My top 10 tips for saving money in real life.

Tonight is the season premiere of Extreme Couponing on TLC.  I've already talked about this show a couple of times, and I'll be watching... probably in the same way a high school wrestler may turn on Wrestlemania for entertainment.

The thing that I really want to impress upon you if you watch the show is this: what is shown on the show is NOT realistic, and sometimes not even legal.  I worry that the average person will see the show and expect to pull off a similar mega shopping trip, and honestly, it's just not going to happen.  Yes, you CAN save money at the grocery and drug stores without spending hours each day cutting coupons or lots of money ordering coupons from "clipping services" on the internet.  The important thing is to manage your resources and expectations wisely!  Here are my top 10 tips for anyone who is looking to save money on the items they buy each week.

1) Pay attention to prices so you know when to stock up.  How will you know you're getting a good deal if you don't know what you normally pay?  Normal shelf price for a can of tuna is $1 in my area.  I can't tell you how many times I see tuna marked at $1 a can with a big red SALE!!! sign.  If you know what you normally pay, you'll know when you're getting a steal on an item- or when you're being fleeced.  I suggest keeping a list of the cheapest price you see for your top 10 grocery with you when you shop.  Here's my post about my stock-up price list if you'd like to see what I pay for certain items in the Boston area.

2) Don't be brand loyal.  A recent study by Consumer Reports showed that 14 brands of dish detergent, ranging in price from $2 to $14 a bottle, all did the same job cleaning dirty dishes.  When you're brand loyal, you're often going to pay more because most items are only on sale once every 3 months.  Trying out different brands of laundry detergent, paper towels, etc will save you money, and if you're still smitten with your favorite brand, at least you know that it stands up to the competition!  Don't be afraid to try generics or store brands, either.

3) Use the internet to your advantage.  If you're heading to the store, take 5 minutes before you go and check to see if you can get any great deals while you're there.  I suggest Coupon Mom, which lets you quickly pull up sale price lists by state.  They've also got a "extreme drugstore deals list" which tells you the best deals at the big drugstore chains, and a new "extreme grocery deals by state" list for food stores.  Coupon Mom requires registration, but it's totally free.


4) Manage your expectations.  I'd say that on a normal weekly grocery shopping trip, you should be proud of yourself if you save 30-50%.  People on TV save 95%, but in real life, that's not going to happen (not at the grocery store anyway!).  You'll need to purchase fresh produce, meats, and dairy products every week or two, and these should be the bulk of your grocery shopping.  If I tell you I saved 90% at the grocery store, but all I got was candy bars and Pop Tarts... I sure can't feed my family on that for a week!


5) Get the Sunday paper every week and hold on to the coupon inserts.  The cheapest Sunday paper in my area is $2.  Odds are that there are $5-$10 worth of coupons in that paper that you can use right off the bat, if you want- or you can hold on to those coupons and see if the items go on sale soon.  Either way, the $2 is a good investment because the more coupons you have available to you, the more you can save when sales do come along.  If you're not currently using coupons, you might want to read my Remedial Couponing and Couponing 101 series to learn how to find and "stack" coupons and sales.


6)  Buying in bulk isn't always cheaper.  In fact, when you're using coupons, it's usually the most cost effective to buy the smallest package possible.  Even if the price per pound is cheaper for the larger size, you'll get more bang for your coupon buck on the smaller size.  


7) Use Facebook to score high-value coupons and freebies.  It seems like every day I'm entering a giveaway or printing a coupon from Facebook.  I've now got a great supply of shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, lotion- lots of different shelf stable products that I can store and use when I need them.  Every time I use a free sample, that delays me having to purchase a new full-size product, and those little freebies add up!  


8) Meal planning will save you money and help keep you sane. In this family, "I don't know, what do you want for dinner?" almost always turns into a take-out night or a trip to a restaurant.  If I've got a meal planned for dinner, it's really unlikely that I'll succumb to the lure of a meal someone else cooked for us.  Eating out adds up really quickly, and as soon as you're done eating you've got nothing to show for it!


9) Don't forget to check the frozen section.  Frozen veggies are really good, and often cheaper than the fresh ones.  I realize this isn't rocket science, but there are plenty of people that never check behind those freezer doors!  So many items are available frozen these days-- garlic bread, pasta, boneless chicken breasts... it's always worth checking the freezer aisle.


10) Always get (and use) a store's discount/loyalty card.  I can't tell you how many times I'll see someone buying an item at a store, then telling the cashier that they don't have or want the store's discount card, therefore having to pay a higher price.  If you're shopping at a store more than once in your life, it's really worth the extra minute to sign up for a store loyalty card.  Don't assume that you won't save any money or that you never buy the items that are on sale- how do you know until you try?


There you go- my top 10 tips for saving.  Hopefully I won't be back tomorrow with a massive, screaming rant against TLC and the people on the show tonight!

I bought Polident today!

Because really... I am so far gone down the "if it's a moneymaker, I'll buy it" road.  I've thought a lot in the past few months about if there are any moneymakers at drug stores that I wouldn't buy, and I have to say, it's a pretty short list.  Summer's Eve, a sitz bath, anything Sponge Bob... I think that pretty much covers it.

Anyway, one of the things I really like about doing deals at Rite Aid is a program they call Single Check Rebates.  I call it How I Turn +Ups Into Real Live Cash.

  

Single Check Rebates (SCRs) are fairly simple rebates that you can get through the Rite Aid website.  It's great because unlike normal rebates, which require you to mail in receipts, UPCs codes and rebate forms, all you have to do with an SCR is to enter your receipt info online.  Rite Aid tracks all the items you bought, and once a month you request for them to mail you a combined check of all the rebates you got the previous month.  You can either cash this check at your bank or use it at Rite Aid to pay for purchases.

Now, here's where SCRs get really useful:  quite often, Rite Aid will sell items that are completely free after SCR.  Let's take that Polident I bought today.  It was $1.99, with a $1.99 SCR.  If I use $2 in +UPs on this one tube of denture cream, I'll get a check next month that gives me that $2 back in cash instead of an +UP.  And if I have coupons, I can make out even better!  For example, another deal I did today:

(2) Tena Serenity Ultra Thin pads, 9.99 each

- (2) $2.50 manufacturer coupons

-------------------------------------

$14.98 paid in +UPs

submit for SCRs, will receive a check back for $19.98- a cash profit of $5

Suddenly that denture paste and those bladder control pads don't seem like such a bad purchase, do they?

To date I've received SCR checks for $113.97 (and I've only been doing this since November).  This was ALL from purchases I made using +UPs I earned in various deals.  This is money put directly into my bank, no strings attached, just profit.  I love it.  LOVE it.

Have you tried SCRs?  Do you have a store nearby that does a similar type of promotion?

I have a problem. (also, Meal Planning Monday)

It's a big problem.

Ready?


I didn't get any grocery store circulars this week.

I KNOW!!!

Usually I get a Globe Direct mailer on Friday with the sales circulars, but it didn't come.  I figured I'd just wait until the Sunday Globe came (I have a Sunday only subscription for the coupons) but I dug through the paper, and again, no circulars.

What's a meal planning, money saving mom with little to no life to DO?

Luckily for me, both Stop and Shop and Shaws post their weekly sales circulars online.  Unluckily for me, this didn't help me much at Stop & Shop since the Catalina deals I was planning on doing were either 1) gas points instead of a $ off coupon or 2) completely sold out, shelves empty, please drive through.

Grrr.  Anyway, in no particular order as usual, here are our meals for the week...

Smothered pork chops (another Cooks Illustrated crock pot recipe)  and asparagus
chicken stir fry and rice
Rebekah's pork chops with potatoes and asparagus (guess what fresh veggie I got on sale?)
Chicken scallopine with linguine and salad
breakfast for dinner- pancakes and bacon
leftovers

anything I can do, I can do better.

When Charlie was two, I knitted her a pink sweater to go with her Easter dress. It was the year I learned to knit, and I thought that it'd be a cute handmade touch to go with the dress I fell in love with and bought her at Baby Gap (normally I don't brand drop, but there's a reason I did it this time, and you'll see why soon).

 

The year Charlie was three, she had a baby sister.  I decided that I'd knit Charlie a new Easter sweater from expensive organic cotton yarn to go with her dress from Old Navy.  Baby Mia?  Well, she'd be fine wearing a dress she already had and a sweater I'd knitted when I was expecting her.

 

When Charlie was four, it dawned on me that I'd need to knit TWO Easter sweaters.  So I hunkered down, bought acrylic (sparkly) yarn from JoAnn's, and knitted them cute little boleros to go with their dresses from Old Navy.  My mother-in-law contributed the hats, which lasted all of 2 minutes.

Last year, I hit on an awesome clearance sale at The Children's Place.   For yarn for the sweaters, I'd long given up on hitting my local yarn store.  Once again,  I got my yarn at JoAnn's.

Which brings me to this year.  After poking around the various websites for their Easter dresses, I decided to hit up a local consignment store.  Lo and behold- I found two super cute dresses.  They were less than $20 total, as was the yarn that I bought for their (bright pink) sweaters this year.

See, my life has changed.  I've gone from spending $45 on the dress alone for one daughter for Easter to spending less than $40 total for the dresses and sweaters for both girls for Easter.  Am I bummed that they won't be matchy-matchy this year?  Yeah, a little, I'll admit.  But does it feel good to have that saved money sitting in the bank instead of at the bottom of the closet, where the dresses inevitably end up?  You bet it does!

If you have kids (or you buy for kids) has your holiday spending changed over the past few years? 

It's my VERY FIRST GIVEAWAY!

It's April first, and I woke up to a solid coating of snow on the ground.  It's supposed to be spring, and yes, I know that I live in New England and this is completely normal, but I'm still sick of it.  So in order to cheer myself up, I'm having a giveaway!

The winner (chosen at random) will receive codes for TWO free redbox rentals!  These codes don't expire until 9/30/11 so you have plenty of time to use them.  Do not apply to Blu-ray or video game rentals.


You can enter the contest in a few ways:

1) Comment on this blog post- 1 entry
2) Facebook fans, comment on this Facebook post- 1 entry*
3) Facebook fans, SHARE this Facebook post on your wall- 1 entry*

*You must be a fan of Goldfish OTT on Facebook or have already "liked" Goldfish OTT on Facebook in order for these last two entries to count.  Click here to visit and "like" my Facebook page.

This contest will end at 11:59 PM EST, tonight, April 1st, 2011.  I highly doubt I'll still be up by then, so I'll announce the winner tomorrow! (and by then... this snow better damn well be melted.)


ETA: The winner was announced and notified- congratulations, Tiff P!  I hope you enjoy your free rentals!