Extreme Grocery Shopping Savings

Today I embarked on an exciting adventure that most people say they despise…the journey was simple..I went to go grocery shopping…Before any of you get your panties in a bunch or believe I am psychotic for enjoying such a venture, understand that I usually save between 40 & 75% on each grocery bill when I go.  Back when I was 19 or 20 and in college, I used to go grocery shopping for people and I would charge a 15% fee plus whatever money I could save with mass coupons and reward credits from the annoying little plastic cards on your keychain for the grocery store.  It was simple, I would get their grocery list from them and then I would investigate coupons and which store would fit the bill for the person I was shopping for. This really was a great business and I could have seen it grow, but with school and my regular job, I sadly let it go by the wayside because as you most of you know, the older we get, it seems like there are lesser hours in a day.

In this article I would like to share the importance of coupons, manager specials, and club reward deals.  So many people detest going to the store and feel it is such a chore, but if you go with a stack of coupons and read labels to see which prices are better, you truly have a sense of self satisfaction upon leaving the store. I personally like to go to the Ralph’s Fresh Fare store, not only because it is less than a mile from my house, but because they offer daily manager’s specials on quite a few items.  I am always able to find these manager specials which cut the item prices in half for quite a variety of different things. Manager specials change daily and can be noticed by reddish orange price tags on the items that clearly read “manager specials.” A lot of these items have a shorter shelf life so they must be used soon, but this is really no problem if you are buying your groceries to cook with for the week anyhow.:)  Check with your local grocery store to see if they offer manager’s specials.

Another great deal they offer at Ralph’s is on wine and other 750 ml bottles of alcohol.    If you buy 6 bottles or more, you get 30% off each of the bottles, and if there are already discounts on the liquor and you have a coupon, like I did for all 6 items today you can save bank…Today I got $12 bottles of wine for $4.40 and they were nice bottles of Sterling Meritage..This simply happened by buying the wine on sale, getting the 30% off 6 mixed bottles and having a coupon!  Talk about a deal.

Something else to always keep your eyes open for is the clearance racks that are usually located on a metal storage unit in the back of the store…Sometimes those racks are a gold mine and sometimes they are just junk, but it is always worth a look through!  Today I got Harry & David $15 candles for only $6.99 and they were holidays scents and regular daily scents as well..Talk about a great gift topper in this holiday seasonJ.  There are usually lots of bakery items and loaves of different kinds of bread, hot dog buns, and hamburger buns on this rack. They also occasionally have marked down holiday items and wine.  I love the clearance rack. Most people pass it by thinking it is all crap, but if you have not ever given it a chance, please do because I always find great stuff there…including cold medicine 🙂

There are a few things I recommend when grocery shopping, always read the ad first for the store to make sure you don’t miss out on weekly specials, always cut your coupons from your local Sunday newspaper before shopping and read tags in the store to see if it is better to buy store brands with no coupons or sales.  Sometimes the store brand offers a larger quantity of an item for a cheaper price and the generic truly is the same ingredients.  Use these tips and watch yourself save lots of money on a regular basis.  I always make sure not to take my husband with me that goes straight for impulse buys and whatever he wants to put in the cart. If you have your spouse or  your kids nagging for extra items that they want, it does put a damper on the journey of savings in the grocery store. I find that grocery shopping is actually a

relaxing activity for me and it really takes my mind away from the hustle and bustle of my regular week because I am so focused on how much money I will save.  On today’s shopping journey, I saved $200.95 & I spent $282.29, so I was definitely feeling pretty awesome about what I got and from the length of my receipt, you can see I fully stocked my refrigerator, freezer and cupboards!!!  Happy grocery shopping and if you have any questions about how to save or tips about how to save, please feel free to leave them in the comments section below!:)

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