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How Far Will You Go to Save a Buck?

Posted 9th January 2009 by Michele, tagged money, finances, groceries, shopping

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I've never been one to keep a close eye on prices.  It drove my husband out of his mind.  So, now with a bad economy and me deciding to go out on my own at the worst possible time in history, I'm watching every dollar.

I've looked at our budget, read blogs on how to save money, studied the local circulars, and surfed the web for any and all coupons and discounts I can find.  At the end of the day, I have to ask myself, "What am I really saving?"

I actually spent a good 6 hours trying to figure out how to save money on groceries last week.  I went to Coupon Mom, SmartSource, and Coupon Surfer to check out the latest coupons.  They were horrible.  Printing is a nightmare, they pretty much have the same thing, and a lot of the coupons you then have to sign-up with the manufacturer.  You can only print the current week's coupons even if there are others that are still valid from several weeks ago. 

Next I go through the circulars of all the markets I like to shop at.  I circle the items I think are really a good deal (and that I need) then compare that to the list of coupons I have.  I come up with a list that has consolidated the deals and where I can shop to get them.  I'm left with a shopping trip that will take me to all three markets and take about 3 hours worth of shopping.  Let's hope the ice cream that I got such a good price on doesn't melt or the milk that is on special doesn't spoil.

At the end of all this, I did the shopping.  I get to the first place and then realize that I'm missing my biggest saver, the $5 Iams dog food coupon I signed up for was still sitting at the kitchen table.  So, even though Target had a sale on a 17lb bag for a little over $17, I couldn't buy it yet.  By the way, I realized I had left about 4 other coupons at home.  AAAHHHH!

As I stand in line watching as things are ringing up, I'm wondering, did I really save anything?  I did a bit of analysis this week to figure that out.

On average, we spend about $800 per month on food and household necesities.  This amount was shopping frugally (items on sale, reduction of prepared foods, only things we need).  If I average out what I spent this weekend which was a typical shopping trip, I was going to be spending more, buy about $100.

I tried to determine why. 





6 comments so far...

  • Yep, the worst is forgetting the coupons. I can't believe I have never managed to actually bring that huge coupon book I bought at my daughter's school fundraiser... Deep down I think it's all a scam designed to make you buy more stuff nobody eats anyway :)

    Flag as inappropriate Posted by Martina@Creativetoyshop.com on 12th January 2009

  • I was talking to a friend of mine about something similar. She said that when she went to a grocery store where the food was a little cheaper, she bought more. But where she goes now, the food may be a tad more expensive, but she doesn't buy as much so her costs are lower, and I'm assuming the stuff she buys is probably healthier too. So I'm going to try that.

    I don't do the coupon thing. I tried, but I just couldn't get it all together. I buy the generics and they work just fine. The coupons never ended up being cheaper anyway....

    Flag as inappropriate Posted by on 12th January 2009

  • I do pretty well by making a list of things I must have and adding things from the circulars. I sort out the coupons I need and put them with my list. I keep the extra coupons in cheap purse sized photo albums and stick them in my purse - just in case I want to treat us to something special that is not on the list. Just sticking to the list saves me a bundle if I don't impulse buy.

    Flag as inappropriate Posted by bndraldy on 11th January 2009

  • my life goal is saving money with clearance sales,coupons etc etc..its such a great feeling :)

    Flag as inappropriate Posted by klp1965 on 11th January 2009

  • I think coupons are a good thing if you have the time, energy and organizational skills. But like you, I find I spend a whole heck of a lot more money if I do couponing, plus the time spent trying to find the deals that might not just be the deal I first thought they were.

    Flag as inappropriate Posted by paryjeja on 10th January 2009

  • I agree completely. Just last month I let myself get suckered in on a K Mart ad. I found myself wandering around the store looking for things I could buy with the coupon price. I didn't even need those things! I'll go back to my list and only shopping for what I actually need and I think I will save more money that way.

    Flag as inappropriate Posted by Betty on 10th January 2009

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