People ask me, what stores do you shop at. How do you find such bargains and don't use coupons or blinkies? Its a little research on the computer, taking stock, knowing what you need (not what you want) and planning ahead.
First I plan what i am going to buy. Today its food at the grocery store. But which store, where are the sales and how do i find them.
After I've taken stock, made my list, then I start on the Internet to find the stores I like and the buys I want.
For food my first stop is Dollar General. Their site to find them is
http://www.dollargeneral.com. That is their main page and on the top of the page is a navigation bar. It has the following
Current ads, DG brands, Coupons,Sweeps and events, Fan space,About, serving others. Under each of those heading is a mini menu you can select from. Go there now and look at the main page and see what is on it.
ON this page I select coupons. ON coupon page it tells me what coupons i can print for what items i may have on my list. It also tells me what coupons are honored at Dollar General (DG)
Dollar General not only honors coupons from all manufactured food brands in the USA, but also other store coupons.http://www.coupons.com/alink.asp?go=15245eo6310
on this page you can see all the coupons for in-store items. They also host a coupon site for other stores, to save money at Kohl's, Kmart, Walmart and even Barnes and Nobel. The coupon link is there, the coupons are easy to see and read, and you just check the ones you want, print them and you put them in your list of things you plan to purchase next.. keeping in mind the dates of expiration of the coupons.
This month from mid July to Mid August DG is having some sales, one is paper towels. We use a lot of paper products. Normally we go to Sam's club .http:www.SamsClub.com and stock up. But were between big trips, so DG will be fine. I also found a cooler, its a small one I have been looking for a while. It holds just 14pops(cans) and ice and probably a few sandwich's. But when were sailing for 3days with no stops at land or anchoring, it will be nice to have on deck, to keep our trips below to a minimum. Its only $15 and looks great, its now on my list too.
They also have paper plates the large size of Hefty brand on sale, 170 count for $4.50 (about $1 cheaper than Walmarts home brand this week) but I will check Walmarts circular to make sure now
Paper towels are the 12pk for $10, a great buy, now i have to find a coupon to see if i can get even $1 more dollar off. So lets look.
Well I went to Walmart http://www.walmart.com and looked at their circular for this week. It had the same paper towels on sale but a smaller size and not as good of a deal. So DG will get my business this week.
Now I'm going to cruise my next store Food Lion. http://www.foodlion.com . Food lion always has great specials on dairy products like butter, milk, eggs and cheese and they are all on sale, so they are on my list to stop, but no deal on paper towels. The best buy is still Dollar General.
But my Food Lion is across the street from a new DG , so is just one stop and cross the street to stop 2, so this pay period I'M saving gas by not going to walmart in New Bern or Havelock..
So after checking the ads (they change every Wednesday) and making a list of what I'm out of, what we need, and those extras like potato chips and cookies we want. I find what i can get for how much i have to spend.
By the way DG has been kind enough to join our site, as I'm going to be an affiliate for them. I hope to find more stores to introduce you to, that have good bargains in your area and are places I wish they had near me.
Because I spend 7months of the year traveling south. I also visit some great stores there, Publix, Winn Dixie, Piggly wiggly are three of my favorite places to show when I'm on my way down to Florida. I find publix and Winn Dixie both have great savings cards
Winn Dixie has great sales and usually the card saves you a few dollars more, they require less information about you as well for the card, Publix doesn't use cards, they mark things down low, but their real bargains like Winn Dixie are hidden.
Yes bend low or peak around corners and you find their store brand of publix or Winn Dixie, there store brands like walmart are purchased directly from the manufacturer and taste exactly like the name brand. It is cause they come from the name brand.
So if you purchase publix brand mac n cheese, you get the same ingredients made by the name brand company in a plain box with the publix logo on it.. All there brands were great, we only found one thing we didn't like and that was laundry detergent. Its one of those things you like a certain kind cause you have certain needs.
But the rest from Brillo pads, to dish soap, to no brand honey, to publix dairy products to canned goods all were better or as good as the brand name, in fact you couldn't tell the difference in a blind taste test.
So we liked those three stores. Those are the most popular stores in the Vero beach area. I loved the sales on everything at publix and found i had to really keep my mind on my list, as they had tempting smells of fresh bread, roasted chicken and many odds and ends i could use, but don't really need at the moment.
So if your near publix or winn dixie do enjoy them, other stores we love are Aldis (the whole sale for Trader Joe's). Trader Joe's (who has the widest selection of California wine at any US store.
Again both have websites, how to find their locations and are user friendly with ads and coupons, although Trader Joe's has a news letter on line and in the mail they would rather send their customers with specials or recipes. They don't like the word sale, as all of their products are the lowest, best quality money can buy..
But do watch their put-togethers. They do a sample idem of lets say a salad. On the table is the salad, a small cup you can try and then the person running the booth shows you where to get the lettuce, the frig bin next to her, the dressing on the table and the croutons are in her hand. Yes in three easy steps you have salad with special dressing and you make it all in seconds saving you time. I did price it out, the dressing I can make for Penny's on the dollar, its just a few ingredients, the salad was from a bag, id rather buy romaine tear it up and make salad, add tomatoes to it, the croutons were expensive but you can find the same ones at he dollar store, the salad they made was $4 a portion and $12 for their ingredients, my salad at home is around $1.50 a serving and about $4 for 4-5 servings for a nice dinner.. or side dish
add chicken and is about $2 more..Again its how you look at things.
Again its what you choose to eat, choose to buy and choose to prepare that makes the difference. If you don't mind cooking, preparing food and making an extra serving here and there to save money and time then my tips are helpful.
But if you hate to cook, rather be in a restaurant for all meals and live in am on coffee and sweets. Then find a Starbucks and a good diner. Again sorry I can't help you..
Hopefully as this blog goes on, I will get more visitors and more traffic and you will be able to find coupons, links and places to help you shop savvy and smart too!
Keep reading the page and do sign up to join my followers. I get special points for each person who joins. So please sign up.
Oh last point to remember, while many grocery stores use cards to locate you for pinpointing your needs, I found a couple who do not do this, one is food lion. They have great sales, esp two for one prices on all food and non food items. The card has really saved us money each visit. Usually $5-10 dollars. So its worth having.
Other cards like drug stores (CVS) are not worth having, they suck you in with money coupons good or items you never want to buy or dont need.. so get cards that work, the grocery ones are usually very good.. From what I've used them.
See you in the Aisles!
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