Reader Questions Answered

I had a reader email me recently to ask me some questions.  Instead of replying to her email, I asked if I could just post the questions and answers on here because I think they are very common questions and answers I think many of you would enjoy reading so here goes:

1) It seems like there aren’t usually coupons for the items I would normally buy.

I would take a minute to look at the 3 coupon links in the right sidebar of my site.  You could also take a look at the searchable coupon database at organicgrocerydeals.com.  You can type in the name of a product that you regularly buy, and it will tell you where you can find coupons and give you the links for printable coupons for that item.  While I can not guarantee that you will find coupons for the items you buy, since we all eat different things, I can say this.  I currently have, or have recently had, coupons for milk, butter, yogurt, chicken breasts, cheese, coffee, lunchmeat, cereal, canned fruit, applesauce, pasta, pasta sauce and many others, most of which are staples in many households.  There aren’t always coupons for all the things I use which is another great benefit of stockpiling.  When there are coupons and sales for my favorite items, I buy several to last me until the next sale.

2) I save more if I just buy the generic store brand item than I would if I used the coupon to buy the name brand product(i.e safeway vs. del monte canned vegetables).

This is where my shopping strategy comes into play.  You are right, if you went to the store needing canned vegetables with a Del Monte coupon, and compared the price after coupon to the cost of a can of Safeway vegetables, the Safeway brand would probably still be less expensive.  If, however, Del Monte vegetables were on sale at Vons and also part of a promotion and you had your coupon, you could get them for a much lower price than the Safeway brand.  You would then buy several cans to keep in your pantry until the next sale came around.  For instance, All detergent can be pricey.  I used to only buy generic or the cheapest one on the shelf.  2 weeks ago, Albertsons had them on sale and they were also a part of a promotion that gave you a certain amount back when you spent a certain amount in eligible products.  I also had a few coupons from the paper and was able to get 4 printable coupons each for another $1 off.  I was able to get 6 of them for .75 each.  If I had just gone to the store and taken $1 off the price of the All and compared it to the generic, I am sure the All would still have been much more expensive.  By stocking up when the items you use are at their lowest price, you are able to get much lower prices than just buying generic. 

Check out my shopping examples .  You can see actual examples of what I purchased and how much I spent.

3) If I’m running around from store to store trying to get the best deal rather than getting all my shopping done at one store I feel like I’m wasting time and gas. 

For me, the amount of money I am able to save is well worth my time and gas.  I try to plan my trips carefully so that I go to several stores that are all in the same area.  For instance, in my town, Vons, CVS and WinCo are all in one shopping center.  I will plan to do those trips all at once so I can be in and out of 3 stores quickly.  I also do not go to every store every week.  I go to the stores that have the best deals on the things we use.  Some weeks, that means no place which is fine since I have a huge stockpile to work from.  Other weeks, I may hit them all in different trips throughout the week when they are convenient to whatever else I am doing.  Also, when you go into a store armed with your shopping list and coupons knowing just what you are going to buy, you are able to get in and out quickly and often without picking up extra items that are not on your list since you aren’t walking up and down every aisle.

4) We do the majority of our shopping at Sams club.  Have you found that your coupon system saves you more money than a Sams or Costco like say for instance on paper towels, canned veggies, Pastaroni packs, spaghetti sauce?

I am so glad that you gave spaghetti sauce for an example because that is a good one that I have a recent example to provide.  2 weeks ago, Ragu pasta sauce was on sale at Walgreens.  I know, who grocery shops at Walgreens?:)  It was also part of a promotion that gave you back register rewards when you bought a certain number of items.  I was able to use my $1.00 off 2 coupons to buy 8 jars of Ragu for $2.00 total=.25 a jar.  Since I don’t shop at Costco, I can not say for sure, but I can fairly confidently say their pasta sauce is not .25 a jar.  I was also able to get Rice Sides and Pasta Sides for .17 each at Albertsons by buying them during a promotion and using coupons.

The manufacturers have built into our heads that bigger is better.  This is very often not the case and not just in bulk stores.  I have noticed in the regular grocery stores that often the bigger package of something is actually more expensive than buying 2 smaller ones.  Check your store sometime and see if this is true.

Also, when using coupons, the opposite is normally true.  Buying the 2 smaller packages with 2 coupons is most often less expensive than buying 1 bigger package with 1 coupon.  By breaking the product down into smaller packages, you are able to use more coupons to get more off.  You can also frequently get the smallest sized packages FREE with some coupons that don’t specify a specific size.  I have tons of lotion, pantiliners and band aids that I have gotten for free from Target’s travel section.  3 small lotions for free are better than 1 large bottle with $1 off.  Check out Bargain Briana’s post HERE about the same thing.

For very specific or specialty items, there may be times when it could be less expensive to buy it in bulk so you would have to know your product and the prices that are out there for it.

What about you?  What advice, answers or testimony can you give about these questions?