Saving Cash on Groceries, For the Anti-Couponers

Coupons. If you’re like every other American, you’ve heard about coupons, but you probably associate the practice with your grandmother, or for women with way too much time on their hands. You probably tell yourself it’s not worth the time and energy, or that you don’t need most of the items you find coupons for.

“I go to the store anyway to buy food, why not get some free stuff while I’m at it?”

The good news is that saving money on groceries isn’t always about couponing. It’s about smart shopping. You can save money in any grocery store- yes, even Walmart, but following a few quick and easy tips. And don’t worry, you don’t have to turn into a coupon queen either.

First, go to SouthernSavers.com, and find the store that you usually go grocery shopping in and follow all of their weekly deals. Southern Savers actually makes a list for you of which foods are on sale at that store. So it’s so easy to make and print your shopping list with a few clicks before you ever walk in the door. Design your shopping list around the items on sale. I’ll give you an example of how I save on the stores I usually shop in.

Earth Fare is an excellent store to shop in, if you’ve got one close to you. I usually shop there once a month for bulk items like chickpeas, beans, oatmeal, whole wheat flour, etc.

If you sign onto their website, they will send you weekly e-mails with coupons for free items. They almost always have promotions going on!

One unbelievable promotion Earth Fare implements is a Pantry Makeover. Simply bring your non-organic foods into the store and they will give you an organic version of the same food.  They don’t care if it’s a half-eaten jar of peanut butter (it goes to the trash anyway).

Another useful promotion at Earthfare includes a dinner for free. After signing up on their site, you can view your savings, as well as print a coupon that is good for a free dinner- mashed potatoes, a whole chicken or package of veggie burgers, and carrots with $10 purchase.

Although one must spend a few dollars to get these items, it still saves my family money. I go to the store anyway to buy food, why not get some free stuff while I’m at it?

These are just a few quick tips about how to save money with coupons, without turning into a coupon queen like me! If you have any tips about how to save more money with couponing, or if you have a question about couponing, please visit my websites and send me an e-mail.

Lenka Andrews | Lenka is the author of SavingBlogs.com and SlovakMama.com. She is a stay-at-home mom from Charlotte, NC and originally from Slovakia. She saves an unusual amount of money for her family by couponing. Follow her on her daily journey to find the best deals, as she monitors some of the best savings blogs out there and reports to you about their posts.