Coupon Clarity: Stocking Up When the Price Is Right + Rosauers Run!

We often get questions from people on what is the best way to save the most on grocery shopping so for this week's segment of Coupon Clarity, I am going to demonstrate the way that I save the most :)

A little back story first.  I have been a coupon shopper for close to 20 years now.  I started way back when I was a student and single mother.  Over the years, I have evolved into a "spot deal" shopper which basically means I buy items that we use - in bulk - when they are on sale.  If I can add a coupon to it and further reduce the amount of money, I can purchase more items and continue to maintain my stockpile.  When the sales are slow, I have that stockpile to rely on and only have to purchase the fresh items we need like Milk, Produce and the occasional panic Bath Tissue purchase.

The following shopping trip to Rosauers was a total stock up run.  Here is what I added to my pantry and freezers.

5 Johnsonville Chicken Sausages @ $1.99 each (normally $3.98 each)

- $1.00/1 MF from the 1/1 SS

= 99¢ each!

This is a savings of roughly 75%

6 International Delights Coffee Creamer Pints @ $1.69 (normally $2.29)

- $1.00/1 MF from the 12/11 SS

= 69¢ each!

This is a savings of just under 70%

4 Boxes of International Delights Coffee Creamer Singles @ $2.50 each (normally $3.79 each)
- $1.00/1 MF from the 12/11 SS
= $1.50 each!
This is a savings of 61%

3 La Victoria Salsas @ $1.99 each (normally $3.98 each)
- $1.50/3 MF from the 1/8 SS
= $1.49 each! 
This is a 63% savings off of the regular price.

2 Reser's Sensational Sides @ $1.74 each (normally $3.49 each)
- $1.00/1 Printable coupon
= 74¢ each!
This is a 79% savings.

Without coupons and the sale prices, my total would have been $67.72.

If I had still purchased everything but without coupons, my total would have been $39.54, representing a savings of 42% just by buying these items while they are on sale.

By combining the sale prices with my coupons, my total out of pocket was $21.04.  This is an overall savings of 69%!!

69%!!  This simple strategy doesn't just apply to groceries either!  Think about it, you buy or refinance your home when the interest rates are the lowest, you buy a new lawnmower at the end of summer, or a new snow blower at the end of winter!  I buy almost all of our clothes at the end of the season, saving 50 - 70% on those alone!  So what if I am wearing last summer's styles next summer!  Most of us all ready practice this strategy to some degree, so picking it up and applying it to the one area that you spend the most at is not a step into the unknown :) 

Just for fun, figure out how much money you would have saved over the last year if you shopped the sales and saved 42%...how much if you grocery shopped the sales with coupons and saved 69%?  What would you do with the money you saved?

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