As an avid coupon user I have found that there are certain brands and products we love. The number one trick I use to get the best deals on the brands we love is to stockpile! If you came to our house and looked in our pantry you would think we were a regular family, but peek in the room under the stairs or look in the garage and you will discover that our family loves stocking up on a good deal! Here are a few tips and tricks to get the most out of your hard earned money.
1) Stockpile, stockpile, stockpile. When an item is on sale and you have a coupon for it, buy as many items as you have coupons. Even families who live in small houses can do amazing things with little space. It is all about organization! Sale cycles tend to repeat themselves every 3 to 4 months, so buy enough of your favorite items to last that long.
2) Combine coupons with sales. Watching the sales ads is incredibly important. Who wants to go to the store and use a coupon on a full priced item? Not me! I want to get the most bang for my buck by combing and awesome sale with a coupon. Knowing your stores policy regarding doubling and combining store coupons with manufacturer coupons is very important when maximizing your savings. A few weeks ago I saved 92% on my order combining sales with coupons. Kroger’s Cartbuster Sale is the type of event I love to match coupons with deals for.
3) Utilize e-coupons. Kroger has 3 sites where you can download coupons to your loyalty card. It’s true – you can use coupons without clipping a single paper. If you shop at Kroger be sure to sign up with Cellfire, Kroger, Shortcuts, and P&G Esaver. It’s always fun to forget you have an e-coupon loaded to your card only to watch it come off as you are checking out!
4) Get Rain Checks. Rain checks on your favorite items are like gold. If an item I want is out of stock and I have already used my coupons for it I will sometimes still get a raincheck. Once I am back at home I will find a site online (like e-bay) to buy more coupons.
5) Watch for markdowns. Produce and meat markdowns are my favorite. The meat markdown team at Kroger tends to mark down at the same time each day. Once you stalk your store for a bit you will get their schedules down to know when you should shop. For those of you employed full time, don’t worry, stores do markdowns on the weekends too!
6) Shop Clearance. There are often great deals in the clearance shelves. My favorite bread is the organic bread when Kroger marks it down 50 percent. I tend to buy a few and freeze.
7) Register Your Loyalty Card. Registering your Kroger loyalty card is a good idea. Every few months they mail you coupons that are based on your shopping patterns. I often get coupons for free baby carrots and $/$$ in the meat or frozen department coupons. There are also times when I receive fliers with $5/$45 and $6/$60 total Kroger purchase coupons.
8) Stalk your favorite stores, brands, and e-coupon sites on Facebook. You never know when they are going to throw out a freebie coupon!
For the next two weeks be sure to log in to the Kroger Cartbuster page for special savings. Each day between 12:00 pm and 6:00 pm est they will give away 1,000 freebies!
Disclaimer: I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms Kroger CartBuster blogging program, for a gift card worth $50. For more information on how you can participate, click here.
Leandrea is a married mom of two girls, ages 13 and 12, living in Atlanta, GA. She is passionate about helping people save money one coupon at a time. Read more