Amazon Subscribe and Save- If you already have Amazon Prime, then hit the subscribe and save button on an item, (which is promising to buy an item at a certain frequency), you will get that item at 5% off. If you subscribe to 5+ items, you get 15% off each. You can schedule deliveries for every month or less. For repeatedly bought items this can really add up. I buy our paper plates, ketchup, and some vitamins this way.
The biggest disadvantage I have run across is having that much money on hand. If I am running too short to have that much all at once, I will skip deliveries for a month (buying those items at the cheaper per package/more expensive per serving price at the store.) I do have a free, pre loaded MasterCard (Akimbocard.com) set aside to pay the S&S with. I add a few dollars to it each payday so there is enough by the time it comes due.
Coupons-If you read "How to Coupon" literature you see that the biggest coupon savings come from the sales, not the actual coupons, usually.
Extreme couponers do what they do by spending upwards of 20 hours per week working on coupons and comparing sales.
Frankly, I don't want to work that hard. Or to put it another way, I have better things to do with my time.
I do take the time each week to look over the e-coupons on my local grocery store's web site and load anything we might possibly use to my loyalty card. This makes one less thing I have to worry about in the store (which I often find way too sensory-overloaded to really keep track of coupons anyway.)
And I keep an eye out for really good ones in Hubby's paper, but for the most part, I don't really coupon anymore. Just not worth it.
Sales- This is the true place couponers do their savings. I can give you an example:
Hubby has a glass of cool-aid every night. This comes to about 1 small can a week.
Now, all items have a 4-6 week price cycle with a 1x/year lowest price.
Cool-aid runs $2.50 per can, with 6-week lows hitting $2.00. But every May picnic items go on their yearly lowest sale- and cool-aid is evidently a picnic item.
At this 1x/year sale, our local grocery store puts cool-aid on sale for $1 per can. That is less than half price!
So each May I now save back an extra $100 and order enough cases of cool-aid I don't have to buy any for the rest of the year. So I spend around $100 for cool-aid each year instead of $250.
The more items you can do this with, the more money you save. This is how having a stockpile can save you money; you simply don't buy something unless it is at its annual low. 50% off every item equals 50% of your annual grocery budget.
The problems of course are:
- Coming up with that extra $100.
- Figuring out when the yearly low happens.
- Figuring out how much you need for a year.
- Safely storing that item for a year.
I have discovered that I am lousy at saving money, but I will work and successfully save food stuffs. So I am actively aiming to have a month's worth of dry goods and freezer foods by Christmas time so some of my food budget can be diverted to gifts.
This is as simple as buying two cans when I need one for the next week, and then buying a can of that item each week even if we don't need it until I have enough for a month. I have even made notes on my inventory reminding me of how many I need for a whole month so I can aim for that.
This is a great safety net in emergencies. Once when our car broke down and money was very tight, I simply bought milk and produce and we were good for the week. The bulk of my normal budget could be used on the car.
So even if you aren't hitting the lowest prices, it is worth it to stock up at least a little bit.
Shop at one store- Now I know that contradicts what most tell you about saving money shopping. The conventional advice is to see what is on sale at each store and hop around to pick each item up at its cheapest price.
This sounds good and makes perfect sense.
But for me, it doesn't work this way. I'm not quite sure why, but when I try this I end up spending way more money, not counting extra gas!
I spend the least amount of money when I go to the local grocery store and just get what I need there, even if someone else has it cheaper.
Don't shop at Walmart- Yes, they have many items very much cheaper than the local grocery store. They studiously stay $.01 cheaper on milk and meat prices and will price match all advertised prices. In fact, they have an app that allows you to scan in your Walmart receipt that will then search all the local stores and refund you anything they advertise for less. IF you shop at Walmart DO use this Savings Catcher.
But for me, whenever I step into Walmart I suddenly remember a bunch of things I "need" that I can get cheaper there than at the grocery store, or that isn't available at the grocery at all. So I end up spending way more every time I go to Walmart. Even when I shopped there every week, I remembered more stuff every time I was in the store. As a result, I just don't go there any more than I can help (and don't actually miss all that stuff I "needed").
Now, I simply can't completely stop shopping at WM. They are really the only place around with shoes and printer ink I can afford. And some things (i.e. vitamins) are just cheaper from there even compared to Amazon. There are also some brands there that I prefer to what is carried at the other stores (i.e. unbleached white flour). So I do schedule a trip there about once a month.
But for the most part, I avoid Walmart. And often even when I do need to go there, I will do the grocery shopping at Smiths the day before, just picking up the unique items that really are better at Walmart.
Buy Generic- or not. Generally, store brands or generic are cheaper per servings, but they aren't always worth it. They are not always from the same manufacturer or the exact same packaging aside from label. Sometimes they are, but not always.
Cold cereal, for example, is very different. The nutrition information tells us that those bagged cereals have far less vitamins and fiber than the brand names. They appear to be basically cardboard. In this case, the more expensive ones really are worth the higher cost.
Yogurt and cottage cheese are both much better tasting in the name brand.
Name Brand cleaning supplies don't set my asthma off while dollar store cleaners do.
There are some things, though, that there isn't enough or any difference between brands. In that case, buy the cheaper.
And speaking of cheaper, You can tell this, not by the big price on the tag, but by the price per serving. Most stores now have the price per oz, lb, or ct broken down for you already. It will be in tiny numbers under the big price. For things that will keep, always buy the cheapest per serving. That, might be the family sized, but it might not be. Chicken, for example, is sometimes the cheapest per lb in a "family sized" pack of thighs. Now my family uses two of these per meal, but for others, divide the pack up into single servings and freeze them. You will save money in the long run.
Use the Cheapest items- The cheapest proteins (figured price/gram of protein) are milk, eggs, peanut butter, beans, tuna, cottage cheese, chicken, Greek yogurt (homemade yogurt is the same price as milk which is even cheaper). A "serving" of protein is about the size of the palm of your hand (4oz).
The cheapest carbs are rice, potatoes, oats with taters having the most nutrients.
The cheapest veggies tend to be carrots, cabbage, lettuce, sweet potatoes, onions, (though look here for a comparison chart) while the cheapest fruits are apples and bananas.
When looking for recipes and making menus, keep the cheapest items in mind. Don't limit yourself to them, just hedge that way.
A time saver- Not necessarily a money savor, is to put your meals together right after shopping. For example, If you are planning stir fry, cut up your chicken and put it in a small Ziploc, cut up your veggies and put them in another, put both of those bags in a big Ziploc adding your seasonings to a third small one. Then label and freeze. Your whole meal is together in one place and ready to cook. This doesn't work for me, but it does work for many others.
Check into this post occasionally. I will update as I come up with more savings.
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