Hobby: Saving Money

Deal Shopping 101

2015-05-30T13:43:00.001-07:00

This central page will include expanding links to deal-shopping how-to's. Click around, enjoy, and let me know if there are additional deal-shopping topics you'd like to see!

PS - I haven't spent enough time to figure out how to keep a post at the top, so just dated it several years out. Seems to work.

Early morning flights

2009-06-02T07:35:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting in the lovely PDX airport (love that they have free wi-fi, why don't more airports do that?). This morning's trip is a business meeting, and fortunately the meetings don't start until tomorrow morning...because I woke up 40 minutes before my flight departed. And we live 20 minutes from the airport. Yikes!

Am I crazy that my first concern was not about actually missing the flight, but if I'd have to pay to re-book on a later flight? (Granted, I'm pretty sure my company would have paid the difference, but I still hate unnecessary expenses.) I got to the gate about 8 minutes before departure. The door had just closed.

Luckily for me, the folks at US Airways were able to easily re-book me on the next flight at no charge. Hooray! Maybe I'll have to re-think my dislike of them. And figure out exactly what airline policies are for missing flights. Not that I plan on missing one again. So, now I'm killing a few hours catching up on work, people watching and blogging.

PS - If you're trying to talk the gate agent into getting you onto a direct flight instead of the one with a layover that you're ticketed on, why in the world would you start complaining about a middle seat? Either you want to get there early and the airline is doing you a favor, or you can take the flight you booked and paid for. Honestly.

When a good deal goes bad

2009-05-16T19:05:00.001-07:00

...and it will

· Ask for rainchecks or substitutions if a store is out of an advertised or sale item. Sometimes this means you’ll spend more out of pocket at the time if you’re counting on it for a bigger deal.

· In general, be polite, but don’t be afraid to question a policy or stand up for your position if you know it’s right. Often, the employee simply isn’t informed on the actual policy.

· There will be some deals that don’t work out. There will be rude cashiers. Just keep at it – I promise the good outweigh the bad!

· Common misunderstanding: One per purchase vs one per transaction. Common understanding of couponing is that “one per purchase” means 1 coupon per item purchased. For example, if I have 10 Barilla coupons, I must buy 10 Barilla items to use all the coupons. “One per transaction” means that even if I bought 10 Barilla items, I could only use one coupon. Many cashiers are confused on this, but will agree if you present the logical reasoning. Some won’t. This makes me mad. I haven’t found a way around it yet.

Deals: Household Goods

2009-05-16T18:51:00.001-07:00

Walgreen’s – best deal-shopping drugstore/household goods in PDX
Quirks, Tips & Tricks:
· You can stack weekly store flier coupons or with a manufacturers coupon.
· Has one or more items weekly that are “free after Register Rewards.” For example, this week it’s Colgate Sensitive Toothpaste. Pay $4.99 and get a coupon for $4.99 off your next order.
· You cannot have more coupons than you have items, including Register Rewards. Use cheap items as fillers if needed.
· Give coupons in this order: Register Rewards, manufacturer’s coupons, store coupons
· Does not have a corporate written coupon policy.
· Watch the expiration date on RRs. It’s usually only around 2 weeks.
· Employees are often not clear on the RR program. Most of the time, if you explain clearly, they are very nice. You can use a coupon on an item that will produce a RR (I’m keeping a copy of this week’s ad that clearly shows that). You can use an RR to pay for an item that produces an RR as long as it is not the same offer or manufacturer. For example, I could use a Crest RR from last week to pay for the Colgate RR-producing item this week – they are different offers and different manufacturers. I cannot use the Colgate RR to buy another Colgate RR-producing product.
· If a coupon is for more than the value of an item (ie, you have a $2.25/1 coupon for an item on sale for $2), the Walgreen’s register beeps. Sometimes a cashier will override and you will get the $.25 overage. If not, you can add a second of the same item and the coupon will go through. In this example, you would end up with two products worth $4 for $1.75 – still better than one product for $2.

Rite Aid – drugstore with deals; not as good as Walgreen’s
Quirks, Tips & Tricks:
· Has a monthly rebate program, Single Check Rebates (SCR). Some items are a partial rebate, some are free after rebate.
· Free after rebate items are usually only good for one week.
· Rebate receipts can be entered online and a check is mailed monthly. You can log in and add and save receipts as many times as you want, but you can only submit the rebates once per month. Wait until the end of the month in case any new great deals come up.

Wal-Mart
· I rarely shop at Wal-Mart, but mostly because there isn’t one anywhere near our house. Crystal @ moneysavingmom regularly post Wal-Mart cheap and free items after coupons. No rebates, double coupons or anything extra, just cheap coupon savings.

Target
· No free after rebate or Catalina programs, but has started doing some gift cards with certain purchases. When combined with coupons, these can be cheap or free. See weekly posts from monesavingmom or frugallivingnw.

Deals: Grocery

2009-05-16T18:49:00.001-07:00

Winco – overall cheapest grocery prices in Portland
Quirks, Tips & Tricks:
· Accepts coupons, but does not double.
· Only recently started accepting IPs. Ask for a manager if a cashier tells you they don’t accept them.
· Gives $.06 per reusable bag you use. But don’t forget to tell the cashier you’ve got them!
· Produce doesn’t last very long.

Safeway – good sales, sometimes great promotions
Quirks, Tips & Tricks:
· Doubles coupons up to $.50 (ie if you have a $.50/1 coupon, you get $1 off. If you have a $1/1 coupon, you get $1.50 off)
· Doubles up to four (4) coupons per order with coupon doubler from paper.
· If you don’t have the doubler and ask, often they’ll double your coupons anyway.
· Some stores are finicky about IPs and may only take one per product type (ie if you have 2 of the same coupon, they may only take one.). Push back, but YMMV.
· Be sure to compare coupon doubled price at Safeway or Albertson’s to coupon price at Winco. Sometimes it is cheaper to buy the product slightly more expensive when the coupon can be doubled.
· Gives $.03 per reusable bag you use. But don’t forget to give the bags to the cashier before he/she bags your groceries and make sure they give you the credit!
· Does not current have a corporate written coupon policy.
· Trick: Check prices online using safeway.com’s grocery delivery option. You can see if any item is on sale or not. I find this helpful when determining Safeway vs. Winco for a particular trip.

Albertson’s
Quirks, Tips & Tricks:
· Up until recently accepted competitors coupons and seems to be trying to find their new stance on deals, particularly double coupons.
· Sometimes double coupons up to $1. Coupon doublers come in the paper.

Thriftway
Quirks, Tips & Tricks:
· Doubles coupons up to $.50. Same as Safeway, the doubler coupon is in the weekly ad.
· Has weekly coupons in the ad – can be great deals. Some have a minimum $10 total purchase requirement.

General Strategies

2009-05-16T18:47:00.001-07:00

· Combine coupons with sale prices. For example, if an item normally costs $2 and you have a coupon for $1 off, wait for a $1.50 sale at Safeway, and the item will be free after the coupon doubles.

· “Stack” coupons. Combining manufacturer’s coupons with store coupons.

· Take advantage of overage: Using extra on a coupon to pay for other products. Products that produce overage may also be referred to as “moneymakers.” Note: You will not get cash in hand for these, but will essentially have “credit” toward your other groceries/purchases. For example: an item is on sale for $1. I have a $1.50/1 coupon. This leaves me $.50 to put toward other groceries. Some stores do not allow overage and may adjust the coupon down to equal a free product or worst case, not let you use the coupon.

· Stockpile. When an item is at or below your target price, begin stockpiling. This means buying multiples of an item to use over time. Buy as many as your budget can handle, but be sure to check expiration dates and ensure you can use (or donate) it all while it’s still good.

· Keep quick and easy “pantry meals” on hand to avoid fast food or going out. We keep noodles and red sauce, canned beans and refried beans for burritos or bean dip and chips and frozen veggies. It takes less time to slap some beans on a tortilla and throw it in the microwave than it does to drive to Taco Bell. Even though I do have to still remind myself of this some days.

· Cook from scratch. Proven to save money. And be healthier. But takes more time. There are lots of recipes out there for homemade mixes, convenience foods, etc. Between this and cooking ahead and freezing meals, it is possible to cook from scratch even with limited time. This is one of my current focus areas.

· Check for store markdowns on products nearing expiration date. These are particularly good on items that can be frozen or you will eat quickly. Some common markdown items are meat, bread and yogurt/dairy items.

· Try the cheapest variation of a product, then work your way up to the cheapest “acceptable” option. Sometimes you’ll be surprised that your family likes a store brand just as well (or better!) than the expensive brand name. Sometimes you won’t. Randomly, Safeway brand brownie mix got vetoed in our house. We’ll stick to Pillsbury or Betty Crocker on sale with coupons. But we really like cheap tortilla chips.

· Be brand flexible. Particularly on household goods, I’ll try any brand once. I am able to get almost all my toiletries for free this way.

· Compare unit prices. Both across brands and across package sizes. Don’t forget to account for unit price impact from a coupon. Sometimes the best deal is on the smallest package. Don’t forget about bulk bins.

· Keep a running grocery list to log items as you run out. This way you won’t forget to buy something and end up making multiple trips to the grocery store.

· If possible, shop alone, when you’re not hungry and not rushed. I always spend more when Charles is with me. Snack foods look extra good when I’m hungry. And I get flustered and forget things when I’m rushed.

· Use a coupon clipping service. To get multiple copies of coupons on a great deal or that your family will use, use a coupon clipping service. It is illegal to sell coupons, but you can order coupons from sites that charge for the service of clipping and mailing you coupons. Sneaky, huh? I’ve never done this myself, but know of others who save quite a bit this way.

· Use cash. Statistically you spend less this way. Crystal at moneysavingmom.com takes it a step further and only takes exactly as much cash (no debit cards, credit cards or extra cash) into the store as she’s budgeted. That’s certainly one way to make sure you stick to the budget!

· Use a calculator to add up deals as you go in the store. Particularly important if you have cash only. Either way, helps keep within the budget. Or if you’re anti-calculator, keep a running total on your grocery list. Rounding to the nearest dollar gives a pretty good approximation and makes for easy math.

· Be frugal, not cheap: I consider myself frugal, not cheap. By this, I mean that I am willing to spend a little more on quality or something I know will be used rather than forgoing or buying the absolute cheapest thing available. This can take many forms, such as buying cloth napkins to save on paper napkin costs.

· Balance frugality with environmental and clutter concerns. Don’t buy things that will go to waste or clutter up your house just because they are cheap or free.

· Don’t be afraid to take a (or more) week off. Sometimes we get burned out. If you have a stockpile, these are great weeks to eat from the stockpile and just buy milk, eggs and produce needed for the week.

· Bonus: I find that practicing frugality in one area of life quickly spills into others. After food and household, the easiest one that we can directly impact is clothing and other household purchases. Goodwill, second hand stores, clothing swaps, garage sales, clearance or simply having fewer clothes. And we could all probably be happy with fewer clothes.

Planning: The Basics

2009-05-16T18:42:00.001-07:00

Budget: Have one.
Use coupons. Where to find coupons?
Sunday paper has coupon inserts
Internet printable coupons from various sources
“Blinkies” coupon machines/holders in-store next to product.
Catalinas – printed at register; typically good on your next order
Organize your coupons: Clip, whole inserts or combo.
Set Target Prices for items you buy regularly or start a Price Book
Weekly sale ads: Most store ads and coupon inserts are in the Sunday paper for a Sunday-Saturday sales cycle. Most grocery ads are in the Tuesday paper for a Wednesday-Tuesday sales cycle.
Meal Planning: Create a list of common meals / foods your family eats
Make a grocery list based on the sale ads and your meal plan. Then stick to it!