.
When we do use coupons we do what Etrigan does, only we usually go to two of the three stores near us depending on what's on our list. We know that local independent HarvesTime always has produce at a great deal, but they don't have much of the packaged groceries that we like. We go to large corporate chain Jewel for that and to take advantage of their weekly discounts and the few coupons they push on us that we're interested in. Or occasionally we stop by Trader Joe's, which is more for stocking up on their interesting house brand stuff.
posted by hydrophonic at 11:19 AM on August 21, 2012
I'm not a coupon-clipper. The easiest-to-find coupons tend to focus on brand-name products and more processed foods. I'm trying to shift my grocery cart towards produce, meat, and ingredients, which are usually found as weekly specials in the store circulars. I do my meal planning by knowing what kinds of things I like, and flipping through the circulars to see what my best option is. For example: I want to grill something that is low-fat, let's see if any of the 3 local supermarkets has a special on chicken breasts or pork tenderloins. While flipping through, I see that store A has a good price on corn, which would go well on the grill, too. My husband cooks by recipe, not by season/inspiration, so no matter what I'm getting on sale, I always keep the produce drawer stocked with scallions, peppers, and broccoli so he can make a stir-fry.
Here's a post from a frugality blog/site about the importance of knowing how much things usually cost, and which stores are cheaper for what kinds of items, to help you evaluate what a "good price" is.
I don't actually do this list-keeping process, but if I had such a book it would help me be able to send my husband to the grocery store with confidence. As it is, he might run to the nearby store A to get more eggs so we can finish making breakfast, but I don't dare hand him the grocery list: if the list says "red peppers" he will buy them at $3.99/lb, but I only get them at store B where they average more like $2.
posted by aimedwander at 11:35 AM on August 21, 2012
Here's a post from a frugality blog/site about the importance of knowing how much things usually cost, and which stores are cheaper for what kinds of items, to help you evaluate what a "good price" is.
I don't actually do this list-keeping process, but if I had such a book it would help me be able to send my husband to the grocery store with confidence. As it is, he might run to the nearby store A to get more eggs so we can finish making breakfast, but I don't dare hand him the grocery list: if the list says "red peppers" he will buy them at $3.99/lb, but I only get them at store B where they average more like $2.
posted by aimedwander at 11:35 AM on August 21, 2012
For me it's side dishes that make meal planning a chore. The trick is coupons and sales come after meal planning. Otherwise you end up buying things you really do not need/want. I'm not much of a coupon person because we buy mostly meat, dairy, veggies and fruit. Those are items that don't get couponed, but do get discounted in the weekly sale circular.
Salad Side: At our house every meal needs a salad. Sales or coupons for salad veggies or dressings or toppings (bleu cheese, strawberries) are always used.
Veggie Sides: I have a list of veggie side dishes sorted into categories: no cook, quick, oven, etc. That way I can pick side dishes that are going to time correctly with the entrees for the week. Plus, if I'm turning on the oven or grill I can easily pick so side that uses that time/technique.
With that organizational chore completed, I cruise through the market. If those precooked beets are on sale in the produce section, I know that I can pick up a bunch of packs since they are sealed, stay fresh a long time and are really quick to toss in a salad. Those will get used by their expiration date. However, if there's a great sale for something that needs to be slow roasted, I know to skip that purchase since I'm not turning on the oven in the middle of August. Buy the size you need, not the OMG largest to save a penny or two. Food waste cuts into your budget too.
Get your meal plans in some sort of order - maybe nothing can take more than 20 minutes or use more than one pan. If something doesn't fit the way you cook or the meals you plan to serve then don't buy it. Even at 50% off it'll be a huge waste of money.
posted by 26.2 at 11:46 AM on August 21, 2012
Salad Side: At our house every meal needs a salad. Sales or coupons for salad veggies or dressings or toppings (bleu cheese, strawberries) are always used.
Veggie Sides: I have a list of veggie side dishes sorted into categories: no cook, quick, oven, etc. That way I can pick side dishes that are going to time correctly with the entrees for the week. Plus, if I'm turning on the oven or grill I can easily pick so side that uses that time/technique.
With that organizational chore completed, I cruise through the market. If those precooked beets are on sale in the produce section, I know that I can pick up a bunch of packs since they are sealed, stay fresh a long time and are really quick to toss in a salad. Those will get used by their expiration date. However, if there's a great sale for something that needs to be slow roasted, I know to skip that purchase since I'm not turning on the oven in the middle of August. Buy the size you need, not the OMG largest to save a penny or two. Food waste cuts into your budget too.
Get your meal plans in some sort of order - maybe nothing can take more than 20 minutes or use more than one pan. If something doesn't fit the way you cook or the meals you plan to serve then don't buy it. Even at 50% off it'll be a huge waste of money.
posted by 26.2 at 11:46 AM on August 21, 2012
26.2 reminds me of something I came across a few weeks ago - a poster I had taped to the fridge when the kids were toddlers.
1 part was the things they needed daily to go to nursery school (and where to find them, fridge, freezer, pantry). Made it easier for whomever was packing the bag for the day.
The second part was a chart that had a section for main meal, sides, snacks, desserts, with ideas and locations so you could mix up several possibilities. Again, provided ease/ideas for dinner/breakfast/lunch.
Another thought is flexibility. I was doing some baking the other day and made up a bunch of hard-cook eggs (baked instead of boiled, since I had the oven on). The kids suddenly decided they didn't want cold eggs for breakfast, so I switched dinner that night to a soup that used the eggs as the primary protein.
I'm going to revive the chart for the kids now that they're older, so they can use it as a guide when it's time to pack up their daily lunches themselves or snack bags them selves (one has a hot lunch option that we decide the week before, one has no hot lunch option, one has a self-pack snack requirement, the other has it as an option).
posted by tilde at 11:56 AM on August 21, 2012
1 part was the things they needed daily to go to nursery school (and where to find them, fridge, freezer, pantry). Made it easier for whomever was packing the bag for the day.
The second part was a chart that had a section for main meal, sides, snacks, desserts, with ideas and locations so you could mix up several possibilities. Again, provided ease/ideas for dinner/breakfast/lunch.
Another thought is flexibility. I was doing some baking the other day and made up a bunch of hard-cook eggs (baked instead of boiled, since I had the oven on). The kids suddenly decided they didn't want cold eggs for breakfast, so I switched dinner that night to a soup that used the eggs as the primary protein.
I'm going to revive the chart for the kids now that they're older, so they can use it as a guide when it's time to pack up their daily lunches themselves or snack bags them selves (one has a hot lunch option that we decide the week before, one has no hot lunch option, one has a self-pack snack requirement, the other has it as an option).
posted by tilde at 11:56 AM on August 21, 2012
Don't forget that when you stock up on stuff in your freezer because it's on sale, then at some point in the future you need to plan meals based on what you have in your freezer. My family was always really bad at the second part, so we ended up throwing out a lot of freezer-burned chicken breasts and lost all of our sale savings.
If you can figure out that rotation of the sales at your stores, maybe you find out that chicken breasts go on sale every 6 weeks, so only stock up on enough to last you that long, and make plans to use them in that timeframe.
posted by CathyG at 12:20 PM on August 21, 2012
If you can figure out that rotation of the sales at your stores, maybe you find out that chicken breasts go on sale every 6 weeks, so only stock up on enough to last you that long, and make plans to use them in that timeframe.
posted by CathyG at 12:20 PM on August 21, 2012
Hi, I use coupons quite a lot.
First, let me recommend two websites: We Use Coupons and A Full Cup. Both these sites work about the same: Find the forum area for the supermarkets and/or drug stores near you, and follow those forums. They will, weekly, provide matchups betwen sale items and available coupons, esentially crowdsourcing a lot of the work for you.
Second, it's important to separate coupon use and meal planning a little bit. Couponing is most effective when you can buy items in combination with a sale, in bulk ("stocking up" or "stockpiling"). So, for example, week 1 there might be a great sale/coupon combination on rice, and on laundry detergent. So that week I will buy multiple packages of the rice, and the detergent, at the sale price. The next week there might be a great sale/coupon combination deal on carrots, butter, and deoderant, so I'll buy multiples of those items and store them away. Over time, as you create your stockpile, you'll find that your weekly grocery bill gets smaller and smaller, because you have a large supply of staples in your stockpile/freezer. I particularly find that seeking out deals on things like shampoo, laundry detergent, deoderant, toothpaste, etc. can have huge benefits. For example, this spring I exploited a coupon/sale combination to buy about 30 bottles of a name-brand laundry detergent for $1.09 a bottle - a savings of more than $6 over the regular price. (So I spent $32.70 to buy 30 bottles when that same amount of money would have bought me only 4 at the shelf price.) Having these stocked away in my basement frees up more room in my weekly grocery budget to buy organic veggies and other perishable items. I have a weekly "stockpile" budget ($25) that is seperate from my weekly grocery budget, because "shopping the sale" is a different planning process from planning my meals for the week.
Third, there are services which will allow you to buy coupons in bulk (including eBay). I have a weekly coupon budget (typically $5, although I can roll it over if I don't use it all one week), and I buy multiples of identical coupons (for example, 10 .75 off 1 colgate toothpaste - my store doubles coupons, so that .99 investment in 10 coupons will buy me enough 'free' toothpaste (.75 x 2 = $1.50; sale price of toothpaste is $1.49) to last the entire year) that I know I'll use. It's cheaper and less wasteful than buying multiple copies of the Sunday paper.
Fourth, be sure to exploit the drugstores. Rite Aide, CVS, and Wallgreens all have deals where they will give you a coupon good for a certain amount off anything in the store (typically $1 or $2, but sometimes much more) if you buy other items. (So: for example: the sale might be buy 2 bottles of Pantene and get a coupon good for $2 off your next purchase.) If the item you must buy (in this example, the Pantene) has a good coupon/sale combo, or if it's an item (like toilet paper) that you'd be buying anyway, these coupons can be an excellent way to basically earn cash back on purchase you're already making. Again, you can find coupon match ups for these stores on either of the forums listed above.
Fifth, watch meat prices carefully. Once you have a good baseline, it's pretty easy to understand what a really, really good sale price is. Having a big freezer is invaluable for taking advantage when there is a good meat sale and you're able to buy a couple of months worth at a significantly discounted price. Also, don't be afraid to buy the "manager mark down" meats if they're a good price.
It is absoloutley true that most coupons out there are for junk food. But not all of them. There are coupons for everything - even eggs, milk, meat, and cheese. You just have to look around. Use the forums I suggested and don't be afraid to ask questions. The coupon community is warm and welcoming and eager to help you save some money.
posted by anastasiav at 12:24 PM on August 21, 2012 [3 favorites]
First, let me recommend two websites: We Use Coupons and A Full Cup. Both these sites work about the same: Find the forum area for the supermarkets and/or drug stores near you, and follow those forums. They will, weekly, provide matchups betwen sale items and available coupons, esentially crowdsourcing a lot of the work for you.
Second, it's important to separate coupon use and meal planning a little bit. Couponing is most effective when you can buy items in combination with a sale, in bulk ("stocking up" or "stockpiling"). So, for example, week 1 there might be a great sale/coupon combination on rice, and on laundry detergent. So that week I will buy multiple packages of the rice, and the detergent, at the sale price. The next week there might be a great sale/coupon combination deal on carrots, butter, and deoderant, so I'll buy multiples of those items and store them away. Over time, as you create your stockpile, you'll find that your weekly grocery bill gets smaller and smaller, because you have a large supply of staples in your stockpile/freezer. I particularly find that seeking out deals on things like shampoo, laundry detergent, deoderant, toothpaste, etc. can have huge benefits. For example, this spring I exploited a coupon/sale combination to buy about 30 bottles of a name-brand laundry detergent for $1.09 a bottle - a savings of more than $6 over the regular price. (So I spent $32.70 to buy 30 bottles when that same amount of money would have bought me only 4 at the shelf price.) Having these stocked away in my basement frees up more room in my weekly grocery budget to buy organic veggies and other perishable items. I have a weekly "stockpile" budget ($25) that is seperate from my weekly grocery budget, because "shopping the sale" is a different planning process from planning my meals for the week.
Third, there are services which will allow you to buy coupons in bulk (including eBay). I have a weekly coupon budget (typically $5, although I can roll it over if I don't use it all one week), and I buy multiples of identical coupons (for example, 10 .75 off 1 colgate toothpaste - my store doubles coupons, so that .99 investment in 10 coupons will buy me enough 'free' toothpaste (.75 x 2 = $1.50; sale price of toothpaste is $1.49) to last the entire year) that I know I'll use. It's cheaper and less wasteful than buying multiple copies of the Sunday paper.
Fourth, be sure to exploit the drugstores. Rite Aide, CVS, and Wallgreens all have deals where they will give you a coupon good for a certain amount off anything in the store (typically $1 or $2, but sometimes much more) if you buy other items. (So: for example: the sale might be buy 2 bottles of Pantene and get a coupon good for $2 off your next purchase.) If the item you must buy (in this example, the Pantene) has a good coupon/sale combo, or if it's an item (like toilet paper) that you'd be buying anyway, these coupons can be an excellent way to basically earn cash back on purchase you're already making. Again, you can find coupon match ups for these stores on either of the forums listed above.
Fifth, watch meat prices carefully. Once you have a good baseline, it's pretty easy to understand what a really, really good sale price is. Having a big freezer is invaluable for taking advantage when there is a good meat sale and you're able to buy a couple of months worth at a significantly discounted price. Also, don't be afraid to buy the "manager mark down" meats if they're a good price.
It is absoloutley true that most coupons out there are for junk food. But not all of them. There are coupons for everything - even eggs, milk, meat, and cheese. You just have to look around. Use the forums I suggested and don't be afraid to ask questions. The coupon community is warm and welcoming and eager to help you save some money.
posted by anastasiav at 12:24 PM on August 21, 2012 [3 favorites]
I find looking through coupons a waste of time. 90% of the time they will be for non-sale items, and the amounts are usually trivial. To save money, you need to combine coupons with on-sale items. Items on-sale will usually save more than coupons will.
Here is what I do:
Take a mental note/write down 'normal' prices for things you regularly buy.
Look through the weekly grocery flyers where they show things on sale, and buy things you would use. Also keep a mental note of sale prices.
At this point, 80% of things I buy are on-sale items.
posted by wongcorgi at 12:43 PM on August 21, 2012
Here is what I do:
Take a mental note/write down 'normal' prices for things you regularly buy.
Look through the weekly grocery flyers where they show things on sale, and buy things you would use. Also keep a mental note of sale prices.
At this point, 80% of things I buy are on-sale items.
posted by wongcorgi at 12:43 PM on August 21, 2012
One of the 'extreme couponer' sites I used to read used to say that coupons rarely correspond with things that are currently on sale, but if you waited 2 or 3 weeks, the sales sometimes matched up with the coupons.
posted by jcrbuzz at 1:50 PM on August 21, 2012
posted by jcrbuzz at 1:50 PM on August 21, 2012
www.southernsavers.com.
That or another similar website. There are tons of them out there but that one is stellar.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 1:53 PM on August 21, 2012
That or another similar website. There are tons of them out there but that one is stellar.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 1:53 PM on August 21, 2012
If you want to do coupons with minimal effort, and you don't have any objections to getting a grocery store club card, many large grocery stores have coupons that you can browse online and load onto your club card. They're often for staples (usually for the store brand, but not always, and in many cases the store brand is just fine), and sometimes tailored to your purchase history, too. My partner and I do this with Safeway, and frequently get significant discounts on things we buy most: eggs, cheese, Dr Pepper, sour cream, canned foods, our preferred brands of snack foods, etc.
(And yes, the grocery store club card discount is an unfortunate racket, but the additional discount of the coupons makes it worth it. And if you're concerned about sharing your personal information, there's nothing stopping you from signing up with fake details, and using a fake/throwaway email to sign up for the online account.)
Logistics-wise, it goes like this: we keep a running grocery list in a shared Evernote throughout the week. When we run out of something, it goes on the list. When one of us says, "I'd really like to have tacos/steak/whatever next week," the necessary ingredients go on the list. The day before or morning of grocery day, I sit down and plan any meals that we haven't already planned for (taking into account any meals one or both of us won't be home for) and update the grocery lists accordingly, then we sit down in front of the computer together and scan the available coupons. If there's a coupon for something already on the list, we add it to our account so it's automatically applied at checkout. If there's a really good coupon for something that's not already on the list, but is something we know we'll use, we add that, too. Sometimes these additional items mean we adjust the meal plan to use the coupon items--onions and frozen peas are on sale? Let's do chicken pot pie instead of tomato soup for dinner next Monday.
We also have a Costco membership, which we use primarily for nonperishable goods (paper towels, toilet paper, trash bags, dish liquid, toothpaste, etc.) and occasionally meats and alcohol. Even without coupons, it's a significant savings over getting the stuff at the grocery store, but they send out a coupon booklet every couple months with coupons that are good for a specific date range, and we usually try to time our Costco trips to coincide with when what we need is on sale. And if we usually use, say, Charmin TP but next month's coupon is for Quilted Northern, we'll be flexible with the brands. And like with the grocery store, if there's a coupon for something really interesting, we'll get that and plan a meal around it.
posted by rhiannonstone at 2:00 PM on August 21, 2012
(And yes, the grocery store club card discount is an unfortunate racket, but the additional discount of the coupons makes it worth it. And if you're concerned about sharing your personal information, there's nothing stopping you from signing up with fake details, and using a fake/throwaway email to sign up for the online account.)
Logistics-wise, it goes like this: we keep a running grocery list in a shared Evernote throughout the week. When we run out of something, it goes on the list. When one of us says, "I'd really like to have tacos/steak/whatever next week," the necessary ingredients go on the list. The day before or morning of grocery day, I sit down and plan any meals that we haven't already planned for (taking into account any meals one or both of us won't be home for) and update the grocery lists accordingly, then we sit down in front of the computer together and scan the available coupons. If there's a coupon for something already on the list, we add it to our account so it's automatically applied at checkout. If there's a really good coupon for something that's not already on the list, but is something we know we'll use, we add that, too. Sometimes these additional items mean we adjust the meal plan to use the coupon items--onions and frozen peas are on sale? Let's do chicken pot pie instead of tomato soup for dinner next Monday.
We also have a Costco membership, which we use primarily for nonperishable goods (paper towels, toilet paper, trash bags, dish liquid, toothpaste, etc.) and occasionally meats and alcohol. Even without coupons, it's a significant savings over getting the stuff at the grocery store, but they send out a coupon booklet every couple months with coupons that are good for a specific date range, and we usually try to time our Costco trips to coincide with when what we need is on sale. And if we usually use, say, Charmin TP but next month's coupon is for Quilted Northern, we'll be flexible with the brands. And like with the grocery store, if there's a coupon for something really interesting, we'll get that and plan a meal around it.
posted by rhiannonstone at 2:00 PM on August 21, 2012
I apologize if this is going to sound condescending, but it struck me that perhaps a nuts-and-bolts "walk me through an example" explanation may help. Largely because often that's what helps me.
So - forget the coupons that you get in the newspaper, unless you are a super-awesome-mega-fan of Brand X or Product Y. If you see a coupon for that, great. If not, forget it.
What everyone is saying about the store circular is far more important - that's the stuff that your local supermarket has on sale that one week. You can pick that up in the store; sometimes they even have coupons in it as well.
So - let's say you get the store circular and it's got a special price on a couple of particular vegetables (collard greens and zucchini) and a couple of different specials on some meats (cut-up chicken, ground beef and pork chops). They also have a big sale on five-pound bags of rice.
So what you do is - you figure out a couple of meals that use a lot of collard greens or zucchini, then a couple of different things to do with the meat of your choice. As for the rice - if you eat a lot of rice and you're running out, this is the perfect time to get more; or, if you have a place to put a 5-pound bag in the meantime. If you don't eat much rice, then just ignore the rice in the circular.
So say you've thought of a few things to make with the zucchini - say, a couple of sauteed zucchini dishes, and maybe a soup, and a couple things to do with the collard greens. The collard greens would be awesome with fried chicken, you realize, so there's the cut-up chicken right there. Except you also thought of another thing you could make involving cut-up chicken - which would go great with one of the zucchini dishes. Bingo, that's 2 or 3 meals planned right there (fried chicken and greens, roast chicken and zucchini, and a soup). Now all you need to do is check over what you already have, and buy what you need to flesh out the recipes (maybe some soup stock for the soup, or an onion or a bunch of carrots -- and the carrots, you realize, could be another side dish for something else). You're good on rice for the time being, so you take a pass on that.
Planning done, off you go to the supermarket.
If you do a lot of cooking at home for the hell of it (like me), you can also take advantage of some of the in-store specials to plan ahead - say there's a huge sale on ground beef or something, but you're already good for the meat supply at home. What you could do is buy some of the ground beef anyway and freeze it as is - or, make a crapton of meatballs and sock them all in the freezer, for a future day when you really want spaghetti and meatballs. Then on that future day all you have to do is grab a handful of them out of the freezer, throw them in the sauce as it's heating up on the stove, and ta-da!
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:06 PM on August 21, 2012 [1 favorite]
So - forget the coupons that you get in the newspaper, unless you are a super-awesome-mega-fan of Brand X or Product Y. If you see a coupon for that, great. If not, forget it.
What everyone is saying about the store circular is far more important - that's the stuff that your local supermarket has on sale that one week. You can pick that up in the store; sometimes they even have coupons in it as well.
So - let's say you get the store circular and it's got a special price on a couple of particular vegetables (collard greens and zucchini) and a couple of different specials on some meats (cut-up chicken, ground beef and pork chops). They also have a big sale on five-pound bags of rice.
So what you do is - you figure out a couple of meals that use a lot of collard greens or zucchini, then a couple of different things to do with the meat of your choice. As for the rice - if you eat a lot of rice and you're running out, this is the perfect time to get more; or, if you have a place to put a 5-pound bag in the meantime. If you don't eat much rice, then just ignore the rice in the circular.
So say you've thought of a few things to make with the zucchini - say, a couple of sauteed zucchini dishes, and maybe a soup, and a couple things to do with the collard greens. The collard greens would be awesome with fried chicken, you realize, so there's the cut-up chicken right there. Except you also thought of another thing you could make involving cut-up chicken - which would go great with one of the zucchini dishes. Bingo, that's 2 or 3 meals planned right there (fried chicken and greens, roast chicken and zucchini, and a soup). Now all you need to do is check over what you already have, and buy what you need to flesh out the recipes (maybe some soup stock for the soup, or an onion or a bunch of carrots -- and the carrots, you realize, could be another side dish for something else). You're good on rice for the time being, so you take a pass on that.
Planning done, off you go to the supermarket.
If you do a lot of cooking at home for the hell of it (like me), you can also take advantage of some of the in-store specials to plan ahead - say there's a huge sale on ground beef or something, but you're already good for the meat supply at home. What you could do is buy some of the ground beef anyway and freeze it as is - or, make a crapton of meatballs and sock them all in the freezer, for a future day when you really want spaghetti and meatballs. Then on that future day all you have to do is grab a handful of them out of the freezer, throw them in the sauce as it's heating up on the stove, and ta-da!
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:06 PM on August 21, 2012 [1 favorite]
Much will depend on your cooking style.
The more processed the food is the more coupons you will find. Coupons for fresh vegetables, meat and basics such as flour, dry beans, etc. are harder to find.
If you are flexible about brands it is easier to use more coupons. If you are loyal to a specific product or company it can be useful to signup for their newsletter - there are often very good coupons available that way.
A large part of frugal shopping is to purchase staples when the price is right and build your pantry. Once your pantry is established you only need to purchase perishables with regularity.
Coupons are useless if you can't easily access them. Establish a system for filing (by food type, the way your store is arranged,etc.) which works for your way of thinking. A small multi-pocket binder is a popular option. The sort sold to file cancelled checks by the month is a good size and easy to carry it with you when shopping or creating your list. Keep it simple - if it becomes a p.i.t.a. you won't do it!
Check you local newspaper for a saving blog. My area has a great one! The reporter matches up the weeks coupons to each grocery stores sales. She also reports on many other deals. I save a lot with very little personal effort thanks to her blog!
posted by cat_link at 2:54 PM on August 21, 2012
The more processed the food is the more coupons you will find. Coupons for fresh vegetables, meat and basics such as flour, dry beans, etc. are harder to find.
If you are flexible about brands it is easier to use more coupons. If you are loyal to a specific product or company it can be useful to signup for their newsletter - there are often very good coupons available that way.
A large part of frugal shopping is to purchase staples when the price is right and build your pantry. Once your pantry is established you only need to purchase perishables with regularity.
Coupons are useless if you can't easily access them. Establish a system for filing (by food type, the way your store is arranged,etc.) which works for your way of thinking. A small multi-pocket binder is a popular option. The sort sold to file cancelled checks by the month is a good size and easy to carry it with you when shopping or creating your list. Keep it simple - if it becomes a p.i.t.a. you won't do it!
Check you local newspaper for a saving blog. My area has a great one! The reporter matches up the weeks coupons to each grocery stores sales. She also reports on many other deals. I save a lot with very little personal effort thanks to her blog!
posted by cat_link at 2:54 PM on August 21, 2012
I like using ziplist for storing recipes and generating shopping lists. (The recipe clipper button is especially handy if, like me, you spend an inordinate time browsing recipes online.) If you are really into it, you can even generate shopping lists on a store-by-store basis. (I am not that hardcore.)
Anyway, the nice thing about ziplist is that you can search your stored recipes by ingredient. So, if I'm looking at the store flyer online and see that sour cream is on sale (knowing that I always buy sour cream for one recipe and then leave it in the fridge for 8 weeks and then discover I've created a bio-hazard), I search for any recipes that include sour cream. If I can come up with 1 or two that I feel like eating that week, then sour cream goes on the list. If not, I move on. Kale on sale? Rinse and repeat.
In this way, my meal planning is concurrent with my "coupon" clipping (but I don't use coupons because they rarely help - sales are better).
posted by Mrs. Rattery at 2:57 PM on August 21, 2012
Anyway, the nice thing about ziplist is that you can search your stored recipes by ingredient. So, if I'm looking at the store flyer online and see that sour cream is on sale (knowing that I always buy sour cream for one recipe and then leave it in the fridge for 8 weeks and then discover I've created a bio-hazard), I search for any recipes that include sour cream. If I can come up with 1 or two that I feel like eating that week, then sour cream goes on the list. If not, I move on. Kale on sale? Rinse and repeat.
In this way, my meal planning is concurrent with my "coupon" clipping (but I don't use coupons because they rarely help - sales are better).
posted by Mrs. Rattery at 2:57 PM on August 21, 2012
I haven't the slightest idea about meal planning because I really dislike cooking. (But hey, that's a question for another day). However, I have been taking couponing pretty seriously for the past year so I can go into more detail on that.
First of all, NYC is not a good place to coupon. I live in Manhattan and there are no stores that double here-- although Brooklyn, Queens and the boroughs have locations that do. Very silly since we need the discounts more than any other city in the country, with the exception of LA. Check your store's couponing policy online. This would apply to major grocery chains like Stop & Shop, Waldbaums, Shoprite, etc. Many smaller grocers do not have coupon policies in writing or on their websites (if they have websites at all). Also certain stores-- I have encountered this at CTown-- will not allow you to use coupons on sale/circular items.
I believe Stop & Shop doubles coupons up to 99 cents. So if you have a coupon for 50 cents off 1 carton of Brand X cookies, and Brand X is on sale this week for $2, the 50 cent coupon will double to $1. So you will get Brand X cookies for $1.
If you really love Brand X cookies and you want to stock up on them, again refer to your coupon policy. Most stores have limits on how many coupons can be used in a single transaction. Now transaction and shopping trip are two terms that are easily confused by even checkout clerks and store managers. You can have, say, 17 transactions in one trip. Everyone behind you in line will hate you, but its possible to do so. You would have your cashier ring you up, pay with your coupons, and then start again.
It is NOT necessarily true that buying the store brand will be cheaper. Again, if your store has a good doubling (or even tripling!) policy, you can get brand name products for the same price or cheaper than the generic. It does help to not be brand loyal, but if you are brand loyal, you just need to keep on top of the sales.
You can also find matchups online if you google "your store name + grocery matchup".
You can get coupons from either your Sunday newspaper or online. If you are brand loyal, it helps to write or email directly to the manufacturer as they will often send you high value coupons that you will not ever find in Sunday papers or online.
Coupons for meat and fresh produce are rare, but they are out there. Again, it helps to write to the manufacturer. There are grocery stores in other areas of the country that allow overage, but I will not go into that too much here since there are no grocery stores in NYC that expressly allow overage. Let's say that you have a coupon for $5 off a specific brand of razor and the razor is on sale for $4 that week. You *could* end up getting $1 overage that can be applied to other items in your basket- ie: meat, vegetables, fruit if the coupon is not adjusted down or if the value of a doubled coupon exceeds the value of the product. You *might* end up getting overage if your cashier or the register does not notice, but there is no guarantee.
Hint: if you see a coupon for Brand Y bread in the paper that week, it is extremely likely that your local grocery store will have Brand Y bread on sale that week. The same is true for drugstores such as Rite Aid, CVS, and Walgreens. The drugstore ads will frequently refer to that week's coupon and how it will make the advertised product $X cheaper. You can check sundaycouponpreview.com to see what coupons are coming up in that week's Sunday supplement.
If you need any more info on couponing, don't hesitate to PM me!
posted by lovelygirl at 3:00 PM on August 21, 2012
First of all, NYC is not a good place to coupon. I live in Manhattan and there are no stores that double here-- although Brooklyn, Queens and the boroughs have locations that do. Very silly since we need the discounts more than any other city in the country, with the exception of LA. Check your store's couponing policy online. This would apply to major grocery chains like Stop & Shop, Waldbaums, Shoprite, etc. Many smaller grocers do not have coupon policies in writing or on their websites (if they have websites at all). Also certain stores-- I have encountered this at CTown-- will not allow you to use coupons on sale/circular items.
I believe Stop & Shop doubles coupons up to 99 cents. So if you have a coupon for 50 cents off 1 carton of Brand X cookies, and Brand X is on sale this week for $2, the 50 cent coupon will double to $1. So you will get Brand X cookies for $1.
If you really love Brand X cookies and you want to stock up on them, again refer to your coupon policy. Most stores have limits on how many coupons can be used in a single transaction. Now transaction and shopping trip are two terms that are easily confused by even checkout clerks and store managers. You can have, say, 17 transactions in one trip. Everyone behind you in line will hate you, but its possible to do so. You would have your cashier ring you up, pay with your coupons, and then start again.
It is NOT necessarily true that buying the store brand will be cheaper. Again, if your store has a good doubling (or even tripling!) policy, you can get brand name products for the same price or cheaper than the generic. It does help to not be brand loyal, but if you are brand loyal, you just need to keep on top of the sales.
You can also find matchups online if you google "your store name + grocery matchup".
You can get coupons from either your Sunday newspaper or online. If you are brand loyal, it helps to write or email directly to the manufacturer as they will often send you high value coupons that you will not ever find in Sunday papers or online.
Coupons for meat and fresh produce are rare, but they are out there. Again, it helps to write to the manufacturer. There are grocery stores in other areas of the country that allow overage, but I will not go into that too much here since there are no grocery stores in NYC that expressly allow overage. Let's say that you have a coupon for $5 off a specific brand of razor and the razor is on sale for $4 that week. You *could* end up getting $1 overage that can be applied to other items in your basket- ie: meat, vegetables, fruit if the coupon is not adjusted down or if the value of a doubled coupon exceeds the value of the product. You *might* end up getting overage if your cashier or the register does not notice, but there is no guarantee.
Hint: if you see a coupon for Brand Y bread in the paper that week, it is extremely likely that your local grocery store will have Brand Y bread on sale that week. The same is true for drugstores such as Rite Aid, CVS, and Walgreens. The drugstore ads will frequently refer to that week's coupon and how it will make the advertised product $X cheaper. You can check sundaycouponpreview.com to see what coupons are coming up in that week's Sunday supplement.
If you need any more info on couponing, don't hesitate to PM me!
posted by lovelygirl at 3:00 PM on August 21, 2012
Ohhh. I have this down to science. This is my system. This is not your system. YMMV. Modify as needed.
Meal Planning
Husband and I alternate cooking duties. When one cooks, the other does the dishes. We don't have kids, and when we cook we try to make enough for leftovers for lunch the next day.
We have a shared Google calendar for meals. Every Saturday we sit down and pick out recipes — 3 each. That leaves one day a week for dining out. We mostly use recipes from online websites (he loves the AllRecipes app). Name of the recipe goes in the title field of a gCal event. Location of the recipe (either cookbook title and page number or url) goes in the "where" field in gCal and the list of ingredients goes in the "description" field.
Grocery Shopping
We mainly eat fresh food, so we don't buy frozen or canned stuff. This means we typically pick up what we need for dinner on the way home from work. This is a habit we developed when we lived overseas and didn't have access to big box grocery stores. Planning out meals at the beginning of the week means we have a week's worth of grocery lists on our phones and at our fingers at all times.
When we plan our meals we always include ALL the ingredients in the list. Even staples like salt, pepper, olive oil, eggs, etc that we might have in the pantry already. Usually the night before or morning of a meal, I'll take a look at that meal's grocery list and see what we actually need. I do this because, maybe at the start of the week, you have plenty of eggs but by the time Friday rolls around you've used them up and need to buy more. A quick review of the list the night before/morning of gives you an idea of what you *really* need.
We also keep a magnetic notepad on the fridge so that if either one of us notices that we're getting low on staples like dish detergent or olive oil, we can add it to the list. Once the list starts getting full we peel it off and take it grocery shopping with us.
Sometimes one of us will pick up groceries for the other when we're shopping for ourselves, but that's pretty rare. Our system is that if it's your turn to cook you are responsible for pretty much everything.
The Google calendar system makes it really easy to plan meals all at once (I'd say this takes 30 minutes tops) and then not have to think about it again until it's your turn to cook for the night. It also makes it easy to move meals around in case we have a social event or are out for the night.
Coupons
We use reusable shopping bags. One has a big pocket and is the carry-all bag for all our other bags. We only have one car, so it lives there, but it could live in the pantry, by the front oor, wherever it's easy to remember and grab.
I have one of these little check-sized monthly accordion files that stays in the big pocket of the main shopping bag.
When I get coupons, I go through the package to see if there are any I might use. As I said before, we generally don't eat anything that comes in a box or can, but we do sometimes use pre-cut bagged veggies and frozen veggies. This eliminates a lot of coupons. I'll also save coupons for items I've been wanting to try, but this is rare. I never buy something just because it's on sale. I only save (and use) coupons for stuff that I would have normally bought anyway.
Coupons get filed in the accordion folder according to expiration date/month. Then, while I'm at the grocery store, I'll have a look through the folder (usually just this month's and next month's) and see if there's anything we need that we have a coupon for, or any coupon that's about to expire that I might want to take advantage of.
If you are near a grocery store that has a shopper loyalty card program, I highly suggest signing up for it. I was dubious at first and had one for years without ever giving them my name or address. When I moved back from living overseas I got a new card at the store I frequent most, and this time gave them my full details. That thing is self-aware. It knows what I buy often (for example, I love La Croix water and buy cases of every flavor) and sends me coupons for only the stuff I'm already buying with regularity. I also get a lot of coupons for the store brand of those pre-cut fresh veggies I love to snack on at work. If you aren't freaked out by the fact that they're gathering data about your shopping habits, it's a good deal.
(Incidentally, when I get coupons for things like free undies at Victoria Secret or the like, they also go into the accordion folder.)
I probably could be saving a lot more money, but that would require buying a lot of stuff I don;t actually want, just because its on sale. But doing our meal planning in this way makes it pretty mindless to come home from work and not have to worry about what's for dinner. Plus it appeals to me need for everything to be in order.
posted by Brittanie at 3:14 PM on August 21, 2012 [3 favorites]
Meal Planning
Husband and I alternate cooking duties. When one cooks, the other does the dishes. We don't have kids, and when we cook we try to make enough for leftovers for lunch the next day.
We have a shared Google calendar for meals. Every Saturday we sit down and pick out recipes — 3 each. That leaves one day a week for dining out. We mostly use recipes from online websites (he loves the AllRecipes app). Name of the recipe goes in the title field of a gCal event. Location of the recipe (either cookbook title and page number or url) goes in the "where" field in gCal and the list of ingredients goes in the "description" field.
Grocery Shopping
We mainly eat fresh food, so we don't buy frozen or canned stuff. This means we typically pick up what we need for dinner on the way home from work. This is a habit we developed when we lived overseas and didn't have access to big box grocery stores. Planning out meals at the beginning of the week means we have a week's worth of grocery lists on our phones and at our fingers at all times.
When we plan our meals we always include ALL the ingredients in the list. Even staples like salt, pepper, olive oil, eggs, etc that we might have in the pantry already. Usually the night before or morning of a meal, I'll take a look at that meal's grocery list and see what we actually need. I do this because, maybe at the start of the week, you have plenty of eggs but by the time Friday rolls around you've used them up and need to buy more. A quick review of the list the night before/morning of gives you an idea of what you *really* need.
We also keep a magnetic notepad on the fridge so that if either one of us notices that we're getting low on staples like dish detergent or olive oil, we can add it to the list. Once the list starts getting full we peel it off and take it grocery shopping with us.
Sometimes one of us will pick up groceries for the other when we're shopping for ourselves, but that's pretty rare. Our system is that if it's your turn to cook you are responsible for pretty much everything.
The Google calendar system makes it really easy to plan meals all at once (I'd say this takes 30 minutes tops) and then not have to think about it again until it's your turn to cook for the night. It also makes it easy to move meals around in case we have a social event or are out for the night.
Coupons
We use reusable shopping bags. One has a big pocket and is the carry-all bag for all our other bags. We only have one car, so it lives there, but it could live in the pantry, by the front oor, wherever it's easy to remember and grab.
I have one of these little check-sized monthly accordion files that stays in the big pocket of the main shopping bag.
When I get coupons, I go through the package to see if there are any I might use. As I said before, we generally don't eat anything that comes in a box or can, but we do sometimes use pre-cut bagged veggies and frozen veggies. This eliminates a lot of coupons. I'll also save coupons for items I've been wanting to try, but this is rare. I never buy something just because it's on sale. I only save (and use) coupons for stuff that I would have normally bought anyway.
Coupons get filed in the accordion folder according to expiration date/month. Then, while I'm at the grocery store, I'll have a look through the folder (usually just this month's and next month's) and see if there's anything we need that we have a coupon for, or any coupon that's about to expire that I might want to take advantage of.
If you are near a grocery store that has a shopper loyalty card program, I highly suggest signing up for it. I was dubious at first and had one for years without ever giving them my name or address. When I moved back from living overseas I got a new card at the store I frequent most, and this time gave them my full details. That thing is self-aware. It knows what I buy often (for example, I love La Croix water and buy cases of every flavor) and sends me coupons for only the stuff I'm already buying with regularity. I also get a lot of coupons for the store brand of those pre-cut fresh veggies I love to snack on at work. If you aren't freaked out by the fact that they're gathering data about your shopping habits, it's a good deal.
(Incidentally, when I get coupons for things like free undies at Victoria Secret or the like, they also go into the accordion folder.)
I probably could be saving a lot more money, but that would require buying a lot of stuff I don;t actually want, just because its on sale. But doing our meal planning in this way makes it pretty mindless to come home from work and not have to worry about what's for dinner. Plus it appeals to me need for everything to be in order.
posted by Brittanie at 3:14 PM on August 21, 2012 [3 favorites]
Here's a thought: factor in the cost of gas (?) or other commute costs if you go out of your way to pick up something on sale. If you normally patronize Supermarket 1, but then decide to make a separate shopping trip to Supermarket 2 because they have a deal on bagged oranges or whatever, you're making an additional effort and using additional time. Unless you are underemployed and your time is very cheap or all supermarkets are an equal distance away from where you live, you may want to keep the hidden costs in mind. It makes no sense to spend an extra dollar to reap a nickel's savings.
FWIW, my "savings solution" is to visit a single supermarket once a week and buy the same items every time. My grocery costs are under $40 a week.
posted by Nomyte at 5:07 PM on August 21, 2012
FWIW, my "savings solution" is to visit a single supermarket once a week and buy the same items every time. My grocery costs are under $40 a week.
posted by Nomyte at 5:07 PM on August 21, 2012
Another tiplet. This may be sort of hard if you (qua guy) do not have a big wallet or everyday purse. Carry your coupons with you AT ALL TIMES. Otherwise you may leave them home despite the best intentions.
posted by skbw at 9:52 AM on August 23, 2012
posted by skbw at 9:52 AM on August 23, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
Now that I'm growed up, I don't generally have the patience for coupons, but I still try to buy stuff when it's on sale and make room in the freezer for it if I'm not making it that week, or stock up on canned goods. And I go crazy trying to get all the value I can from the crazy sales and bonuses at CVS.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 10:34 AM on August 21, 2012 [1 favorite]