Spring into Savings - April Frugal Chatter

[sweet sparrow]

Question of the day!!!

How do you prepare or organize yourself for your weekly/bi-weekly grocery shop? Details

Coupons, price matching, how organized are you and what tips do you have for us?

Uh-oh. I don't think you all want to know...

I have a discussion with my mother, sister, and SIL on what they need based on a shopping list that I compile with the flyers as they come in. It's generally not finalized until Thursday when RCSS is posted. Mum calls me at lunch, I forward the list to my sister, and only email the SDM deals to my SIL since she can buy produce for much less than what is posted in the ads. My brother, if I see anything, I will call him to let him know.

Thursday afternoon, I finalize my list for the smaller local grocery stores to post their flyers online or see them delivered in the paper. I have a monthly desk calendar, with the days numbered, which I cut up into individual days when the month is finished. It's about the size of a business card. I take the corresponding date to Friday (for this week, it will be day 12) and write down all the things that look interesting. This way, I know if I'm looking at this week's list or should recycle if it's a previous week. It's also great for comparing to last week's list to see if I need to do any last minute shopping on Thursday night. If anyone in my family needs something non-perishable they can't pick up for themselves, I include it in my own list.

There are a lot of stores in my area (like WM) that will not PM the prices in the local grocery stores, and others that do PM, but don't carry the products I want. For the products that will be matched across the board, I put a small red dot beside (or dab with a highligher) so I know I can PM this anywhere.

On the other side of the card, I put my weekend to-do wish list. I say wish list because if it's not done, it gets recycled and goes on next week's card. This card fits neatly in my wallet or coupon folder, so it can be easily found.

When I'm waiting in line, I group my items by store and line them up on the belt with the corresponding flyer. If the line is especially long, I pull out a book/magazine borrowed from the library (clearly marked with the library scanning sticker so the store doesn't think it's theirs!) and catch up with my reading.

Inquiring minds want to know!!!

How do you organize your coupons (alphabetical, month, products)?

And what do you keep your coupons in (binder, accordion folder, envelopes, etc)?

Can you find the coupon you are looking for in a reasonable time (lol)?

Do you find yourself saying "I have a coupon for that" lol.

And anything else related to this subject!

My coupons are organized by date into three categories. I used to have a small paper accordion folder given to me as a gift. It had it's own elastic to hold it together. A rainstorm killed it, and now I use a waterproof cosmetic bag (think it was Vichy) that I picked up about a decade ago. Mine is sorted into food, toiletries, and general household use. I actually use very few coupons while shopping as our regular grocery store doesn't accept them. Yes, I *gasp* cannot use any coupons where I shop. Any coupons that I may need that week are at the front of my coupon holder, just behind my list.

On warmer days, when I can walk across the street to WM or FreshCo, I don't even carry my coupon holder at all to cut back on the weight. *Gasp again*!! Our WM has no clearance, Rexall will not let you use coupons on clearance items, and FreshCo has a slim pickings discount rack that they pull out once in a blue moon when they're discontinuing something. If it's a super deal, I'll make myself walk back for the coupons or ask them to put my purchase aside while I get them (yes, I'm just that close!).

Pricematching and coupons are more a winter sport for me, since I'm more likely to drive in those months. The exception is when I need to pick up something heavy or unwieldy.

[Caseythegoalie]

Okay wine drinkers...

Since everyone never has any wine leftover, here's a question for you....

Do you buy wine at the store?

Do you make wine at a Make your own wine place?

Do you make your own wine at home?

BUY. Only maybe one bottle a month or when company is over.

[jasperandchar]

Hey ladies thought I'd share Marc Angelo $1.00 coupon here's the link

https://www.facebook.com/marcangelof...16904031676283

[Caseythegoalie]

Good morning all (morning for me).....so far I am surviving.
Fighting a cold coming on I think from not getting enough rest.
I've almost got this beat, only another 24 hrs and it will all be over!
I"m hoping my flyers come and I can make my grocery list this weekend.
I plan to shop SDM for the 18500 points and have a $10 giftcard from this weeks promo.
I am pretty stocked on diapers so hoping they have some good edibles on sale or sunscreen for our trip.

I'm headed back to Buffalo this weekend to pick up from my US mailbox---> not frugal. I ordered clothing/shoes/etc with some of our tax return as its so much cheaper there from sales etc. Anyways, since I have to claim it and pay duty, I'm going to stay over with my oldest daughter to raise our limits to $800. I figure I may as well enjoy the money since its forced spending and then pay no duty.
We leave in three weeks! Eeee! Getting excited. I asked the inlaws to help pay for the van rental as well (its $980 inc the extra kilometres and taxes) so that is extra $ for me for the budget as well. Hurray!

Anyways, I must get a quick dinner started and off to work for me
Any fabulous sales coming up?
Have a great evening everyone I hope to check in later. Sounds like you are all rocking this week!
Sorry to hear of the impending layoff Amanda.

[dreamcatcher1962]

Okay wine drinkers...

Since everyone never has any wine leftover, here's a question for you....

Do you buy wine at the store?

Do you make wine at a Make your own wine place?

Do you make your own wine at home?

Dh makes ours at home from wine kits.
One of my favourites is Spanish Rioja (Red).

[LuvToUseCoupons]

I see we got Moved .

[jasperandchar]

It's been relocated to the frugal living, etc...

Great . Keep us posted.

[jasperandchar]

Wow definitely alot of planning and strategizing (spelling) goes into your shops, great that your family all take there part in the shopping adventure and I love you catching up on your reading. thanks for sharing.

Uh-oh. I don't think you all want to know...

I have a discussion with my mother, sister, and SIL on what they need based on a shopping list that I compile with the flyers as they come in. It's generally not finalized until Thursday when RCSS is posted. Mum calls me at lunch, I forward the list to my sister, and only email the SDM deals to my SIL since she can buy produce for much less than what is posted in the ads. My brother, if I see anything, I will call him to let him know.

Thursday afternoon, I finalize my list for the smaller local grocery stores to post their flyers online or see them delivered in the paper. I have a monthly desk calendar, with the days numbered, which I cut up into individual days when the month is finished. It'sabout the size of a business card. I take the corresponding date to Friday (for this week, it will be day 12) and write down all the things that look interesting. This way, I know if I'm looking at this week's list or should recycle if it's a previous week. It's also great for comparing to last week's list to see if I need to do any last minute shopping on Thursday night. If anyone in my family needs something non-perishable they can't pick up for themselves, I include it in my own list.

There are a lot of stores in my area (like WM) that will not PM the prices in the local grocery stores, and others that do PM, but don't carry the products I want. For the products that will be matched across the board, I put a small red dot beside (or dab with a highligher) so I know I can PM this anywhere.

On the other side of the card, I put my weekend to-do wish list. I say wish list because if it's not done, it gets recycled and goes on next week's card. This card fits neatly in my wallet or coupon folder, so it can be easily found.

When I'm waiting in line, I group my items by store and line them up on the belt with the corresponding flyer. If the line is especially long, I pull out a book/magazine borrowed from the library (clearly marked with the library scanning sticker so the store doesn't think it's theirs!) and catch up with my reading.



My coupons are organized by date into three categories. I used to have a small paper accordion folder given to me as a gift. It had it's own elastic to hold it together. A rainstorm killed it, and now I use a waterproof cosmetic bag (think it was Vichy) that I picked up about a decade ago. Mine is sorted into food, toiletries, and general household use. I actually use very few coupons while shopping as our regular grocery store doesn't accept them. Yes, I *gasp* cannot use any coupons where I shop. Any coupons that I may need that week are at the front of my coupon holder, just behind my list.

On warmer days, when I can walk across the street to WM or FreshCo, I don't even carry my coupon holder at all to cut back on the weight. *Gasp again*!! Our WM has no clearance, Rexall will not let you use coupons on clearance items, and FreshCo has a slim pickings discount rack that they pull out once in a blue moon when they're discontinuing something. If it's a super deal, I'll make myself walk back for the coupons or ask them to put my purchase aside while I get them (yes, I'm just that close!).

Pricematching and coupons are more a winter sport for me, since I'm more likely to drive in those months. The exception is when I need to pick up something heavy or unwieldy.

[Insane]

Nice to know that they only guess which flu shot you should have from year to year. Morning everyone. Another rainy day here...guess I will be indoors again.

It's not like it's a random guess, like throwing a dart at a dartboard. Epidemiologists can predict it based on the strains that surfaced in Asia I believe. It's fairly accurate. Some years better than others.

We get the flu shot. I would be remiss if any of my children became seriously ill or worse because I chose not to vaccinate them. I know a nurse who's seen horrible, horrible consequences to chicken pox. I feel like the flu vaccine and all vaccines really are worth it to keep my children healthy and safe. Just my 2cents.

[Insane]

It's simpler here. I pretty much only go to 1 grocery store. I go to the other one every once and awhile for specific items. It's higher priced so I usually go for specific things. I sit down with my flyer, menu planner and grocery list. I keep a magnetic list on the fridge that I add to all week. Like 8yrs ago (and I'm not exagerating!) I bought a set of 12-1 for each month at costco. I'm still using it. I change the pad every month! LOL I write my list and mark anything with an "s" for sale or "c" for coupon.

[Bronwen]

I just look thru the flyers, type up a list of sale items for each store, and send it to my email. That way I have it when I'm shopping and can know which flyers to bring for PM'ing. I also write out a list and keep it with my coupons for that trip because what if my phone dies on me!!

I write the item/brand, price and how many of each I'm getting... Example:

Food Basics
Sunlight laundry soap/pacs $2.88 x10

I then gather the exact amount of coupons for each item and place them in order in my handy see through plastic zippered pencil case so I can have them ready for the cashier.

At the store I group items together in the cart in categories of PM'ing (ie all the items I am buying that are from the FB flyer go in one group, items I'm PM'ing from Fresh Co go in another, etc, etc).

Once I'm actually checking out, I put up all my non PM'ing & non couponing items. Then I put up the rest of the items, again grouping all the items from one store in the same group etc. I can't explain it properly but I think you all probably do the same lol.

On weeks where there are only one or two good things on sale I don't always go out. Like this week sadly I skipped the Garnier Body Lotion sale because it was the only great thing and I only needed to go to FB for the Sunlight and they don't PM. Plus Brantford sucks for having anything in stock ever. With moving we are a lot closer to stores and because it is summer I plan on getting back to a weekly shop rather than monthly

Also I'll be more motivated to shop cause I'll have my bff with me instead of being lonely and insane - looking (lol my niece laughs and asks me if I ever care about people looking at my cart/s and I responded, sometimes, but if they ask I always just tell them I have a big family!)

[thriftygranny]

Originally Posted by jasperandchar

Question of the day!!!

How do you prepare or organize yourself for your weekly/bi-weekly grocery shop? Details

Coupons, price matching, how organized are you and what tips do you have for us?

It is a bit of a process for me but here goes. I peruse the flyers Thursday morning before work and write a list for each store that has something that is a good deal.I use a different post it note for each store I am going to go to.I clip coordinating coupons to each list.No Frills doesn't post their weekly on line flyer until after midnight on Thursday so I will check their prices on Friday mornings.No Frills is about 20 minutes out of town so I don't go often but my daughter will pic up the flyer(she works close by) if there are things I want to price match.Often I will go to Walmart on Thursday evening because they seem to have the Friday sale prices up as well as the current ones so it usually works well. On Thursday evenings I talk to my 2 daughters and let them know what I think is a great buy and find out if they need anything and then add those things to the list if they want anything.About one Saturday a month all three of us venture out for a shopping trip to No Frills, we have a blast I have converted them both to couponing but I am the one that organizes the shop.I price match some but not enough, I have a Coop and a sobeys so close I just tend to do the rounds when I am out and about.Superstore is close to work so I will often just stop in before work in the mornings.I try to save my big shop for the first Tuesday of the month to take advantage of 15% off days at Sobeys and then I try to use as many FPC's as possible.

[sweet sparrow]

We stopped getting the flu shot the year they experienced a shortage in our area. They were asking people who were healthy, neither elderly or very young, to abstain from getting one or to wait.

I think I may have had one or two flu shots in my life? With me, I catch colds and flus so easily that it doesn't seem to make much difference, so I try to stay healthy by other ways (like going out for a bit of exercise, or eating more fruits and vegetables).

[blueeyetea]

Question of the day!!!
How do you prepare or organize yourself for your weekly/bi-weekly grocery shop? Details
Coupons, price matching, how organized are you and what tips do you have for us?

I use the pantry system, so I base my weekly meal plan on what meat I still have in the freezer. If a particular cut of meat is on sale that week at the store I shop at, I'll buy multiple packages. I've done this for so long now that I have a pretty good idea of what intervals the sales come on. For example, sausages come up for sale every 4 weeks or so, so I'll buy a 4 week supply.

For vegetables, I aim to buy what's on sale for side dishes for a couple of meals. The rest of the time I rely on salads or vegetable soup depending on the weather, so I buy what I need for that particular week. These days, I still have enough containers of vegetable soup in the freezer that my veggie purchases are minimal. When the weather turns nice, I'll focus more on salad ingredients.

For the rest of the groceries like canned goods and paper products, I look at the flyers and go to the store where I think I'll get the best price. Having said that, except for toilet paper which I always buy on sale, the rest of the stuff I buy is relatively the same price in all nearby grocerie stores. What I mean by that is that I'll go to Walmart to buy toilet paper if it's on sale this week, but if I need to stock up on cans of beans, I'll buy them at Wal-Mart even though it's 10 cents a can more expensive than at Loblaws. I guess what I want to say is that the savings need to be significant for me to go out of my way to buy it.

[amandabananda]

Geez this is news that noboby want to get/hear, sorry about this, hopefully he can start applying or looking for another job if that is an option while still working.
When is the new baby due?
Keep us posted hon.

Thanks jasper Baby isn't due until October so we have some time. He's been looking for other jobs so hopefully something will come up. I can't imagine how awkward it is for him at work right now, but he's pushing through We've talked about maybe him having to take leave instead of me if it came to that. Sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do!

Question of the day!!!
How do you prepare or organize yourself for your weekly/bi-weekly grocery shop? Details
Coupons, price matching, how organized are you and what tips do you have for us?

I generally scour the early posted flyers posted here, and then another site combines all sales with coupons and what stores have the best deals for fruit, meat, diapers, pop etc. into a PDF form I can print. I compare that to the coupon matchups here and one other site. Then I make my list based on what we need, sales and coupons and what meals I want to have this week. I organize my cart by where I'm PMing, and then by what I have coupons for. I always warn them if I have an FPC because they get annoyed otherwise

Inquiring minds want to know!!!

How do you organize your coupons (alphabetical, month, products)?
And what do you keep your coupons in (binder, accordion folder, envelopes, etc)?
Can you find the coupon you are looking for in a reasonable time (lol)?
Do you find yourself saying "I have a coupon for that" lol.
And anything else related to this subject!

I bought one of those glowgirls coupons organizers. There was a contest on here not too long ago and though it looked great and easy to use, so I bought one. Love it! They're organized by category, but I do keep FPCs at the front and try to organize within each category by expiry date. I have a separate accordian file I keep at home for the ones I most likely won't use and would trade. (really really really need to update my trade list!)

It also kills me a little inside when I see people pay for things and I think 'oh, you could have PMed Food Basics for that' or 'oh, there's a printable coupon, you could have saved $2!' lol

Okay wine drinkers...
Since everyone never has any wine leftover, here's a question for you....
Do you buy wine at the store?
Do you make wine at a Make your own wine place?
Do you make your own wine at home?

No wine for me for a little while, but we normally buy. We also get wine as gifts for Christmas etc. so that's always nice We do sometimes have leftover red wine because I'll only drink white, and I'll use it in my spagetti meat sauce.


TGIF!