Comments on: Guest Post: Five Strategies for Shopping Success

By: Laurie L.

Laurie L. — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 22:40:31 +0000

We live in a small town, so we basically have a Walmart, a CVS, and a couple of grocery stores. We do have a Target and a Harris Teeter about 30 minutes away though, so I periodically make the trek to get some deals there. I take a cooler, so that I can “preserve” the fridge/freezer deals from the first store, and keep everything that needs it cool until I get home. I just find that planning is really the most important aspect in saving money, not just with the shopping itself, but also once you get home. I mean, deals are great, but if no one eats or uses the things you’re getting a great deal on are you really saving money?

Happy shopping (and couponing) everyone!

By: Lana

Lana — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 18:22:07 +0000

I love doing the rounds to all the stores in one day and hunting for all the deals! My kids are all grown now so it is really a fun thing to do! If hunger strikes when I am out I buy a banana-cheap and good for you. Water is the thing I don’t leave home without.

By: Tammy

Tammy — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 17:42:03 +0000

I’ve found that for now, with a small baby, it just works best for me to go to one store. I shop the sales and match coupons to the sales, stocking up when I can. Maybe when my baby is older I can hit a few more stores!

By: Jen

Jen — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:56:10 +0000

Small world…we use to be neighbors as we lived in Astoria and did the trips to Portland for Winco deals. I had read your blog before and was so impressed that you were able to get so many great deals from Safeway as they are usually so expensive. Great post.

By: Ashley

Ashley — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:02:18 +0000

We don’t have a Target in our town, and if we did, I’d be there all the time. (So it’s probably a good thing we don’t.) And, I’m not willing to make the trip to the nearest one (about 40 mins) just to get a good deal, even if it is FREE.

I do shop at CVS about once a week, but it’s next door to our library which is a weekly trip for me and the kids. I used to shop at WAGS weekly, too, but I was spending too much on “freebies” (have to pay tax at WAGS) and decided to only go to WAGS occasionally. Our CVS accepts ECBs and CVS Qs up to a year past their expiration date, and I was finding it hard to use up my RR before they’d expire. I liked WAGS rebate program before they got rid of it.

I end up at the grocery store to pick up milk and fresh fruit/veggies about once a week or every other week. If there are any GREAT sales, I’ll usually shop them.

I do a MAJOR pantry/freezer refilling shop about every three months, based on sales at our local grocery stores and then fill in the blanks with Aldi.

By: Alison Armstrong

Alison Armstrong — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 14:20:44 +0000

unfortunately, I live 45 min from anything. I will have 3 kids 3 and under in a couple of months so I have to keep things easy. ( I don’t have much help so the kids are always with me- if my husband is with me it is later in the evening and we don’t have time for bunch of stops) The easiest thing I have found is price matching the other 2 groceries store’s adds at Walmart and using coupons on top of that. I also shop at Aldi to fill in when I can about once/month. I know I could save a lot more if I could make it to Walgreens and CVS but I just can’t make the time or energy for another couple of stops. And since we live so far from town I don’t get there every week. Then the RR or ECB sometimes expire. Unless it is an exceptional deal there I pass. But the price matching and coupons has made a difference in our budget.

By: Stacie

Stacie — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 14:09:29 +0000

Great ideas! I am lucky and have a Rite Aid, Walgreens, CVS, Bi-Lo, Harris Teeter and Food Lion within a half mile radius so it’s definitely worth it to shop all the stores on my shopping day. I have even run back to the same store twice because I forgot a certain item and it was still worthwhile!

By: heidih

heidih — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:16:17 +0000

I have never seen money saving moms coupon match uop list to print – where is that?

*******************
Money Saving Mom here: Heidi, she was referring to the various store coupon match-up lists I do. Like the one for Target, CVS, Walgreens, etc.

Hope that helps!

By: Beeb

Beeb — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:05:44 +0000

Hi Jennifer! That’s a great tip. The stores around here don’t price match (alas!) but that’s great advice for those living near a Wal-Mart/Albertson’s/et al.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 11:32:54 +0000

One thing i do is Ad Match. Instead of going around to all the stores, I just collect the ads, circle what I want, match with coupons and go to Walmart. So unless the store has a promo that Walmart can’t match, it works out pretty well for me!