Ha. Yeah, me too. I bring my calculator to the grocery store. I find couponing and bargain hunting fun. Here are some thoughts on various topics:
–Choosing a supermarket. There are 4 supermarkets within a mile of my house. Two I don’t like at all. I prefer Pathmark to Shop-rite. Pathmark looks a lot more “crummy” and has fewer gourmet/specialty items, but the sales tend to be much much better and the store is easier to shop. And lines are much shorter. In Shop-rite’s favor, it has double coupons up to .99, while Pathmark has double coupons up to .50. And of course, they sometimes have amazing sales on things I want. So I shop Pathmark primarily, but sometimes take a trip to Shoprite to get sale items. While I’m there, I redeem some of my higher-value coupons. At the supermarket near my mom’s house, they double $1 coupons. So, I sometimes take a trip there to get non-perishables for a low low price. You can drive yourself crazy going to every supermarket in town for the best deals on each item, so I’m not recommending that. But being willing to shop several stores can be very worthwhile.
–Loss leaders. Loss leaders are where the most significant savings are to be had. Some recent sales: Boneless chicken breast, $1.49/lb. Whole chicken, .19/lb, 2.5 dozen eggs, $1.99. Often packaged brand name items are on loss-leader sale. Combined with double coupons, things are often free. Take advantage of loss leaders.
–Read sale flyers and know what items go on sale regularly. If you have an idea of what things go on sale and how often, then you can have a better idea of when to buy and how much to buy. You can either stock up, or put a purchase off. I may have a coupon for Progresso soup, but I won’t redeem it unless the soup is also on sale. Progresso soup is on sale very frequently. Sometimes it’s on sale for $1.50 a can, but I know that a sale for .99 per can will come up soon. And I usually have a $1 off 4 coupon. That’s .75 a can, instead of 2.19.
–Coupons. Coupons are fun! Combining double coupons and sales, I can get lots of things free or for pennies. If I’m careful, I can undercut the price of most store brands even. I got 4 pounds of Sorrento mozzarella for .99 a pound last month, and the dates on the packages were very good. And sometimes, stores run triple coupon sales. A couple of weeks ago, Pathmark had a triple coupon sale (up to .99) and I got stacks of stuff for free–Brillo pads, Herb-ox boullion, Mott’s applesauce. If I can get something for free that I don’t really want, I’ll take it and donate it to the food bank. The trick, of course, is to make sure that the item is really a good deal even with the coupon. A lot of things are still expensive with the coupons, like a lot of highly processed foods. It’s hard to draw the line between cutting too many and too few coupons. For example, I don’t buy pre-shredded cheese, so I don’t cut the coupons for it. But last week, if I had had the coupon, I could have gotten it for free. For free, I’d use it. So I was kind of mad at myself.
The upshot is that bargain hunting can be a lot of fun. I make a lot of very economical meals, and sometimes buy “luxury” items for low prices. Either way, since I’ve started doing this, I’ve eaten better for a lot less money.