Friday, December 3, 2010

$10 Off Next Order Coupon at Vons

Hi Everyone,

Here is a little supermarket coupon cheer for your holiday season. Vons is offering a $10 off your next order coupon with a sinlge purchase of $75 or more in one shopping trip when you use your Vons card. Special offer good from now until December 7th.

If you are planning to shop this week, check out this offer and save ten bucks on your next purchase. How is that for a high face value grocery coupon?

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Where to Find High Face Value Coupons

People are sometimes confused when we talk about high face value coupons. Genereally speaking, high face value coupons are those with a value over $1 or more before they are doubled or tripled.

Why should we look for high face value supermarket coupons? Coupons with higher values make finding a freebie a whole lot easier. Say an item regularly retails for $3.79 at your local grocery store. The sale price will likely be 2/$5 which is already a pretty steep discount right? Add a $1 coupon and you are down to $1.50 which represents a savings of 60.4% off the full price. Now suppose your store doubles coupons up to a buck? Your net price is just $.50 of a $3.79 item, or a miniscule 13.1% of the regular asking price, or, a savings of 86.9%!

You could buy 7.5 times as much product for the price of one regularly priced item.Talk about stretching a buck.

Where to Find Free High Face Value Grocery Coupons

1. Newspapers
2. Ebay clipping services
3. Printable coupons online
4. Manufacturer sites
5. E-coupons

Get clipping and saving everyone!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Hyper Inflation in Food Costs- Is Superinflation a Reality We Will Face in 2011?

One of the most frightening books I have read in a very long time is Aftershock by David Wiedmer, PhD, Robert A. Wiedemer and Cindy Spitzer.

Why is it especially frightening? Well, it has to do with the coming superinflation and global depression that will be upon our country very shortly. If you need evidence that inflation super or otherwise is about to hit us soon, you need look no further than the amount of money the government has printed in the last several years. The result of printing more money is always inflation. Print more money than ever before, superinflation and sometimes devaluation. Listen to the news, we are now just starting to talk about national debt, spending and inflation. While we talk, we are also still running the presses and printing more money than we ever have before. The longer we go on printing it, the worse the problem will be when inflation ultimately hits.

Why should you care? The thought of multi-100% inflation will make it difficult at best for most of us to find a way to feed our families well, not to mention purchasing the many items we consider as totally essential for our way of life. If the currency we use daily becomes not worth much, you can also imagine the difficulty that their other prediction of 50-60% unemployment would cause.

While I consider both to be doomsday predictions, even a very mild version of their predictions could make it difficult for you to protect yourself finacially becuase we still need to eat. Food prices are a large portion of monthly expenses and dramatic increases in price are difficult to avoid. Protecting yourself is critical in infaltionary cycles. The authors of Aftershock give specific expamples of how to do that in most areas of your financial life, but not with food which essential.

What is great about the book? The authors do a good job of explaining what the forces are that will drive a series of interconnected bubbles to burst in our economy, each causing the next bubble to burst. As each bubble bursts, it will place increasing downward pressure on our economy, making it much more difficult for us to recover in both the short and longterm. Finally, someone has given us a solid explanation of how far the government will have to inflate our currency to get us out of the debt we are currently in and continue to prop up our economy. The numbers certainly bear strong consideration on our parts as consumers because they are so grim. There is finally an explanation for what we all suspected, there is a reason why our economy is still a mess. By the way, the links at the bottom of this page also describe the reason why our economy is showing some signs of improvement in the short term and why the next downturn will be much more severe than the first warm up. The authors of both articles, by the way are not the same as the authors of Aftershock.

What is not so great about the book? Well, in my opinion, this is a very negative look at where we are headed in both the short term and longterm financially in our nation. The predictions are so grim, in fact, that when I first read the book I needed to step back, set it down and then reread certain passages because they seemed too far fetched to be possible. As I have researched further,I have began to realize that there is a lot of truth to what the Wiedemer's have predicted. Get past the negativism, fear and visceral reaction to their theories and you will start to see the sequence of events are already begining and we are not yet to the most concerning part of the scenario.

What does this book have to do with saving money on food with supermarket coupons? Everything if you use them correctly! Regular readers of this blog will know that I keep a large pantry and buy ahead to get the best price on everything that I buy. Heavy double coupon use plays a major role in keeping prices as minimal as possible. Using tons of coupons when building your pantry will do the same for you...give you a lot more buying power.

While I am not proposing to buy a years worth of staples, or anything near as aggressive as that for most people, it would be wise to start to think about how you structure your spending to prepare for an inflation when it happens. In one form or another, our nation appears to be in for a bumpy road financially and serious inflation is likely at one point within the next year or so. Watch the news, the Fed chief Mr. Bernake, can not even look in the camera anymore when he speaks every month on the state of the economy. His body langauge speaks volumes.

Why be the bearer of grim news at the holidays? Sorry folks, I don't mean to put a damper on your holiday celebrations, just the opposite. The holidays are the best time of the year to fill up your pantry with really cheap loss-leader food purchased with supermarket coupons. Great sales and low prices make the spending decision easy and very much reasonable. Now is a good time to get started thinking of how you will pace your spending in the new year and beyond.

Do yourself a favor, read the two articles below and see if what they are saying makes sense. Some of the theory presented is the similar, and both offer good advice via solid research. If what is presented is enough to concern you, get Aftershock and read it to learn how to protect yourself. Then, check back here because we will be starting a series of articles on how to put together a pantry of supplies at low prices.

Resources:


1. Hyper-Inflationary Great Depression Is Coming

2. When will Inflation Really Hit Us?

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Tis the Season for Savings on Baking and Makings for Your Holiday Feast

So what do holiday food savings and using supermarket coupons have in common?

We are just coming into the best grocery shopping week of the year is the answer.

When I worked as a grocery rep this next two weeks was affectionately called the "eating season." Thanksgiving week means fierce competion for ad space and coupon FSI drops are huge starting now.

How to max your savings?

1. Buy extra newspapers this Sunday.

2. Clip your coupons and be organized.

3. Search for printable coupons online.

4. Buy as many extra items as you can use and fill your pantry.

If you shop well, it is not uncommon to buy everything you need for your Thanksgiving dinner for $30 or less, including the turkey.

Here is an idea for buying a really cheap Thanksgiving Turkey to get yourself on the path to a frugal, yet fulfilling Thanksgiving feast.

Friday, September 24, 2010

And They Say the Economy is Better?

Unless you have been under a rock lately you will know that the claims that are being made about inflation being nonexistent are pretty bogus. I don't know what food prices have been doing in your area of the country, but here in Southern Cal I have been tracking prices over the last year and prices are up nearly 26% at my local grocery.

One has to ask if it these numbers are truly accurate when inflation is calculated. In fact these are the official food inflation estimates. It all seems relatively tame until you realize that in my state unemployment is still hovering around 12% and nationally the number is around 9.2%, which does not even take into consideration the number of underemployed or those forced to replace good paying jobs with service based jobs at minimum wage. Joblessness seems to be the new norm even if the recession is "officially dead," we are still living with the repercussions.

Well, if things are getting better, like the official reports would have you believe, then why are retail giants like Walmart going this route?

Walmart, love them or hate them, is run so efficiently that there is not an ounce of fat or waste in the company. Execs share rooms as they travel, their main office is a converted building which is stark and industrial to say the least. They pay barely over minimum wage to employees, offer health care, but at a fairly a pretty high share of cost to employees. What the heck, it is better than the 51 million Americans that currently don't even have the option. The point is that Walmart does not make mistakes when it comes to marketing. They are just stone cold efficient. They know what consumers need everyday to live and deliver a reasonable quality product at a lower than average price.

Case in point, we have all seen those displays that have the shopping carts lined up with the same items purchased at different retailers to prove who has the lowest everyday price right? What they don't tell you is that items in those carts are generally not selected randomly. Someone does a price comparison to find the items that work to manipulate the results of the totals. As a consumer, we all shop a little differently. Whoever has the lowest total depends on how you shop.

We FINALLY just got our local Walmarts remodeled to carry a full grocery. When I did my own comparison my total, without coupons was a whopping savings of 42% when shopping at Walmart. With coupons I ended up at 62% less than my local retailer, even when using the same coupons doubled. My take was that Walmarts everyday prices were the equivalent of the sale price at my grocery store. They may not have the lowest price you will ever get if you shop for sales and use double coupons, but you will come within 5% give or take without the time and effort. Their prices are fair to cheap everyday on most products you will buy regularly.

Those of you who have followed my blog regularly know that I am a heavy coupon shopper. The truth of the matter is I am a heavy dollar store shopper as well and know a good dollar store value when I see one. I search for the deal, get a great kick out of finding one, and try very hard not to spend more than a buck for anything.

My take: Shop at the dollar store first for some spectacular savings. You need to be willing to pick and choose, but it can be worth it when you find a deal. Once you do, be willing to buy in bulk. Work your way up to the food sections of discount stores like Walmart and Target. The rates they pay for labor are a lot less than the grocery unions demand, so their prices are less. Again pick and choose for savings. Work your way up to either the sale items with heavy coupons at your local retailer. This would depend on what you need to buy for the week to round out your groceries. Your other option is to take a wad of coupons to Walmart and buy what you need.

What to avoid: Club stores like Costco. The prices are fair, but the quntities are huge and not everything is well priced. Again, the prices are fair, but not that great. Full priced anything at a supermarket. Way, way expensive. Stick to loss leader sales and heavy coupons, preferable double coupons at regular grocers.


The key to savings
. Coupons, coupons and more coupons. Adding a cents-off coupon to an already low price can save you an additional 15-50% off what you will spend. The discount retailers like Walmart and Target accept coupons at face value. Don't miss out, printable coupons are available online just about everywhere.

I can hear those just waiting to make the comment about the club stores, "you have to check the unit price." Yes, you do. The thing most people forget is that when you waste you loose all of your savings by purchasing a large quantity. If you are a single person, or just a little of something you rarely use, quite often the higher unit priced,smaller package is the better bargain. Money management is often a matter of knowing thy self as a consumer.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Frugal Grocery Shopping List at It's Best!

Here is a frugal grocery shopping list at it's best...don't forget your local dollar store for produce, name brand produce and much more when trying to stretch your budget to the max.

To all the nay sayers who think that shopping for produce at your local dollar store will seriously damage your health, you may be surpised at the finds at my local store today. I came home with four large packages of organic baby spinach, the same brand purchased for $4.99 each at our nearest health food store. As if this deal was not good enough, they also had organic bananas and berries today as well with similar savings.

One more bonus to an already great shopping day was 10 ounce bricks of Cracker Barrel 2% white cheddar cheese. I got a dozen of those and will freeze most of it to grate later for casseroles and such.

Moral of the story...Keep your eyes open for bargains and your mind open to possibilites and your frugal grocery list will get longer as the deals get better.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Betty Crocker Coupons to Print

Get $20.145 in printable Betty Crocker coupons this month when you sign up for a free membership with Betty Crocker. For those of you who don't know, Betty Crocker brands are a subdivision of General Mills and are always aggressively couponed on a monthly basis.

New club offers are available regularly and will save you a lot of money over the course of a year. Get free printable Betty Crocker coupons and start saving today. Click here for more info and to sign up.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Free Cheerios and Coupons too!

Are you looking for a really cheap way to feed your family breakfast? How about a free box of Cheerios cereal? General Mills is giving away 50,000 boxes of Cheerios ceral in their most recent promotion. Sign up for their online mailing list and you will also get $4 worth of free coupons for your next General Mills products.

For more information and your free Cheerios coupons, have a look at their website for their latest promotional offers.

This offer took about 30 seconds to sign up for, and your coupons will be emailed to you immediately after registration.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

How are Your Money Saving New Year's Resolutions Coming Along?

If you made a New Year's resolution for saving money this year, especially on those grocery bills, are your savings goals still on track? We are two weeks into the New Year, how are you doing?

Making changes takes quite a bit of effort at times and it is sometimes less straight foreward to stay on trach as we would want to admit. If your goals are starting to waver, make a couple of easy changes and you will start to see results once again:

1. Go to shortcuts.oom and select your free grocery coupons. Using electronic grocery coupons is as easy as it gets for fast savings.

2. Go to Redplum.com and sign up for a free account. Check out their money saving free printable grocery coupons.

Learning where to find the best high-face value grocery coupons, be they printable supermarket discounts or e-grocery coupons will kick your savings coupons into overdrive.

Monday, January 4, 2010

New Info About Coupons.com

As those of my faithful readers will already be aware, I have a preference for coupons.com printable grocery coupons. They are easily the oldest and most reliable of all the free printable coupon websites currently available today. Coupons.com has been around for years and is a well-established and longtime player in both printed and online printable grocery coupon markets. As you know, they offer hundreds of high face value coupons which change monthly and allow you to print more than one coupon at a time for each offer. Coupons.com is an easy way to save a lot of money very quickly because their coupons have such high face values before doubling at your local double coupons supermarket.

For those of you not familiar with coupons.com, all you need to do is register for the website and install their small coupon printing software program. Their coupon software uses the latest coupon printing technology and will make your grocery coupons easy to scan at the checkout, ensuring you get all of the savings you are entitled to.

I have made no secret of my preference for coupons.com over the years. Their easy to use site and long-standing tradition of customer service makes the well over 100 offers a month you can find here some of the most coveted available every month.

There is new news on the coupons.com front though. Coupons.com has recently purchased a new app for iPhone and iPod touch. Some of you may already be familiar with the Grocery iQ app which is currently available at the Apple App Store. Grocery iQ allows you to search and clip virtual coupons in real time as you shop. They have now integrated coupons.com with a slick interface that will allow you to download your savings directly to your grocery loyalty cards. In addition to all of their other highly useful features, the ability to search for coupons and save in real-time as you shop is easily the most inivative, consumer friendly, money-saving innovation to come along in a long time.

In addition to the ability to shop and save in real-time, the Grocery iQ has a huge number of handy functions, too many to mention here. Suffice it to say, you can organize all of your grocery shopping tasks in one easy to use money saving app.

If you are looking for a quick, easy and inexpensive way to manage all of your grocery shopping tasks without the hassle of paper grocery coupons check into the
Grocery iQ app for iPhone and iPod touch. At $.99 it's a no-brainer that will help you save literally hundreds of dollars this next year without any hassle.