One of the keys to successful bargain shopping is being aware of the multitude of retailers near you home and work. You can save a lot of money shopping at the same grocery, drug and bigger box retailers every week. By being flexible you expand the savings potential exponentially.
In Orange County we are lucky to have about a gazillion choices. Within five miles of my home there are at least one of each major grocer (and in the case of Ralphs specifically there are at least three). Each of the drug chains has at least two (CVS has closer to five). There is also a Walmart and a Target.
This allows me to take advantage of whichever retailer is offering the best deals (I am really lucky since CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens are literally all about two minutes away from each other).
But to many choices leads to confusion especially when it seems like everybody has the same product on sale.
This week it seems like every one has Colgate toothpaste on sale. Some stores are offering better deals than others. Both Stater Brothers (through Tuesday) and Rite Aid (through Thursday) have a 2/3 deal. So a tube is $1.50. So it shouldn’t matter where you buy it right? Wrong. If you buy it at the grocer two will cost $3.00 and tax. But if you buy it at Rite Aid it will cost $3.00 and tax but with a $1.00 +up reward dollar (on two). So it is effectively $2.00 for two.
But with coupons from last Sunday’s paper (8/29/10) you can knock off $0.75. S0 at each store it would cost $2.25 and tax for two. At Rite Aid that would effectively be $1.25. If you are buying two papers, like me, that would further cut the cost in cash to $1.50 or an effective $0.50 for two.
Yet if you run over to Ralphs this week (through 9/5/10) Colgate is $1.00 (with card select varieties). Ralphs doubles coupons up to a total of $1.00. So for the price of tax you can get one, or two, tubes of toothpaste. (If you have more coupons you need to stand in line twice. Only two of the same coupon will be doubled in any single transaction.).
However, Ralphs has a limited set of varieties on sale whereas Rite Aid had almost every type on sale (4.2 oz. to 6.0 oz.). If you are picky Rite Aid is the better choice, especially if you shop there often and have + up dollars from previous purchases. Though if you can manage not to be picky it is basically free at Ralphs.
Pages
Making Life a Little Less Expensive Every Week
Making Life a Little Less Expensive Every Week
Here in Orange County California we benefit from fierce competition in the grocery industry. Not only do they compete with each other (Albertsons, Ralphs, Stater Brothers, and Vons) they compete with various small market chains (Henry's, Sprouts, Trader Joe's, and a host of independent markets. In addition both Target and Walmart carry a limited, but well priced, selection of grocery staples. With so many choices it is easy to simply pick a store and hope you don't burn through your budget halfway through shopping. But, with a little effort and a little more driving, you can dramatically trim your grocery expenses. You can put the savings towards the ridiculous cost of housing.
Here in Orange County California we benefit from fierce competition in the grocery industry. Not only do they compete with each other (Albertsons, Ralphs, Stater Brothers, and Vons) they compete with various small market chains (Henry's, Sprouts, Trader Joe's, and a host of independent markets. In addition both Target and Walmart carry a limited, but well priced, selection of grocery staples. With so many choices it is easy to simply pick a store and hope you don't burn through your budget halfway through shopping. But, with a little effort and a little more driving, you can dramatically trim your grocery expenses. You can put the savings towards the ridiculous cost of housing.
Coupons
Making a Coupon Stockpile
The quickest source of coupons is the sunday paper. Each week there are anywhere from one to three coupon circulars (P&G Brandsaver, Red Plum, and Smart Source). The Sunday paper(Register or Times) costs $1.50.But they both also issue a weekend edition of their paper, which is remarkably similar, for 75 cents. I buy one of each (Register and Times) for a total cost of $1.50. This give two sets of coupons, which some weeks works out fantastically and some weeks not so good. But each paper has a diferent selection of ads (these vary from paper to paper and even from week to week).
Be sure to physically check the paper for coupon circulars since store-bought papers do not always get the same coupons as a home-delivered paper. The delivered paper may have three circulars this week but the one in the store could have one, two, three, or even zero coupons. So just be sure to check before you buy.
Alternately you can order subscriptions online. Though the Times wants $2.50 a week to deliver the Sunday paper. But a quick google search will often turn up deals or promo codes for a dollar a week. Recently in LA the Times was offering a year of Sundays for 19 cents a week.
The quickest source of coupons is the sunday paper. Each week there are anywhere from one to three coupon circulars (P&G Brandsaver, Red Plum, and Smart Source). The Sunday paper(Register or Times) costs $1.50.But they both also issue a weekend edition of their paper, which is remarkably similar, for 75 cents. I buy one of each (Register and Times) for a total cost of $1.50. This give two sets of coupons, which some weeks works out fantastically and some weeks not so good. But each paper has a diferent selection of ads (these vary from paper to paper and even from week to week).
Be sure to physically check the paper for coupon circulars since store-bought papers do not always get the same coupons as a home-delivered paper. The delivered paper may have three circulars this week but the one in the store could have one, two, three, or even zero coupons. So just be sure to check before you buy.
Alternately you can order subscriptions online. Though the Times wants $2.50 a week to deliver the Sunday paper. But a quick google search will often turn up deals or promo codes for a dollar a week. Recently in LA the Times was offering a year of Sundays for 19 cents a week.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Comparison Shopping
Labels:
Bargain Shopping,
Drugstores,
Grocery Stores,
Rite Aid,
Stater Bros
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment