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How You Can Make The Most Of Food Coupons For Big Grocery Savings
Food coupons have become the grocery shopper's latest BFF, for obvious reasons. When the cost of a loaf of bread goes up 10% from last week's shopping trip, you know you've got to do something if you want to keep eating nutritiously without hauling out a credit card at the check stand. Both transportation costs, getting the food to your market, and the wholesale price of the food itself, contribute to the situation. Nonetheless, you're still stuck for a solution. One way to trim your costs is with a rigorous food coupon program.
You can find coupons in the newspaper flyers, in the grocery store, online and in local coupon exchange programs. Your neighbor tosses a few she got in the mail, but won't be using, into the box, making them available to someone else who needs them. It works like a rotating, open bank of money-saving food coupons. While there are plenty of food coupons to be had, you have to use them strategically to realize the best value.
Grocers may put manufacturer's coupons in their ads and then label them 'redeemable only at Superior Grocery stores'. The fact is, that a manufacturer's coupon is just that – issued by the manufacturer, not the store. If you haven't noticed, grocers are becoming quite competitive these days. They're trying to stay in business and the giant discount grocery may be threatening the smaller grocer's loyal customer following. So, although they want you to believe that coupon cannot be redeemed elsewhere, it's simply not true. Most stores accept other store's coupons, in order to get your business.
If a grocer is out of an advertised sale item for which you have a coupon, ask for a rain check, which allows you to buy the product when it's back in stock, even after the sale is over.
You want to be careful when you use manufacturer's coupons, because you might be paying more for the name brand than the store brand, even after redeeming the food coupon. Unless you consider the name brand to be considerably superior and don't want to buy any substitute, you're often money ahead on the store brand. Hang on to the name brand coupon until the brand goes on sale – then use that manufacturer's coupon.
Making effective use of coupons requires a system, such that you don't end up wasting money because the coupon expired. Keeping a price book will help boost your savings, too. There are lots of free price books online, which are essentially spreadsheets that allow you to monitor local prices and sales cycles. You can print your price book contents and keep them in a small binder that you carry with you. Slip all your coupons into a pocket in the front of the binder.
Saving money on groceries has become imperative for most of us. Every little bit helps. Using food coupons is one strategy that gets you to your goal.
Summary
Food coupons are a must these days to help the average family save money on their weekly grocery bill. Competition is stiff these days. Grocers are fighting to get customers in and offer great deals to do just that. Keep an eye on the weekly sales papers, and clip those coupons to save as much as possible.
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