Are you ready to save money… ?? your first assignment is BUY your Sunday Newspapers. Take a look here on what’s in the paper so you can determine how many papers you should get. If it’s a week with a lot of coupons that you think you would like or would make for a free or cheap item, you may want to get an extra paper.
A good rule of thumb is to buy one paper per family member; but always make sure you buy an even number of papers. If you are a family of 5 buy at least 6 newspapers.
Also a little tip, price your newspapers, here in central Florida I can buy The LEgder for $1.25, St. Pete for $50 ( may not have all the inserts each week, you need to check) or Tampa tribune for $1.00 .. I always buy the Tampa because they have all the inserts and are cheaper than the ledger, so check your prize before you buy 10 of them.. that’s a saving right there !!!
The reason I say buy in even numbers and multiples is easy, here in central Florida, and most other stores across the country work the same way, if there is a sale on a Buy One Get One Free (BOGO sale) item, you are allowed to use 2 (!!) coupons for that purchase. I know, now you think BUT you are only paying for one item, the stores do allow one coupon per item, whether it’s paid or free….!! That’s where the BIG savings come in.
For example our local Publix had Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Homestyle meals on Buy One Get One Free sale, regular price is $2.29 per pack. The sale will get you 2 Macaroni and Cheese packs for $2.29 BUT the Sunday paper also had a coupon for $1/1 meaning you get $1 off each one you buy, so that made the 2 Macaroni and Cheese packs $.29 for 2 packs!!! How awesome is that….
Now if you bought 10 Newspapers, you can buy 10 packs of Macaroni and Cheese and spend the same amount you would have paid for ONE pack !!
A lot of items have a LONG shelve life, so why only buy one item and then another one next week? Maximize your savings, if the pasta is Buy One Get One Free this week and with coupons ends up FREE, why not buy 10 boxes? We call it stockpiling ….
I can already hear you say… 10 boxes of pasta, what am I gonna do.. I will never use it… Well.. think again, you are going to the grocery store every week, each week you buy one box of pasta, face it, most people make spaghetti once a week and you need pasta for that. So, sale or no sale , you buy a box each week because you need it, average pasta is about $1.50 a box ( I guess.. I neve rpayf for pasta so I’m not sure).
If you buy one pasta box a week for 10 weeks you would spend $15.00, just for pasta, if the same pasta is on sale for Buy One Get One Free and you have coupons ( there are always pasta coupons out) in most case the pasta is FREE, so if you pick up 10 boxes for FREE .. why pay $15 just because you think you won’t eat 10 boxes?? Pasta has a long shelve life 2-3 years, so the 10 boxes would last you till the next FREE pasta sale…. get the idea?? Saved you $15 right there and you can feed your family FREE pasta!!!
Now this same scenario works with any item like Spaghetti sauce, beans, canned goods, snack items, cereal anything that you regularly buy.
Where do I find coupons you ask... Well I find 90% of my coupons in the Sunday paper, check out how I store my papers HERE and then the remainder I print online at coupons.com or go directly to the company website that I’m looking to buy. A lot of brands offer coupons online. I also e-mail companies directly, they love to hear from consumers and in most case they respond with some wonderful high value coupons. I know SCJohnson always responds with a coupon for a FREE item that you complemented them on!!!! It’s worth a try. Read more about where to find coupons in a prior post I have HERE
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