Strategic Shopping

     It’s been a while since my last post.  All I can say is that, after my last day of school, I shifted into vacation mode.   Actually, the first two weeks of my vacation, I was quite productive and finished several projects at home.  You know- the stuff that’s hard to get to during the regular work schedule; cleaning/reorganizing the kids room, filing, etc…   After week two, I kicked back into vacation mode and that’s where I’ve been ever since.  

     As a kid, I learned very little about money management. My dad was a penny pincher and my mom was the exact opposite.   My dad put tape on his car when it began to rust, while my mom ordered new carpet because of an (alleged) stain.  Since my dad spent most of his time at work, I learned my wonderful shopping strategies from my mom.  Once I grew up, moved out, and recovered from numerous financial disasters, I began to seek out and learn better money management strategies.
 
     Today I could not resist writing about my coupon adventures and I have Carol, the “coupon queen” to thank.”  I’ve never spent a great deal of time clipping coupons, but always looked for the best buy on my weekly shopping list.  Don’t get me wrong, I could always use the extra discount, but it always seemed like an awful lot work that just wasn’t worth saving a few pennies (or so I thought).  

     About three months ago, I was surprised to learn how much money I could save from giving a little attention to clipping coupons.  It started with me printing coupons for others- then I got interested when colleagues were talking about free stuff that they got from local grocery stores and pharmacy type stores.  I found that “clipping coupons” has moved to a new level.  While you can still “clip,” the Internet is very ingenious and definitely minimizes the time spent searching and cutting.

     One of the sites that I recently found is www.couponmom.com  This site is so cool!!  Through this site, I find that I’m able to decrease the time spent trying to figure out who has the best buys for specific products.  This site talks about “strategic shopping” and has two quick how to video’s.   The concept may not be new to you, but it is to me.  I’m sharing the site because there may be others like me, who was in the dark about this “coupon thing.”  Most of us have seen the maniac, extreme coupon mom who leisurely stroll through the supermarket with all the time in the world, but now I know why.

     After spending a little time on the site, I found great bargains at Shoprite, CVS, Acme, Pathmark, and Rite Aid.  Yep!  CVS and Rite Aid and they both accept manufacturer’s coupons!  I had no idea.  You can’t begin to imagine the bargains and free stuff that’s sitting on the shelves waiting for you to take home.  Take for example, Motrin-   tomorrow I’m headed over to Rite Aid to get a bottle of Motrin for free.  I would have definitely missed this item without visiting the site.  I’m excited that I’ve gotten boxes of brand name cereals for less than 50 cents!!  Imagine that!   Perhaps I’m becoming a tad bit compulsive- I thought so after going through the self check out line and strategically deciding on how I could snatch some unwanted “free coupon items” out of the trash can that the cashier tossed.  Lmbo!!  I’m not kidding!  I really had to check myself, because I finally saw value in those silly coupons that print out along with the receipts.

     So, if you’re looking to save a few dollars on grocery and house hold items, you should check out couponmom.com.   At the same time, if you know of other shopping tips, I’d love to hear about them.