Huge Grocery Savings


sgrocery store - shop once a weekHere is a challenge that I’m going to be trying now that I’m back from Japan. Flash, who manages our Grocery Coupon Guide, gets amazing savings with coupons. The type of savings that you hear about in disbelief on the TV – like $300 worth of groceries for $27. It’s pretty amazing stuff, but my question is can a total beginner who is not coupon savvy get the same results?

Coupons are almost non existent in Japan so it is something that is quite unfamiliar. One of the challenges I’m going to take up is trying to achieve the same type of savings.

Now I know that it isn’t possible to achieve these results from day one. As Flash plainly says, “…It takes practice, and patience, as well as some trial and error to find which techniques work for you, and fit in to your life style. You should NOT be able to achieve these savings immediately, any more than you should lift 300 pounds or run a marathon on your first day out. But you can do it.”

Can I really do it? It should be an interesting experiment to see how effective someone who is coupon clueless can achieve with this type of saving. I will be putting together a plan of action with the guidance of Flash over the coming days to see what type of savings I can achieve for us. It should be an interesting experiment…


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June 18th, 2006
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Comment Number:
1
Written by:
We're In Debt
Posted on:
June 19, 2006 at 2:20 pm

It would be nice to get those kinds of savings. Unfortunately the grocery store that we goto (Whole Foods) does not accept coupons.

Comment Number:
2
Written by:
Everysec
Posted on:
June 19, 2006 at 5:42 pm

I’d love to be able to get those kind of savings from coupons but here in Ireland I’m pretty sure that we’re getting different kinds of coupons than Americans might be used to. The abundance of loyalty card schemes means that coupons are very focused on getting the customer to buy things they wouldn’t ordinarily purchase rather than reward their loyalty by cheaper prices on what they frequently buy already.

I also don’t buy too many newspapers these days either, as it’s easier (and cheaper) to read my preferred publications online. Interesting suggestion all the same, I’ll be keeping an eye out to see do any useful coupons cross my path.

Comment Number:
3
Written by:
Scott
Posted on:
June 20, 2006 at 8:40 am

I used to be heavily into using coupons, and the best I could do (in conjunction with sales) was to pay an average of 40% of the original non-sale prices on an overall trip to the store. But this took time and effort. Now I buy most of my food at Aldi’s, a very lost cost – good quality store, but they don’t take coupons (most items don’t have coupons anyway). I find their prices usually match or beat the brand name items (even on sale with coupons). I’d recommend looking for a store like that first. If there just is no low-cost store like that nearby, then using coupons may be the way to go.

Comment Number:
4
Written by:
driver
Posted on:
June 23, 2006 at 4:52 pm

some grocery stores have a promotion for double coupons. when done correctly, you can almost get free groceries. it helps when coupons are having you save a dollar per item and doubling that makes it a $2 savings.

Comment Number:
5
Written by:
Dus10
Posted on:
June 26, 2006 at 11:17 am

I live in the Indianapolis Metro Area and the grocery market is fierce. We ALWAYS have double-coupons, and sometimes triple-coupons. However, we miss out on some of the best coupons because of this.

The trick I have is to buy two to three papers every Sunday, and stock up on coupons. Then, I save them back. Our stores all offer the loyalty cards, so I wait for things to go on sale with the loyalty cards, and then use double (or sometimes triple) coupons with them. I stock up on non-perishable or long-lasting items when I can. For instance, I had a coupon for $1 off of two sticks of Degree anti-perspirant. The store was offering the very same deal with the loyalty card. So, I got them for $1 off, each. I got an entire years worth of anti-perspirant for just over $3! Plus I signed up to get a free sample for Unilever (Degree’s owner).

Also, I try to get out-of-state coupons, as they are better than those distributed in my market.

It certainly takes time. You will want to stock up on things, and this will take a few months until you are no longer buying these sorts of items each trip to the store. When this happens, you become objective and only purchase them (in bulk) when they are at the most rock-bottom price you can muster. Then, you are just buying a little bit here and there.

Comment Number:
6
Written by:
supermom_in_ny
Posted on:
June 26, 2006 at 8:25 pm

I use coupons and often get groceries at an unbelievalbe savings. The internet makes it much easier to save money. I print coupons from coupon web sites and use manufacturer’s coupons from freebies (that are mailed to my home).

Good luck to you!!!!

Supermom_in_NY