Family Circle Magazine
Here, some other smart strategies I picked up during our shopping adventure. Maybe they'll help you save, too.
Manage your coupons. Take a few minutes to organize a coupon-filing system. Use a legal-size envelope (Susan's personal favorite), a recipe card file or a store-bought coupon pouch to collect your coupons. “I keep mine in a kitchen drawer. As soon as I clip a coupon, I file it alphabetically according to category of product (cereal, bread, paper goods, etc.), not the brand name.” Susan says, adding that she highlights the coupon's expiration date. “That way it's easy to pull out and redeem the oldest coupons first.”
Save for sales. Apply coupons to sale-priced items, and you'll really win big at the checkout.
Always compare after-coupon prices. Even with cents off, one product may still be more expensive than an adequate brand right next to it.
Use caution while couponing. Just because an item is on sale, or you have a coupon for it, doesn't mean you need it. Don't overbuy just to cash in coupons, or they'll cost you money rather than saving it.
Check unit prices. The unit price is the price per ounce (or other unit of measure) that is posted on shelves Inf¬low the product. Susan says coupons are generally most valuable when ap-plied to the smallest size of an item.
Never pay full price for cereal. “Ce¬real is always heavily couponed, so it's foolish to pay top dollar,” Susan advises. “Unopened boxes keep well, so watch for sales and stock up.”
Don't be store loyal. Susan makes it a point to shop at the store with the best buys. “A store in my area had a 10-cent sale on canned veggies. With coupons I went home with nine cans of crushed tomatoes absolutely free.”
Compare the cost of nonfood items. Susan reports that grocery stores of¬ten price paper products and toiletries more competitively than discount pharmacies do.
Time is money, too. For some, high-priced convenience foods are worth it. Pathmark had an excellent buy on frozen orange juice the day of our shopping trip, but Susan opted against it. “I don't care how little it costs, I hate mixing frozen juice myself. I’d rather wail until the cartons go on sale — and use a coupon, of course.”
Scrutinize store specials. Shop with a calculator to help you compare prices quickly. My store recently fea¬tured four cans of name-brand tuna for $3.99, but another brand cost just 79 cents a can. The math for this one was easy.
Don't assume that the on-sale price is the best price. Canned mandarin oranges — my 2-year-old’s favorite snack — were recently “specially priced” at 99 cents, but a competing brand was just 79 cents. The cheaper variety tasted just as good to my daughter.
Get a rain check. If a store is out of a sale-priced product, get a voucher good on your next shopping trip. If that's inconvenient, ask the store's manager for the sale price on a competing brand. according to Pathmark manager Bill Trusley, many will be happy to comply.
Be savvy about store brands. “Com¬pare the first few ingredients of the store and the national brand. If they're similarly listed, chances are the taste will be close,” says Samtur. “It often pays to buy generic recipe staples like cooking oil.”
If possible, shop alone. I find it difficult to concentrate on saving when my kids go along — they can't help it, but they're distracting. That's why a neighbor and I trade baby-silting duty. She watches my two on Wednesdays, and I return the favor later in the week.
Start a supermarket savers group. Meet weekly to exchange coupons and rebate forms. Post notices in your church bulletin, at the YMCA or local senior citizen centers. Or exchange coupons with family and friends. The Internet is another good way to “meet” fellow couponers. A Web site called The Dollar Stretcher may be worth clicking on. Access it at http://www.stretcher.com.
For the inside scoop on rebates and other savings secrets, subscribe to Susan Samtur's newsletter, Refundle Bundle (six issues/year). Send $19.87 to: Refundle Bundle. P.O. Box 140FC, Yonkers, NY 10710. FC readers will also receive a free copy of her best-selling paperback. Cashing In at the Checkout (a $(5.95 value).
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