Monday, July 23, 2012

Do You Shop Walmart?

I love Walmart. I really do. But I hate that they don't double coupons. However, with their price matching policy [which I've never done] and low prices, sometimes it works out well with high value coupons. I will still shop my local Giant Eagle because they always double coupons but I just wait until the an item goes rock bottom before I purchase it with my coupon and usually end up with a better deal than at Walmart.

There are a few coupon blogs I read. When I am heading to Walmart, I will read I Heart The Mart website. Paul has a great handle on the entire Walmart experience. He points out items I would have never even checked. Paul has saved me money. Going to Walmart, check out his websit

Friday, July 13, 2012

To Buy or Not Buy at Sam's Club

We used to belong to Sam's Club years ago, but haven't renewed our membership for a while now. We just would use it for a purchase of outdoor furniture, a trampoline, a grill, video games, etc. we really didn't use it for food, although i would always pick up some food items while there. Before i began really, really couponing, I didn't realize shopping for non-perishable food at big box stores wasn't really a deal.  I can't tell you how many big boxes of cereal I purchased that I "thought" was a deal, only to see when my local Giant Eagle has a great sale on cereal, plus the coupons I have, it makes the cereal only $1.00 or $1.50 per box.

Here is a list of things NOT to buy from big box stores:

  • Soda and Chips [wait for great sales at your local store]
  • Produce [usually one thing will be priced great, the others are comparable to market]
  • Candy and unhealthy snacks. I certainly don't want supersize of anything around the house.
  • Mayo and other condiments, unless they are packaged in smaller bottles
  • Spices [unless you use spices all the time, shelf life for spices is only 6-9 months]
  • Toothbrushes and toothpaste. I cannot remember the last time I paid money for toothbrushes and toothpaste. I get them free, on sale, with coupons. I have a huge stockpile. 
  • Razors and Shaving Cream. Again, another staple we could go for. A refill for men's razors was like $50 for 15 cartridges. I won't pay more than $2.00 for a new razor that already has two blades in it. My husband [and now son] have a couple razors in our stockpile with one blade attached, plus two more for later. And with coupons I practically get these for $2.00, along with additional cartridges. Shaving cream is usually get for $.50 per bottle. 
  • Hair color. Personally my hair color runs $8.99 everywhere. I frequently get $4/2 coupons. When it goes on sale, I buy. This week, for instance, it was on sale 2/$12, which made my hair color, with coupon, $4 each. That's quite a savings, let alone the savings of me doing my own hair. If you're a brunette, go with Ash in the color name, ten it won't turn red on you. 


Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Giant Eagle bonus fuelperks Cereal Sale

Beginning tomorrow, July 1, Giant Eagle begins their 4th annual bonus fuel perks cereal sale. You should always take advantage of this sale. It's a good one. Especially during the summer when my kids seem to go through cereal like crazy.
Now this is good for two reasons. If you picked up any newspapers last weekend, there were some good coupons for Kelloggs [SS 7/8] and also I have some General Mills coupons from a while ago which expire on Saturday.
But even if you don't have any coupons, this is still a great sale because of the fuelperks you earn. The sale includes over 40 varieties, some are 4/$10 and some are 4/$12, but for every 4 cereals you buy, you'll earn $.20 in fuelperks. Now I just filled up my big Yukon yesterday and it was $91. So you betcha I'll be in Giant Eagle taking advantage of those fuelperks.