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Stephanie
Nelson
once took a friend grocery shopping. The friend put
little or no effort into the trip and stocked her basket
with her usual items. With identical shopping lists, the
friend spent
$250
. Nelson?
$75
.
Though
Nelson, author of "The Coupon Mom's Guide to
Cutting Your Grocery Bills in Half," is an expert,
that's not even an extraordinary example. Supershoppers
such as Nelson demonstrate similar savings almost
anywhere, week after week.
"People
think, 'Grocery spending, who cares? That's the minor
spending,'" said Nelson, who operates the Web site
CouponMom.com.
But
groceries are huge.
The
American family of four spends
$9,200
a year on food. Add paper goods, personal-care products
and other items, and you're spending
$10,000
annually.
"The
biggest spending category where you have some wiggle
room is groceries," Nelson said. "People don't
realize that by learning a few tricks, they could be
saving a lot of money."
The key
is planning your supermarket trip. But not everybody is
willing or able to invest the time. Here are tips based
on the amount of time you can plan:
MINIMAL
EFFORT, GREAT SAVINGS
For what
Nelson calls "busy" shoppers, doing no
planning but spending five minutes on strategy after you
arrive at the store reaps 20 percent to 25 percent off
regular supermarket prices.
—CONCEPT:
When you get to the store, pick up a sales flier, paying
particular attention to front-page offers and in-store
coupons. Also get a store loyalty card.
—BEST
TIP: Be flexible about brands you buy so you can switch
to those that are on sale and try store brands, which
are generally quite good.
—UNUSUAL
TIP: Use the five-minute rule: If it takes less than
that to do it yourself, avoid precooked, prewashed and
precut foods.
MEDIUM
EFFORT, FANTASTIC SAVINGS
If you
can plan 30 minutes per week, you'll probably score 40
percent to 50 percent in savings.
—CONCEPT:
Plan meals around each week's store bargains and shop
with a list. Compound savings by matching sales to
coupons from the newspaper and the Web. CouponMom.com is
among the sites that point out the best deals each week.
—BEST
TIP: Keep a log on prices of items you buy often, so
you'll know when something is truly on sale.
—UNUSUAL
TIP: Weigh lettuce in the produce aisle. It's usually
sold by the head, not weight. You can get 25 percent
more by just by using the nearby scales to get a large
head.
BIG
EFFORT, UNBELIEVABLE SAVINGS
You join
the "varsity" when you can plan for an hour or
more each week. You'll be rewarded with 60 percent to 70
percent off full price, Nelson said.
—CONCEPT:
Visit multiple stores, including drugstores, discounters
and warehouse clubs, for the best deals. Study your
regular stores' policies regarding price guarantees,
rain checks, Internet coupons, competitor's coupons and
store-brand guarantees.
—BEST
TIP: Buy multiple items when on sale and use multiple
coupons to create a stockpile of bargains.
—UNUSUAL
TIP: Use two coupons for "buy one, get one
free" deals. You're buying two, so you should be
able to use two coupons.
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