I took with me my coupons, my list, and my two youngest kids. I told the kids that we were going to play a super fun matching game called "Coupons" and gave them each a coupon to find.
The results were only partially successful.
Here are my lessons learned on Day One of using coupons:
- Pay attention to coupon rules. Bloom only triples coupons up to 99¢. That means that if you have an 80¢ coupon you'll save $2.40, but if you have a $1.25 coupon you'll save only $1.25. I was annoyed to discover this after checking out, although I'll admit it is clearly stated in the ad. I would have made different choices if I had realized this while I shopped.
- Pay attention to your bill. I asked for the $5.99/lb. deli chicken, but I was charged $7.99/lb., which I didn't notice until I got home.
- Bloom -- this one, at least -- doesn't have a great selection, so it didn't have many of my coupon products. Bloom doesn't carry any L'Oreal cosmetics, for example, so I'll have to hit another store to redeem that $5 off coupon.
- Sales seem to trump coupons. One of my best finds was 99¢/lb. sale on organic Granny Smith apples. I'm usually lucky to find conventional apples for $1.49, so this was a great deal, and I made an amazing (if I do say so myself) apple crisp for my guests this weekend.
- Coupons used on sales items are the motherlode. That's where you'll find really good savings, so it pays to collect coupons and use them when they happen to be on sale. Collecting and saving coupons adds an additional degree of organization, but the savings are significant.
- Knowledge is power. I'm going to pay better attention to coupons rules, and I'll call around to learn about store policies.
My kids provided one other important lesson: Playing coupons SUCKS, and they weren't fooled for a minute. They were bored within five minutes, but using coupons definitely adds to the shopping time so we trudged on. Next time I'll definitely go without them.
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5 comments:
Hey, you know what? Your blog is terrific! Have you seen iambossy's poverty party - she'd love this coupon post.
www.shopzazu.blogspot.com
Caroline
Thanks Caroline! I love Zazu, too, btw. Super cute stuff in there!
Thanks for the iambossy tip. Great site; I'm adding her to my blogroll!
:)
I hate when I get to the checkout and some of my coupons are expired! Annoying and yeah, my kids don't like the coupon game either. Drags out the shopping trip longer than they'd like.
I've played the coupon game too. However, I'm a nanny for five kids and I do the shopping for the whole family and I've noticed that no matter how many coupons you have, The Bloom ends up being the most expensive grocery store. This is entirely counter intuitive, but shopping at Wegman's is the best bet for family grocery shopping.
I think you're right, Nanny, unless you play the sales game right. Harris Teeter is our closest grocery store. It's regular prices are high, but on sale it isn't too bad. I'm starting to plan my weekly meals based on their circular. I'm going to post on that soon; they have a nice online version that lets you print a shopping list.
Wegmans is my favorite store, but their sales don't seem as dramatic. I'm guessing that's because they don't use sales to lure people in and then charge a ton on other things.
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