Don't be afraid to ask for a discount

When you are out doing your shopping and find an item that you would like to purchase but it is slightly damaged, even if it is just the packaging, don't be afraid to ask for a discount. Most stores will provide you with a discount from 10 to 50% (sometimes even more) just by asking for a discount.

A perfect example are the bedside lamps that I purchase a few months back. They were exactly what I wanted but both of them had a small scratch on them. I asked the sales associate whether they would be able to provide a discount of the lamps as they were damaged. She offered 50% off the price of the lamps! Now they sit on my night stands with the scratched part of the lamp facing the wall, so they look perfect and I received 50% off! I would say it was well worth asking for a discount !

This does not mean that you should find a box of cookies and ask for a discount because it sounds like some of them are broken in the box.. or intentionally damage something. This is simply a suggestion that you should not be afraid of purchasing a product that is damaged and therefore asking for a discount to make purchasing the damaged item worth while.

Planning your Dinner Menu for the week.

One of the ways to reduce your grocery bills, as well as keep your sanity is to plan your dinner menu for the week before you go grocery shopping so that you only go to the grocery store once a week.

There are 2 ways of doing this.

The first is to review the sale flyer's and plan your menu for the week depending on what is on sale.
The other is to create a months worth of dinner menus, with associated grocery lists that you store and reuse from week to week, on a 4 week rotation.

Personally I prefer the first method for 2 reasons. I find that I save more money if I plan my dinner menus based on the sales, and I like the creativity that comes with planning the menu. I enjoy cooking, therefore one of the things that I enjoy to so is to get inspired by what I see in the flyer's.

Either way is effective, because what you are trying to achieve is to minimize the amount of times you go to the grocery store. Statistics show that every time an individual enters a grocery store they are likely to purchase 2 to3 items that they were not initially planning to purchase. Based on this static, the bag of milk you were picking up ends up costing your 3 times what it should, because you purchased cookies that you saw in the bakery, and that chocolate bar at the checkout. If you enter the grocery store one extra time a week to pick up a few items, you will be spending approximately $520 additional dollars a year, which you could be saving towards that family vacation.

Some tips on how to make this effective.

• plan your menu
• print off all of your recipes and have them in a binder in your Kitchen available for reference.
• Create your Grocery list based on your recipes and ensure you include EVERYTHING that you require to complete those recipes either at home, or on your grocery list to purchase.
• Create your menu based on using fresh ingredients earlier in the week (i.e. fresh veggies) and use Frozen later in the week.
• Be flexible when creating your menu to substitute items based on what is on sale. If Frozen broccoli is on sale, and you have a coupon and the fresh is not on sale, the frozen may be less expensive to purchase. If you are adding the broccoli to a recipe, you will never know the difference on whether you are using fresh or frozen in the end. ( Frozen vegetables are usually more nutritious then fresh and they are quick frozen at the peak of freshness, where as the fresh may have been picked under ripe, traveled 300 miles before you purchase it)
  
• If you purchase certain items every week, i.e. Milk Yogurt, Bread, create a template grocery list with those staple items already on the list. When you are creating your menu and completing your grocery list review those items and determine whether you actually need them that week or not. It is easier to just cross that item off a created list if you do not need the item than to prepare a new list every week with those staple items.
• If you are planning on having a dinner in your menu plan that requires fresh bread or rolls, purchase them on your weekly grocery shopping and freeze them as soon as you get home. Take the item out of the freezer the morning you are planning on having it for dinner. It will taste as fresh as it would have the day you brought it home.
• Prepare your dinner menu based on how much time you have to make dinner each night and include days that you are planning on going out for dinner instead. For instance, if on Tuesdays you have to take the kids to soccer and you know that you only have 15 minutes to prepare dinner that night, plan a dinner that will be easy and quick to make. Use your crockpot that night, or maybe you will have make your own sub night. The point is to think about your week and plan your menu based on the time you have available to prepare dinner every night.
• Save yourself time by prepping your items that day you bring them home from the grocery store. i.e. cut up Chicken into strips or cubes for menus that you have planned. Place in a freezer bag and flatten. One less step you need to do when you get home and need to make dinner.
• Think of Cook once, eat twice meals on your menu. Roast a chicken for Sunday Dinner and then use the leftover chicken later in the week for Wraps, or maybe a casserole.
  

It may seem daunting to think that you need to spend all this time preparing your menu and doing all this planning. The truth is, if you plan your week, you actually save time and money as you are not trying to determine what you are going to make for dinner that day and you are not making those unnecessary last minute trips to the grocery store. If it takes you 3o minutes to create your menu for the week as apposed to spending 10 to 20 minutes everyday either trying to determine what to make, or running to the grocery store, which is actually taking your more time?

I hope these tips will help you with your grocery shopping and of course save you money !

Have you gone Coupon Shopping today?

I am always asked where I find all of the coupons that I have. The answer is very simple, I go coupon shopping!

Now I am sure you are wondering what this means. What I mean by coupon shopping is that I never leave a store without looking down every aisle to see whether there are any coupons available for products that I buy. You would be amazed how many coupons you will find if you just look for them. They are everywhere!

You do not only have to look at grocery stores, but any retailer that you are shopping at. Walmart, Zellers, you name it, they will probably have coupons available for you to "buy".

Also, if you have friends or family that also are coupon junkies, you can have them look for coupons for you, and you will do the same for them.

Another way to expand your coupon collection is to participate in a coupon train. The concept is very simple, a group of individuals agree to participate in a coupon train, the first person sends out an envelope filled with coupons that they are willing to give away to the first person in the train. When that person receives the envelope, they take the coupons that they would like and replace them with other coupons. Then that person mails the envelope to the next person on the list, and so on and so on. You may receive the envelope and not find a lot of coupons that you need, but you may hit the jackpot. All this cost you is the amount of a stamp, that's not bad.

Just keep looking, it is very exciting when you find that coupon that you really want. It's exhilarating!

What does "one per purchase" really mean on a coupon

I am sure everyone will run into this situation at some point so I thought I would address this.
You enter a store to buy your groceries and of course use coupons. When you go up to the cashier to purchase your 10 jars of spaghetti sauce with 10 coupons the cashier tells you that you can only use 1 coupon as it indicates "one per purchase" on the coupon.

Every retailer has their own rules for accepting coupons, however after addressing this question directly with a manufacturer, the response I received was that "one per purchase" means one per product purchased and not one per transaction.

If a coupon indicates "one per customer", "one per household" or "one per transaction" then this is in fact a restriction where you can only use one per transaction.

For some reason individuals interpret one per purchase as purchase meaning a transaction, when that is not the intent of the manufacturer. I have been told by cashiers that the store would not be reimbursed if they process more then one coupon per transaction, which is not true. The store will be reimbursed for the coupon, as well as a coupon processing fee, therefore the store is actually making money by accepting a coupon from you.

If you run into a cashier indicating that you are not able to use your coupon, simply ask to speak to a supervisor or manager and usually that resolves the problem. If that does not work, contact the stores Home Office and address this issue with them.

Never leave home without your coupons!

We have all run into this situation. You run into your local store to pick something up and notice that they have a huge sale on something and you wish you had your coupons with you.

Since I do not want to lose out on a deal, I always bring my coupons with me. If I am running into the store to pick up some Milk, I won't bring my coupon organizer in with me as it won't fit in my purse :) but I always have it in the car, so if I need to run back out to grab a coupon I can.

Some of the best deals that you find are the ones you were not even looking for.