Saving on Household Supplies and Groceries
by: Jim Pearce on Tue, 14 Apr 2009 at: 12:53 PM Go to: Previous Article Next Article
How much you spend is one of the few things you can still control in todays unpredictable economy and, contrary to what you may think, reducing spending on grocery and household products does not have to affect your standard of living.
How much a family spends on food is one of the last areas they think of cutting back on. Somehow, we feel that being frugal if it comes to buying food is a sign of abject poverty. Many families decide to curb spending in other areas such as clothing, vacations and even education before they finally make a serious effort to save on grocery bills.
Household items like cleaning supplies, pet care, baby care and health care products, toothpaste, shampoo, Kleenex and makeup are another area where you can make huge savings. This article will tell you several ways to spend less in both of these areas without changing your lifestyle.
Name Brand versus Generic Products. Store brand or generic brand foods and household supplies like soap and shampoo are often much cheaper than the advertised brands. Invest a moment to make a comparison of the unit cost, ingredients and nutrients listed on generics along with brand labels. Frequently, the identical manufacture produces the brand label in addition to the generic and store brand products. The manufacturer that makes Bird's Eye frozen veggies also makes store brand frozen veggies at a lesser cost.
Grocery stores have sales cycles that should be tracked. You'll need to practice, and a good way to do so is to jot down pricing for a few weeks. You want to be aware of the lowest selling price of products in order to wait until you can get the very best deal and not the first discount. For instance, seasonal items are on sale more frequently than cereals, soft drinks and other popular goods. If foods like dairy, breads, and meat approach their official sell by dates, their price begins to drop, often to less than half of the original cost. Sell by dates are not the same as expiration dates and purchasing these products does not mean that you are obliged to use them immediately.
Pay a visit to bargain grocery stores and become a member at warehouse clubs and coops. Bargain grocers such as Save A Lot sell mainly store brand items and for the good prices for pantry standards you have with warehouse clubs it is worth paying for a membership.
By using free grocery coupons in combination with the above methods you can at least double your savings. Only by being organized about your coupons will you be able to get the most out of grocery coupons.
Coupons are really coming back into fashion. There are far more methods to finding coupons today than flipping through the newspaper, such as online coupons and customized services to put coupon codes in your cell phone or store loyalty card. You can also print coupons at coupon kiosks inside stores. Shop at Marsh Supermarkets and Giant Eagle stores, swipe your card at in store booth to redeem coupons based on business you have provided in addition to existing store offer.
Types of free grocery coupons include, Manufacturers Coupons distributed by manufacturers to promote their products, Store Specific Coupons valid at specific grocery stores, Combination Coupons valid only for the purchase of multiple items from a list of products and Rebate Coupons to redeem these you need to mail them in with a proof of purchase and receipt.
In addition to weekly papers and in store offerings, you can get online printable grocery coupons at store and company websites, in addition to by registering at specialized websites listing hundreds of free printable coupons.
Several pointers you should know for using coupons for the best benefits is to always use coupons along with sales, and don't use a coupons if you can't get as much savings as you can. For instance, find out if it is better to use a coupon for a name brand product, purchase the store brand or purchase the generic brand, by using a calculator if you need to.
You should use coupons that have discounts with your shopping card. Combine your coupon with 'buy one get one free' deals and do your shopping if retailers double coupon values, which is like getting free coupons.
Look at your stores coupons rules before you begin shopping. Call or stop at customer service. Most stores accept Internet coupons, though some still do not. There is nothing wrong with trying to get the store to double the coupon, even if that means the value of the coupon is more than the value of the product.
By getting yourself together and teaching yourself how to use grocery coupons at the same time as rebates, sales, bargain grocers and the other ways previously brought up before, you will surely decrease your grocery and household supplies cost.
About the Author
Come across plenty of incredible savings that can be printed out from the internet at www.savegrocerycoupons.com to start saving today!
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