Hi, everyone!
When it comes to shopping, I’m curious about your go-to methods for finding discounts and deals. Are there specific strategies you use to maximize savings? I’ve heard about the effectiveness of using coupons, cash-back apps, and loyalty programs, but I’d appreciate any firsthand experiences or tips on how to make the most of these resources.
Frugal Living Tips: What Works for You?
byu/HuntRevolutionary240 inFrugal
Posted by HuntRevolutionary240
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I just plan my meals and snacks around the weekly sales ad and digital coupons each week.
Using a combination of microfiber cloths and some paper towels for cleaning purposes.
Walmart and Amazon: I don’t usually buy from dollar stores, and prefer Walmart over it because I can get everything or more stuff in one visit or shipping from Walmart or Walmart.com.
There’s also Groupon but I’ve never used it.
I love couponing, but I view it more as a hobby that saves me money (and makes me money) than an actual money saving tool, since it can take so much time. Although it is nice to have things on hand and not have to run out and buy toothpaste or whatever.
Beyond couponing, one of the biggest money saving tools is planning my grocery shopping around weekly ads, and using my local grocer’s app so I get specialized coupons. For example, my partner buys chicken nuggets for his kid, and we both really like seltzer water, so that’s always stocked too. We primarily use two stores – Target and Safeway – and check every week to see if these are on sale. Frequently, Safeway will send me “for U” coupons that will knock a couple of dollars off seltzer, and Target will add a bonus of a “spend $40, receive a $10 gift card” and we utilize that. We’ll use the $10 for a little top-up purchase or something like that.
Of course, other folks will chime in other good recommendations here too – meal planning, writing out a budget/plan, etc. This sub knows their stuff.
I shop around for high priced items only: meat, gourmet, seafood and buy most in bulk bc I have an extra freezer. Everything else is a matter of sales at my main store. When I run low at home I add it to the store app. When the item hits a sale the coupon will come up automatically. This way I keep a running pantry without much effort or worry.
Heads-up with the types of discounts you name: read unit prices before you make a purchase decision.
A fair share of the time, a similar non-discounted product in the same category is a better bargain than the weekly special or the manufacturer’s coupon. Sometimes a different size of exactly the same product (same manufacturer and brand) is a better deal than the discount.
*Why would they do this?* Marketing.
Manufacturer’s coupons on supermarket items tend to be branded products that have a margin of profit built into the price. A lot of consumers never run the math. Many don’t even understand unit pricing.
(Unit prices are part of the fine print of the pricing on the shelf: the unit price gives the cost per pound, or per ounce, or by some other standard measurement. This sub’s automod is aggressive about outside links, but Google “How to read a unit price” for a quick instructional.)
When my family sat down and ran the numbers, we found out we’d been paying more for a box that was essentially pasta with a little flavoring packet, than the cost per pound of some cuts of steak.
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Once you have that information, there are different constructive ways forward. Specifics depend on what stores are in your region, what your cooking skills are, how much time you have to make use of those skills, whether you have room for a pantry or a deep freezer, etc.
A few general tips–
* Fresh fruits and vegetables are at their lowest prices during peak season. Learn the peak season for different produce in your area, to make the most of those deals.
* A *loss leader* is a product that a supermarket sells at a slight loss, in order to get customers in the store. The business plan is the customers will buy enough other items to turn a profit. Learn the loss leader calendar and if you have the space to buy extras, then do so. My family basically gets its yearly supply of ham at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. We divide up what we don’t eat immediately into meal sized portions and freeze it, then rotate various ham dishes throughout the year.
* Never shop for food on an empty stomach. You’re more likely to make impulse purchases while you’re hungry.
* Take an inventory and make a list before you head out to the store.
If it’s frozen or non-perishable, buy it in bulk. Calculate and focus on price per unit/quantity
A large chest freezer will pay for itself with only a single good deal on meat or etc
Also, I’m always surprised by how many people don’t know this… foods DO NOTTT expire in the freezer (bacteria growth is halted entirely).
Look for “discount grocers” in your area. They sell food at or just beyond expiration date, dented cans, crushed boxes, restaurant bulk quantities – you name it.
I use Ceres Cart to get real time prices at my local Walmart for recipes that I make. It’s a handy way to see what everything costs before putting it in my cart.
I don’t buy anything that I use on a regular basis until I am already out of the item. It gets you into the habit of just eating something else.
Digital Coupons, I (mostly) only buy store brand or sale items, meal plan, and do a big grocery pickup on Fridays at Kroger because you get 4X gas points with a digital coupon every Friday. We get $1 off a gallon for at least two fill ups just from that!
I do still price compare between Kroger and Walmart when putting together the pickup order, too.
I try to go to Aldi about once a month. Their cereal is a better deal than Kroger or Walmart (except when Kroger does $.99 cereal digital coupons).
As far as cash back options, I have used Ibotta for a few years on and off. It’s fine, but I only use it for stuff already buying—some of the items are just not stuff we use.
It’s helpful for me personally to do a grocery pickup as opposed to store shopping. I am an impulse buyer, and I always go through my cart before submitting and delete things either added impulsively, or decrease quantities. It’s like a game to see how much money I can take off what I was about to spend lol. For example, I will go back and have added more seltzer water than I can go through in a month.
Budgeting always.
Meal plan and only buy what I need.
I passively use ibotta and fetch. They give you a few points just for sharing receipts. I go to Kroger and CVS apps and just spam all the coupons instead of hunting for relevant offers. I don’t look at their offers to influence my list, because most of it is stuff I wasnt thinking about.
I also take the time to comparison shop for online ordering. I used to put everything in one Amazon cart but that’s rarity the best deal anymore. Whatever cart I fill, I sleep on it to make sure I need the stuff and don’t already have a solution laying around at home.
Don’t sleep on CVS. They drop $1 off coupon sometimes out of nowhere, and it’s good to keep an eye on em. This past week I paid 50 cents for three tissue boxes, for what should have been $7 purchase.
Eating less meat.