Sunday, December 9, 2007

Grocery coupons?

After reading success stories such as this, I tried couponing for over a year; without much success . As most coupons are for brand names item that I would not have bought otherwise I ended up spending more with coupons than without. The following experiment seems to prove my point. Beside I do not read the newspaper, the amount of paper wasted for savings amounting to pennies wasn't worth it... Instead...

  • Know your prices. Generic grocery store are not always the cheapest. Some amazing deals can be found in specialty/ health food stores (eg Organic Pasta at 1$ a pound at Trader Joes)
  • If there is a sale, stock up
  • Do not shop hungry, If you can't do otherwise than make the cashier register your first stop, grab a 33 cents candy bar, eat it and start shopping. Cashier routinely scan empty wrapper and I have never been frown at for doing so.
  • Cook from scratch, convenience is expensive
  • Learn to like cheaper, healthier alternative eg: cabbage, oatmeal, beans. These staples are cheap and good for you.

1 comment:

Wendy said...

Another thing to add to your list is skip Brand Loyalty. If you can get a deal on another brand... go for it.