Over a year ago I read the book "Coupon Mom" and got really into clipping coupons and finding grocery deals. Since then my bargain hunting has had it's ups & downs based on the time I have to devote to pre-planning my shopping trips, but thanks to some friends who have joined the in bargain hunting (and tip me off on bargains) I am back on an upswing & enjoying the thrill of a good deal.
I try to be very attentive when I shop - knowing the prices of the things I regularly buy and when a deal is a good deal or not. For example, I never buy V8 Fusion at the grocery store regular price ($4.69) or even the Walmart/Target price ($2.99). Instead I wait until it is 2/$5 and buy enough for about 6 weeks, as that is about the frequency of their sale - and I usually top that off with a coupon or two making it 2/$4 on some of them. Although I have to say, one of my best deals was the week I got 9 boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios for $12 (thanks to a good sale price and 3 $1 off coupons that were doubled by the store)!
It is this strategy that lead us to invest in a freezer chest this past February. It is now filled to the brim with some of my favorite bargain hunting... buy 1 get 2 free on bread & English muffins and $1.98/lb boneless chicken breast. I also have a stock pile of Eggo waffles bought at 50% off (the kids current favorite breakfast) and several good cuts of meat that I purchased multiples of while they are at a good price (flank steak, pork shoulder and pork tenderloin). Since the freezer and pantry are stocked, there often weeks where I don't even need to go to the grocery store --- I love those weeks!
Since my friends are always tipping me off to grocery deals and deals at CVS (gotta love Extra Bucks!) I thought I would share a few deals this week too. I was quite excited when I saw the AC Moore ad this week - and not because of the scrapbooking supplies (shocker!). Actually, they have their entire collection of Thomas the Tank Engine toys on sale for 40% off. This past weekend we took the kids to the Day Out With Thomas event and now the kids are totally into all things Thomas - but man the trains are pricey, 40% off makes them slightly better (the Dandelion just got Thomas for his birthday, but otherwise we hadn't bought any others). The other thing I went for was their Crayola Sidewalk Chalk Toys --- they had all of the the regularly $6.99 items at 3/$10 - including some cool chalk tools and the 3D glasses. Now that the weather is nice we have been going through lots of sidewalk chalk... so it was perfect timing for both! Here is what we got...
Full Price - $61.92 (with tax). We Paid - $34.44 ... saving 44%!
Next up - a Coupon Swap playgroup... then my favorite time of the year... Back-to-School! There is lots of good bargain hunting to be done in that area... more coming on that later!
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