Ok...so we have our binders ready and organized. We have a plan for what we want to get a stock pile of. It is now time to shop!!! But before we jump in the car and head out to the store we still have more planning to do. What I am telling you below is just how I do it. I strongly suggest you take my plan and customize it to fit your needs.
The first step in planning your shops is to know when the store(s) that you are going to shop at run their sales. For example Publix runs from Wednesday- Tuesday. The drugstores (CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens) run ads Sunday- Saturday. Once you have that information down you know when to look for the store ad online or in the paper.
The next step of the plan is to determine what items are going to be a great deal. There are several ways that this can be done and since I am really busy Mom I try to go the simplest route possible!!! The first thing that I do is look at the ad for anything I know that I need. I always have a Sharpie handy when I am doing this so that I can circle those items. The next thing that I do is check one of my coupon match up sites to see what they are seeing as the huge deals for the week. I try to work on this process in an area where I have lots of room to spread out. When checking the coupon match up sites I always have the latest ad, my binder, and a calculator handy. My two favorite coupon match up sites are Coupon Divas and I Heart Publix. I do check the Krazy Coupon Ladies site sometimes just to see if she might have something the others have missed. The thing that I love about the Coupon Divas site is that as I select items on the match up that I want to look at in the store I can print that list right from the site. Remember I said I like easy!!! As I am looking at the items that I think are good deals, I am checking in my binder to see what coupons I might have for the items. Most of the coupon match up sites will tell you when there is a coupon. One thing that I have learned is that we don't get a lot of the coupons that they mention where I live so I like to double check!! In another blog I mentioned that I used more printed coupons that clipped coupons. Most of the match ups will have a link to the printable coupon also (EASY)! Some might be a direct link to the coupon others might take you to the site and you might have to do a little searching but not much.
So we have our list and we have all of our coupons ready to go. The next thing that I do is put all of this hard work into an envelope with the store's name on the front. That envelope is then tucked into the front pocket on my binder until I am ready to shop. Depending on my schedule for the week I may get all of my shops ready in one day or I may do one each day...it totally depends on what is best for me that week.
I am getting to the point now where I take my match up and my ad and try to get an idea of what I think that I will spend before I get to the check out line. Sometimes that is easier to do with my Walgreens and CVS that with my Publix but I do try. I will tell you that since I have started every time I go to Publix to shop I save at least $100.
So get organized and get out there!!! If you try some of these steps and hit some mega savings I want to hear about it so leave me a comment!!
Happy Shopping!
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