The Better Homemaking Network

I got $330 worth of groceries for $58 last week at Food Lion! I’m saving the other details of the trip for my personal blog, but thought I would share some ideas here that have helped me organize these types of trips. Since I haven’t found a published list of deals for these types of local store sales, I have tried to come up with a system that doesn’t take very long. With a limit of 20 tripled coupons per order, I spread out the shopping trip so I didn’t hold up lines and didn’t waste too much time trying to sort things in my cart. Here is what I did:

1. I went through all of my inserts and clipped any coupon under $1 (the store’s limit for tripling) that I thought I might like to use. I saved larger coupons and other deals for another time, unless it was important to match it with a sale this week.
2. I printed out applicable store coupons. A Full Cup is a great resource for this.
3. I sorted the coupons by store sections. I didn’t take the time to write up a detailed list, nor worry about store prices at this point.
4. Arranged for babysitting! For big trips like this, it is best to not have to worry about the kids, unless they are old enough to help.
5. I emptied my truck and loaded a large cooler with a couple of blocks of blue ice inside.
6. I ate lunch right before I went into the store.
7. I first picked up everything I wanted that had a limit of one per transaction and placed it into my cart.
8. I had a raincheck so I picked up those items next; I had one other coupon that I thought there might be a problem with, so I got those items, too.
9. I shopped one store section at a time, deciding what would be a good deal (or what I was willing to spend) until I had twenty to forty coupons to use with the items in my cart.
10. I had three sections of coupons; ones for items that were in the cart, one for coupons that I decided not to use, and one for coupons I hadn’t shopped for yet.
11. I went to the checkout, starting with one of each of the “one per transaction” items, and as mentioned above, added all my “problem” items to the first transaction. I then added more items until I had twenty coupons to triple. I made sure the rain check was on top and pointed that out to the cashier before he rang my order up. With a small transaction, it went quickly and I didn’t hold the line up.
12. I informed the management (who knows me well) that I’d be returning for the cart that still had items in it, and took my purchased items out to the car. The cooler came in handy here; I always have one in the car, but being prepared with blue ice inside meant I could relax and not worry about rushing. (I still saved the frozen section for last.)
13. Again, shopping another isle or two, I would add items to my cart. I’d then do another transaction, remembering to add the “one per transaction” items to the order first, then adding items until I got to twenty coupons to triple. Another trip to the car (good exercise and time to grab a sip of a cold drink) and another return to the store. I did this six times total.
14. About selecting items for a transaction: If you expect overage on an item, be sure to make up for that with the cost of other items. It is always best not to draw attention to the overage by ending up with a negative total at the end! Also, if you are stacking a store coupon with a manufacturer’s coupon on one item (this is the right way to use the coupons and most stores honor this) try to be sure you have another item that isn’t using a coupon. If you end up with more coupons than you have items, registers sometimes have trouble with it, even though you are using them properly. One answer to this is a coupon that is for two items; that gives you an extra item in the transaction! Of course, you can always add items that you need to buy without a coupon. (gasp!)

The cashiers and managers were cheering me on, and the customers behind me were impressed, rather than impatient due to someone trying to use a hundred coupons at once. Smaller transactions are always the key. Managers rarely care that you come back through the line for more transactions, and are more willing to help with problems if you aren’t holding up the line forever and frustrating other customers. So whenever you are using a lot of coupons, split them up! Allow plenty of time so you can have a relaxed trip, and allow other customers to go ahead of you while you work with multiple transactions. Being prepared can make for a fun and rewarding grocery shopping day!