Store Specifics - Grocery Stores

Okay, on to grocery stores. I am combining them into one post because the same basic rules apply to all the grocery stores I shop at like Albertsons, Smiths, Maceys etc.

1) As far as I know, all the grocery stores accept internet printable coupons. The Associated Foods stores such as Maceys have just changed their policy to accept these which is great!

2) Use the Grocery Smart Printable Planner to find the best deals of the week. Now, I don't shop the way normal people do. I don't write a list of what I need that week and then go out and buy it. I look at the upcoming deals and see what items have a great price (4 & 5 star deals) and stock up on those items that we need if I am out or running low on them. I do have to do some regular shopping for milk, bread and produce but I usually just do it while I am doing my stocking up shopping. You will find that as you build up a good store of items you don't NEED to buy so much in the week because you already have so many items on hand.

3) Promos are Great! Smiths & Albertsons (and occasionally the Associated Foods stores) will run promos that make it easy to get killer deals on many items. There are 2 main types of promos.

Here is an example from this weeks Albies ad of a CATALINA promo:
**Campbell's promo: Save $5 on your NEXT shopping order when you spend $15 on participating products.**
Included in this promo are their Campbells Chunky Soup. The planner will show you the sale price which is $1.25 each. The price is listed as 1.25/.84 which means that they are on sale for $1.25 each but with the promo factored in they work out to be $.84 each. So if you were to buy 12 of these (which equals $15) then after you pay a $5 catalina coupon will print out which you can use on your next order. This means you got all 12 of them for $10. The planner also shows coupons that you can use on that item. There is a $1/4 coupon in the 8/16 Smart Source so if you used 3 of these you would end up getting all 12 soups for $7 or $.59 each which is the price they show as the bottom line price in the right hand column.

Now you don't have to buy all of the same item, you can mix or match, just be sure that you get your BEFORE coupons total (using the first dollar amount listed in the planner) to $15. In this case if you were going to buy a lot of items you would want to seperate your transactions into $15 batches. If you bought $30 in one transaction only one $5 cat would print out. If you are going to go multiple transaction, do your first one, then use the cat that you got from that transaction to help pay down your out of pocket total on your next transaction and so on. It's a great way to get really great deals. Just be sure to check the dates on your catalina coupons because they do expire in 2 weeks from the date you get them.

Here is an example from this weeks Albies ad of a promo where you get a specific dollar amount off INSTANTLY:
**Nabisco promo: Save $3 instantly when you buy 4 participating items.**
Included in this promo are their Ritz Crackerfuls. The planner will show you the sale price which is $2.50 each. The price is listed as 2.50/1.75 which means that they are on sale for $2.50 each but with the promo factored in they work out to be $1.75 each. So if you were to buy 4 of these then the register will automatically take off $3 from your total. This means you got all 4 of them for $7. The planner also shows a $1/1 coupon from the 7/12 Smart Source so if you used 4 of these you would end up getting all 4 boxes of crackers for $3 or $.75 each which is the price they show as the bottom line price in the right hand column.

Again, you don't have to buy all of the same item, you can mix or match, just be sure that you buy items in increments of 4. If you are going to buy 7 items, you might as well pick up one more and get the extra discount. In this case you DO NOT have to seperate out your items. If you buy 12 participating items the register will take off $9.

Clear as Mud? Questions?