Business & Technology
At the heart of The Coupon Mom's Guide To Cutting Your Grocery Bills In Half, is Stephanie Nelson's philosophy that cost saving doesn't mean sacrificing a healthy diet or the foods your family likes. With the meal-planning strategies and simple recipes in this book, cooking quick, delicious, and nourishing meals has never been simpler.
"Nothing makes me more excited than showing others how to get a jar of pasta sauce for free by combining sales and coupons," says Stephanie Nelson, founder of www.CouponMom.com, the largest grocery savings website of its kind helping consumers save money. Broadening her proven advice that has drawn millions to her website, Nelson now presents The Coupon Mom's Guide To Cutting Your Grocery Bills In Half: The Strategic Shopping Method Proven to Slash Food and Drugstore Costs. This invaluable shopping companion that will save readers hundreds, and possibly thousands of dollars a year without compromising taste, variety, or quality. As Nelson promises, you'll be "simply astounded at how much money you are saving."
In 2008, companies distributed 315 billion grocery coupons worth $400 billion dollars across the country, but less than 1% of these coupons were redeemed. To Nelson, that's throwing free money down the drain! But her Strategic Shopping goes beyond simply clipping coupons. Here, she shares all the tricks of her trade. Beginning with a self-assessment quiz, readers will discover whether they are a Varsity shopper, Busy shopper, or Rookie shopper. Then, the book offers a tailor-made plan for every lifestyle. Readers will learn:
- How to get the best deals at wholesale clubs, mass merchandisers, discounts stores, and drug stores
- How to combine store sales, coupons, and promotions to get the deepest discounts and even FREE products
- Easy ways to track prices and the foolproof rules on when to buy, and when to hold a coupon
- Why buying in bulk isn't always more cost-effective
- How to save on diapers, baby food, and kids entertainment—at home and on vacation
- How to buy organic without breaking the budget, and much, much more!
In addition to helping families save money, Nelson's passion is to encourage people to use her money-saving strategies to contribute donations to food shelters across the country. She began a program called Cut Out Hunger to give her readers practical, effective ways to give back to their communities.
Read an excerpt from The Coupon Mom's Guide To Cutting Your Grocery Bills In Half :
Any Shopping Personality Can Save
Shoppers' personalities, like personalities in general, vary dramatically, but Strategic Shopping fits anyone's lifestyle. There are three types of shoppers— Busy, Rookie, and Varsity. Busy Shoppers have very hectic lifestyles with very little time to plan or shop. Rookie Shoppers are interested in learning new ways to save but may be unfamiliar with the Strategic Shopping concept. Varsity Shoppers walk into the grocery store like a boxer entering the ring and love the thrill of the bargain hunt. This shopper doesn't mind spending the time to plan a shopping trip down to the last grain of salt, and doesn't hesitate to visit several stores to find the best deals on all needed items.
What do all three types have in common? They all stand to save money by putting Strategic Shopping to use! This book provides tips geared toward all shopping styles, to help make the most of anyone's time in the grocery store. For example:
If you are a Busy Shopper, you may not have time to plan before going to the store, so this book will teach you how to plan your shopping trip in less than 5 minutes after arriving at the store to save 20 to 25 percent off the full price of groceries. I'll also share simple strategies for getting the most value out of your food dollar when buying meat, chicken, fish, produce, dairy products, and more. For example, simply weighing a few heads of lettuce to determine the largest one results in 25 percent more lettuce, since lettuce is usually sold by the head rather than by weight. Another example: If you check the meat markdown bins for same-day meal options, you can save 50 percent or more. In-store savings strategies do not require extra planning or shopping time but can have a major impact on your overall grocery spending. And simple strategies, such as being flexible about which brands you buy, can cut your grocery spending without any planning at all.
If you are a Rookie Shopper, you are willing and able to spend a bit more time planning. I will show you how 30 minutes of planning can result in savings of 40 to 50 percent, if you plan meals around each week's store bargains. I'll teach you how to combine store savings programs with the different types of coupons to pay the lowest price for your groceries. You'll learn how to use the Coupon Mom system for your preferred store to point you quickly to the best prices, and how to spend a little time checking various stores' sales before leaving home to weigh various sources for finding the best deals.
If you are a Varsity Shopper, you are not kidding around. You're here to save, and save big. You are willing to spend an hour or more each week to map out shopping strategies, or to scour multiple stores for the best prices. In return, you can expect to pay 60 to 70 percent off full price.
Here's a look at how each of our three shoppers might fare at the grocery store by putting Strategic Shopping methods into practice. Let's say a store is offering a weekly promotion giving shoppers a free gallon of milk with the purchase of three boxes of Brand X cereal when they use their store loyalty card.
The Busy Shopper learns to check the store's ad upon arriving at the store to discover the featured sale items that would be cost-effective menu items. Naturally, the Busy Shopper notices the front page advertising the cereal promotion. This shopper might have been planning to buy milk and two boxes of a different cereal, but since he or she is flexible about brands and willing to buy more than is needed that week, buying the featured cereal turns out to be smart savings strategy. Scanning the ad translates into savings.
Our Busy Shopper has also learned to look for in-store coupons displayed in aisles, in shelf boxes, or on product packages, and grabs a $1 off coupon for Brand X cereal on a display, adding to the savings. This shopping success story took very little planning, just a careful eye and flexibility.
Full price of Brand X cereal: $4 per box
Sale price of Brand X cereal: $2 per box
Price of one gallon of milk: $3.75
Price of store loyalty card: Free
If the Busy Shopper had purchased only two boxes of sale-priced cereal and the gallon of milk, the cost would have been $7.75. By using the promotion and coupon she brings the cost down to $5 for three boxes of cereal and the gallon of milk after using the $1 coupon and her store loyalty card. A few simple strategies netted $15.75 worth of groceries for only $5 with a few simple steps, an overall savings of $10.75.
BUSY SHOPPER SAVINGS
full price of 3 boxes cereal and milk: $15.75
sale savings on cereal—3 boxes: -$6.00
free gallon milk: -$3.75
coupon savings: -$1.00
total cost: $5.00
total savings: $10.75
The Rookie Shopper has learned to spend 30 minutes a week creating a Strategic Shopping plan before leaving home, reviewing store ads and creating a list of meals for the week using sale items. This shopper might prefer a different store but chooses to shop at the store offering the Brand X cereal promotion. Because the Rookie Shopper has taken the time to ask about coupon policies at various stores, he or she knows that more than one box of Brand X cereal can be purchased on sale, and thus searches for multiple coupon sources. Clipping a newspaper coupon, printing another from a web- site, and downloading an e-coupon to that store's shopper loyalty card means the coupon savings triple when you have three coupons to buy three of the same item at a bargain price All this planning pays off, and the Rookie Shopper spends a total of $3 for the three boxes of cereal and the gallon of milk, a savings of $12.75.
ROOKIE SHOPPER SAVINGS
full price of 3 boxes cereal and milk: $15.75
sale savings on cereal—3 boxes: -$6.00
free gallon milk: -$3.75
printable coupon: -$1.00
electronic coupon: -$1.00
newspaper coupon: -$1.00
total cos:t $3.00
total savings: $12.75
The Varsity Shopper is always planning for the next great deal. The Brand X cereal-and-milk promotion is an invitation to launch a serious savings attack. The promotion's fine print indicates that each shopper can take advantage of two deals per transaction, meaning any one shopper can buy six boxes of cereal and get two free gallons of milk. Our Varsity Shopper trades coupons with friends and has four newspaper coupons as well as the printable and electronic coupons that the Rookie Shopper used. The Varsity Shopper subscribes to the Brand X e-mail newsletter, which alerts users to an incredible deal: Buy six boxes of Brand X and fill out a printable form on the Brand X website for a $5 mail-in rebate. By combining sale prices, store promotions, multiple coupons, and the printable mail-in rebate, the Varsity Shopper purchases six boxes of cereal and two gallons of milk for only $1—plus the cost of a stamp to mail in the rebate!
VARSITY SHOPPER SAVINGS
full price of 6 boxes cereal and 2 gallons milk: $31.50
free milk—2 gallons: -$7.50
sale savings on cereal—6 boxes: -$12.00
printable coupon: -$1.00
electronic coupon: -$1.00
newspaper coupons (4) : -$4.00
total cost at register: $6.00
mail-in rebate refund: -$5.00
net cost after sale, coupons, and rebate: $1.00
total savings: $30.50
A Final Word
The quiz in the next chapter will help determine your shopping personality, and throughout the book I'll make recommendations that will fit the various shopping styles. As you put your own plan into practice, you may find that you are willing and able to progress to the next level of shopping strategy to save even more. When you approach Strategic Shopping based on your preferences, time constraints, and shopping personality, you are much more likely to be successful in the long term and to save money consistently as you develop new savings habits. All types of shoppers can save, and I'm here to help everyone do it!
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