Ever watch those extreme coupon shows and wonder how in the world these people buy thousands of dollars in groceries with little to no money out of pocket? My husband and I sat and watched one show after another that showed women buying $500 in groceries and paying $10 or $900 in groceries and spending even less! “Boy!” We thought. “How can we do that?” It seems almost impossible. Well, something I grew up hearing is “if something looks too good to be true it probably is.”
If you watch these extreme couponing shows, you will notice it is rare they buy fruit, vegetables, or even meat. It is actually rare you see them buying much food at all. I see grocery carts full of ketchup and vitamin water. What about those of us who actually cook? Oh, you do see them using coupons for yogurt covered raisins and hamburger seasonings but a meal a raisin does not make. If you are like me and most other families you eat real food. You have to buy flour, and sugar and plan meals. You use shampoo, deodorant, toilet paper, and cleaning supplies, and you find yourself needing to buy some of this every time you go to the store. I am here to give you some bad news and some good news. The bad news is if you actually eat something other than vitamin water or ketchup you will probably not be able to get $500 in groceries for $10. My husband and I have tried week after week and month after month with the promise that over time, after “stocking up” it will happen. Now don’t get me wrong. Over time we have seen a significant difference. We rarely find ourselves buying dog food, toothbrushes, laundry detergent or deodorant by actually paying for it. Our grocery bills have seen a significant decrease. What used to cost us $300 now costs $150. That is a true savings. This is good news!
We have taken what they teach on the extreme couponing shows and made it work in the real world for us. We still do not save $490 but our bill is cut in half! That is an amazing savings! It does take some shopping around, looking at sales flyers, strategically planning meals and shopping trips but a significant savings is possible. Typically just the perishables like vegetables, fruit, meat, cheese and milk come to $100 per week for a family of five even with coupons. Therefore, the rest of the shopping trip needs to be even more strategic.
First, we shop the weekly flyers. We live close to a chain superstore, several chain grocery stores, a local grocery story, several chain pharmacies, a chain discount store and a mom and pop pharmacy. When planning meals, we search the flyers to see what meats are on sale and where. Even after carefully planning, there are always “manager’s specials” for meats at some chains that you must at least consider. These could save even more money so do not pass those up. Change the menu to suit if necessary! We decide where to buy our meats and plan the meals around the meats that are on sale. Sometimes you can find coupons for the name brand meats. If these meats are on sale or especially on manager’s special and you have a coupon for them, that is when the real savings starts!
Second, we check the flyers for fresh fruit and vegetable prices. My children like grapes and apples. A favorite snack around my home is grapes, multigrain crackers, and slices of cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese. I try as often as possible to get grapes but it is not often I can find them on sale at a good price. We try to have salad for dinner often and we like fresh vegetables especially if they are locally grown. There is little one can do to save money on the fresh vegetables except compare sales flyers. Some stores do print their own coupons for fresh vegetables which helps. Pay close attention to which stores offer this service and use it as much as possible. It is worth it if you like fresh vegetables.
Third, we check the flyers for the additional items we need to plan a meal. This would include items like tomato sauce, cheese, milk, macaroni and cheese, pasta, rice, and so on. We are not brand picky in this department. We compare store brands with sales prices on name brands and add coupon deals with those to see what is the better price and where. More often than not brand names on sale in addition to a coupon will take the cost down to less than store brand prices. Many times you can find buy one get one free coupons for these items. These are real deals.
Finally, all households need other non-food items to function. These include cleaning supplies, paper products, deodorant, soap and anything else you can think of that is not edible. These are also items we have learned not to be partial to any particular brand. Discount stores are a goldmine waiting to be discovered in this arena. Whatever you have a coupon for that is also on sale, use it. Buy these products whether you need them at the time or not. I have a drawer full of toothbrushes and toothpaste. My laundry room is full of laundry detergent and I have enough dishwashing liquid to last a year. It is important to buy these products when you can match a coupon with a sale whether you need them or not. The issue is that when you do need them, it seems as though you can’t find a sale or a coupon for the product! I have gone six months without one coupon for shampoo before. It was a good thing we were stocked up when this happened. Only then you get real savings on the products you use.
The point is real people need real food and other products to function in the real world. You may not save 98% of your grocery bill. You may not even save half. It takes time to save up enough products to skip purchasing items when you do not have a coupon. It takes money starting out to purchase items you may not need at the moment along with the groceries you do need. It takes time and strategy to cut and print coupons, compare sales flyers and determine where to purchase what. It is not an easy task. It is time consuming and frustrating at times. However; as with anything, perseverance can make it all worthwhile.