Tip 5 - Are You A Super Shopper?

Today's blog is part five of our 10-part series on saving at least $1000 (or more) this year with very little pain on your part. Most of the tips will be easy and won't disrupt your routine!

I just read an article that says in select markets, Whole Foods will be trying a customer rewards program to, well, reward their customers for shopping there. Forgive me, but I'm going to laugh a little. Okay, I'm going to laugh a lot.  If you're trying to be frugal, Whole Paycheck is not where you need to shop. Sure you can find that rare organic cream made from a grass-fed, hormone-free cow which has had its milk churned daily by a Belgian nun that you absolutely need to make the perfect hollandaise sauce, but you'll have to give a kidney to the cashier to pay for it.  The plus side is all your friends will see your super cool WF's bag and know that you care about the...uhhhh planet and stuff, so it is tots worth it!

While going to overpriced stores is fun and trendy, your wallet won't be happy you went. The idea of saving money using customer rewards programs, however, is a good idea. Most of your large chains offer some kind of rewards program, and you can definitely benefit. Surprisingly, what I have found is that most folks aren't using the programs to their full potential. Most people get the reward card and swipe it at the register and that's about it. They hope something they bought qualifies for a discount, but they aren't sure.

So, how do you become a super shopper?

• Most grocery stores offer a rewards program. Go to their website and register. They will email you the weekly specials and special offers that no one else sees each week. For example, Kroger emails me every Friday and offers a free item. I always get it. I may not even know I needed it, but I have found a use for everything I have gotten thus far. Let me repeat, you get a free item just for hitting a button on your computer. 
• Once you're registered, many stores offer E-coupons which are manufacturers coupons that you can load directly onto your card.  Log in to your account and see what they have offered for the week. Load the ones you need and start saving!
• Use coupons! I'll blog another day about the beauty of coupons, but if you have a paper coupon as well as an E-coupon, you can use them both and save even more. It's called stacking, and most stores (but not all) are fine with it.
• Read the ads. See who has the best deals this week. Don't be a slave to a specific store. It doesn't always cost more to go to several stores. If it saves money, it's worth it.
• Use the programs offered. Every store has their special deal to draw you in. Kroger once had a buy 5, get $5 off program. Read the specially marked tags and see the lowest price offered. I saved $15 last week on items I needed. Harris Teeter often does a great buy 2, get 3 free sale. If you have a coupon to use with that promotion, it's a double score. 
• Do not impulse buy. If it's not on sale or offered at a very good price, pick something else. Most of your regular prices are way too much. 
• Utilize discount stores. I cannot stress this enough, and it will be the topic of another blog. Go to Big Lots, Dollar General, Aldi, etc. It's amazing the savings you can find at those places! I found jars of baby food for .30/jar at Big Lots. That's 50% off the grocery store price. I make a lot of my baby food, but I use pre-made food as well.

I save about 30% on my grocery bill each time I shop. That tallies up to a lot of dough - which I can't swear is GMO and gluten free dough made by fairies in factories in Peoria. Although, I'm pretty sure Whole Foods might carry it.

Frugally,
Amanda Z
Domesticology

AmandaZ is the (mature) stay-at-home mom of Pork Chop, Southern gal, thrifty bad a$$ and writer of Domesticology101.com. This blog tackles all things domestic - from child rearing to cooking and home improvement to frugality. All done with a touch of humor and common sense. This is definitely not your mama's home economics site!