SpicesInc.com - Ways to Save Even More at the Grocery Store

Ways to Save Even More at the Grocery Store

Ways to Save Even More at the Grocery Store

In these times of financial downturn, many of us are attempting to cut costs wherever we can. Whether it is keeping our homes cooler in the winter or warmer in the summer or making one trip into town making 4-5 stops to save on gas, we are very aware of these actions and we are saving money.

We are also cooking more at home and trying out new recipes for our friends and family. It is a lot cheaper than going out for a meal. When we go to the grocery store we want deals – really great deals! Last year alone over $300 billion worth of coupon savings were distributed. And it is expected that the dollar amount will triple this year because of the recession. It’s time for us to get into the habit of using coupons when we are shopping.

The most obvious way to get coupons is to go through the Sunday papers and clip all the ones you want. Stores also have their weekly sales flyers which include store specific coupons. While in the grocery store you may also find dispensers with manufacture’s coupons near their products. You can find coupons in magazine advertisements and occasionally promotional products have coupons right on labels or packaging.

It is also good to search for coupons online by going to the internet and typing in “grocery coupons” and choose from the list of websites that offer coupons online. Most times you can print these out to use at checkout. Although most of these online sites are free to use after you register (free), in some cases because they want your email address you could be overwhelmed with unrelated offers. You may also find that there will be many regional offers that you can’t use. Nowadays you can also check out the specific store’s own website for sales and coupons.

Some things you may not be aware of is, for instance, Safeway is giving away books of coupons worth $40 dollars and a $10 coupon for saving on the next purchase when you buy $30 worth of organic food lines.

Kroger has a system that utilizes Cellfire - a provider of mobile coupon and discount offer services- where deals from Kroger are sent to buyer’s cell phones and by clicking on a link in the text message tells Kroger’s computer system to add the discount when the buyer scans his loyalty card at checkout. Customers have to register with the Cellfire mobile coupon service to avail the service from Kroger and link their Cellfire account to their Kroger Plus card. Consumers can view the coupons on their phones and the coupons so selected will automatically get loaded on their Kroger Plus card. Consumers can shop and present their Kroger Plus card at checkout for availing the discounts. On expiry the card gets automatically deleted from the phone and the Kroger card.

In the Northeast, grocers Stop & Shop and Giant Food have begun offering shoppers at 180 stores handheld scanning devices that subtotal the bill and make a cash register sound when shoppers get offered a discount for an item similar to things they've bought in the past.

We all certainly love double coupon discounts and to find stores that do this go to: Grocery Stores that Double Coupons. Don’t forget mail-in surveys which often offer coupons and manufacturer websites offer a slew of coupons for registered users to print.

You can also start a small coupon club at work, church, senior citizen groups or day care centers. This is really a sharing of coupons located in a specific area and the members bring coupons they do not need or use. It is important that the area is kept neat and expiration dates will have to be monitored. But this is a great way to benefit everyone involved.

Searching out and organizing coupons can be a bit time consuming but when you look at your savings I think you will find it very rewarding. One tip for you to save even more money is to hold on to coupons until the items go on sale – this gives you the greatest price savings possible. I have found that if I have separate envelopes, one for each month, helps me use them before they expire. This has helped me tremendously. Happy Savings!

About the Author: Judy Patterson is a staff writer for SpicesInc.com and also heads up our merchandising efforts. She has more than 25 years of experience in sourcing out the some of the greatest and most innovative products across many various categories. When she isn’t busy writing articles or sourcing out new products for us she is tooling around town with her Black Standard Poodle Pepper. You can reach Judy at JudyPatterson@SpicesInc.com