Thrifty Mom Goes Shopping

I love to shop. There is nothing out there like the thrill of a purchase. I just can't get enough. What makes shopping even better, when I can get something for free. These days gas is $3 or more and you can't even order a fast food value meal for less then $5, but I set out to prove that one mom, and five dollars, can go a long way if you have a plan.

Step One - Know Thy Circulars

The circular schedule, and your knowledge of it is key. For example the new Giant Eagle circular comes out every Wednesday and pricing is good starting on Thursday. The first week of the month, at Giant Eagle in Columbus, is usually double coupon week for all coupons up to a dollar. Normally double coupons are good for up to Ninety-nine cents, but this beloved day all coupons up to one dollar are doubled, and coupons of say $1.50 are worth a whopping $2.00.

Kroger's circulars often come out with the Sunday paper as do Walgreen's. One bonus with Walgreen's is the monthly rebate circular. This circular comes out the first week of the month and offers you several items that you can get for free if you remember to turn in your rebate form with the receipt. I always look forward to grabbing this, and when you request a Walgreen's card instead of your check you get an extra 10% back.

Step Two - Clip Those Coupons

There is nothing thrifty mom likes more then a good coupon. I realized a long time ago that the $1.75 it costs per week to have the newspaper delivered on Sunday will net a pretty large return on investment once I ad up my weekly coupon savings.

You can haphazardly clip coupons and throw them in your purse, but I prefer to have a system. I take an index card box and some alphabetical tabs and sort my coupons alphabetically. At the end of every month I grab coupons from each letter and toss out those coupons that have expired. Keeping the coupons organized in this manner helps tremendously with the next step which is...

Step Three - Your Game Plan

You have your coupons and you have your circulars, now what? You have to do some prework before just running out the door. there are two wonderful websites that I highly recommend when trying to save money on groceries, they are www.thegrocerygame.com and www.couponmom.com.

The first site www.thegrocerygame.com is fun because it looks at shopping in the same manner I always have, as a game. I highly recommend signing up for the four week trial for $1. You can select as many stores as are offered. For Columbus Ohio the store list included Kroger, Meijer, Giant Eagle, CVS, Walgreen's, and Rite Aid. When you join the Grocery Game you get access to Teri's List which will reveal the "rock bottom" prices on hundreds of products each week and matches them up with manufacturers' coupons for the best possible savings at your local supermarket. The downside of Teri's list is that after your free trial expires your will need to pay for a subscription. The cost is $10 for the first store and $5 for each additional store. A Subscription lasts for eight weeks. So if you wanted an eight week membership for all of the stores in Columbus that are available you would need to pay $35 every eight weeks.

The second site that I recommend is www.couponmom.com . The plus side of this site is that it is free. The only request that coupon mom makes is that you donate one product from her list to a charity. This is easy enough to do. the down side of the list is that the stores are limited (at least in Ohio) to Giant Eagle and Kroger. This site also has a slightly GPT feel to it, although when I registered I only went through three trial offer requests. I really like the fact that the list that you can print from this site can be completely customized. You check the groceries you are going to get, and those are the only ones that print out.

Your third option is what i tend to do on a regular basis, play the game myself. I love the thrill of getting a circular and looking to see if the items they have on sale are the same ones I have coupons for. I put those coupons in an envelope and off to the store I go. I often save the $1 off coupons for double coupon day at giant eagle. In fact on double coupon day I will often get items such as deodorant, shampoo, and toothpaste for free because they are on sale for $2.00 or less and I have a dollar off coupon.

It is amazing with a little effort how much money you can actually end up saving your family by playing the thrifty mom way. Try it out this week, and let me know how much you save off of your next grocery bill.