Saving Money At The Grocery Store

I wanted to share this article with you all today.  The article is titled How To Save On Food.   It is written by one of my favorite bloggers, Ruth from Living Well, Spending Less.  Especially since Thanksgiving has just passed, a lot of us have food on our minds.  Hopefully you were able to give something to a local food drive.  My children's preschool had a Thanksgiving basket food drive that we contributed to.

An easy way to save money and build your own stockpile of grocery items (which leads further savings) to is to shop the sales!  This is pretty basic in terms of theories on how to save on food.  But, it is my favorite because it is easy.

You go to the store and you buy the items that you would normally use anyway that are on sale now.  Buy enough to last until the next sale (usually about 2 months but depending on your grocery store/chain this could be different).  Take the items home and place the extras in a specified area.  If you have room in your kitchen cabinets or pantry, that is ideal.  But, if you don't just find another space.  Now, when you run out of an item, you won't have to pay full price for the replacement.  You can just go into your stockpile and replenish your item.

Repeating this cycle with your different grocery staples will really help your grocery budget over time.  Here is my favorite segment from the article:

Let me make it more clear with an example.  Say your family eats 2 boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios every week.  The regular price for Honey Nut Cheerios is $4.50 a box, but when you go to the store this week, you see it is on sale for only $1.99 a box–more than 50% off the regular price!   Instead of buying only 2 boxes like you normally would for your weekly shopping trip, you buy 12 boxes–enough to last your family for the next 6 weeks at less than half the price you would normally pay.

Read more at http://www.livingwellspendingless.com/2012/11/01/how-to-save-on-food/#ayUfTtmaAvZIkG8o.99

I hope you enjoy the article and the ideas! 

An example of getting paid to buy something (Or, getting it dirt cheap)

Sometimes when you shop with coupons and deals, you buy something that you wouldn't normal buy

because you get paid to buy it.  Or, when it is really, REALLY cheap you need to buy it if its something you will use.  This example is also one that illustrates why you can't be brand loyal on 90% of the items you buy.

Suave Professional Moroccan Shampoo $2.89 at Target.  

Subtract the $1.50 manufacturer coupon

$1.39 for the shampoo

Subtract 5% for using Target Red Card $0.07

Add MA sales tax (MA taxes on post-Manu coupon price) $0.08

Total cost for shampoo at Target $1.40

Not a bad price for shampoo, right?

Actually, the deal gets better because there were Ibotta refunds of $1.25

So, my total out of pocket for this shampoo was $0.15

Is Suave my favorite shampoo?  No.

But, for $0.15 I can't be too picky so I bought it to build my stockpile.  Next time I come across a shampoo deal, I will only buy it if it is a really good deal or free because I will have some shampoo in my stockpile to use when I run out in my bathroom.

Ibotta Deals at Target Over the Past Week

It's October 1, 2013 and I thought it was time for another Ibotta update.

I am done with the Steady Eddy Bonus for $1.  When I completed it, another similar bonus opened up within Ibotta.  This bonus, for $2, is called Month In, Month Out.  It's basically the same idea:  buy at least 1 product per week, submit the receipt and scan the product.  Don't miss a week or you start over.

I picked up Eggo Chocolate Chip Waffles at Target for $2.39.  I received $0.75 back from Ibotta.  Not a bad price for a box of Eggo's!  And, remember, if you have manufacturer coupons you can save even more.

I wasn't sure if I would get credit toward the Month In, Month Out bonus this week or not.  I finished the Steady Eddy bonus yesterday so, I thought maybe I would have to wait until Monday to start over.  I am happy to report that the new bonus challenge started for me the day I purchased the waffles, the day after I ended the Steady Eddy bonus.

I didn't want to miss out on the milk deal but last week I bought 3 gallons that would hold us for quite a while.  On September 30, 2013 (the last day of the deal) I ran out and bought a gallon of white milk to qualify or Ibotta's deal and my new week of Month In, Month Out.

HDA for Renuzits at CVS

This week at CVS, scan your Extracare Card and get a coupon for $1.50 off of 3 Renuzit Air Freshners.  They are on sale for $0.87 each.  You can get them for $0.37 each after coupons.  Not a bad price at all.  We use these mainly in the basement where our cat litter box is.

Ibotta Deals - September 17, 2013 at Target

At Target I bought regular Oreos.  At first I thought the deal was only for Double Stuff Oreos but it turns out that both original Oreos and Double Stuff Oreos qualify for the Ibotta deal.  By doing 2 Ibotta tasks I qualified for $0.50 back on my purchase of these Oreos. 

I also qualified for 1 week of purchasing a Ibotta product in the Steady Eddy Bonus and the Cash Cow Bonus.  The Cash Cow Bonus is a tough one because you have to purchase over $200 worth of products after all discounts and coupons have been applied.  I just waited until I had a bunch of things to purchase like animal supplies and kid birthday gifts.  Then, I just added my 1 Ibotta purchase into my shopping cart to earn the bonus.

Now, I am working towards PayPal Bonus #3.  For this bonus, you have to transfer $100 from Ibotta through PayPal.  Working towards that $100 is going to take me quite some time!  Maybe there are some great Holiday deals coming up to help me out.

Explain this Ibotta thing to me?

I have posted twice about my Target Ibotta trips now.  I know some of you may want some nitty-gritty explanations.  I am not sure whether these awesome Ibotta deals will last or not.  I am hoping that they do continue so I think it is worth taking the time to document and explain them.

Here's what you NEED:

• A Smartphone with a working camera
• The Ibotta App (it's free)
• A PayPal Account
• Access to stores that are participating in the program like Target, CVS, Stop & Shop, Walmart, or Whole Foods.

I have mentioned this in some other posts, too.  But, I'll explain my current deal philosophy:
I am not currently a hard-core couponer with a big stockpile.  I'm not currently in a position to only pick up items when they are free or money makers.  My current coupon and deal posts will be best for people who are currently paying FULL PRICE for items that they need in their household.  I would make a list and then go shopping.  Sometimes I would have an occasional coupon for an item we use and sometimes the item we needed would be on sale.  But, most of the time we paid FULL PRICE for an item.

Years ago I was a hard-core couponer.  I had an awesome stockpile and I would not have been happy paying the prices I am now blogging about.  But, the reason I now pay these prices is because I no longer have an awesome stockpile to draw from and I don't have a lot of coupon sources anymore.  Today's stockpile consists of items from our latest warehouse trip (we have a BJ's Wholesale near by where we get decent prices on things we use everyday).

I'm not working right now so it was time for me to reduce our 2nd largest household expense - food and HBA's. 

Here are my 2 biggest tips to those just starting out:

1. Stop being brand loyal for at least 90% of your grocery/HBA purchases.  This is hard!  I understand that you like what you like.  But, the best way to get deals and save money and build a good stockpile is to let go of the thoughts that you have to buy 1 specific brand and 1 specific size.  For example, I prefer BJ's Wholesale brand Paper Towels in Select-A-Size.  Last week I was able to get another brand of paper towels for less money per roll than the BJs brand.  I bought them to build my stockpile and to cross that item off of my shopping list.
2. Find a way to get more coupons.  You can print coupons on a printer, use your smartphone, clip inserts from the Sunday paper, ask friends and family for their coupons, sign up online, contact manufacturers and ask for some coupons and so on.

Last week I visited my favorite deals and coupon website hotcouponworld.  Some of the posters were talking about their weekly deals and they were mentioning their Ibotta bonuses.  I read-up and signed-up for Ibotta.  I then made my shopping list and dug out my coupon binder.  I didn't have many coupons so it was easy to organize. 

You have to do the Ibotta tasks before you go shopping in order to qualify for the cash back.  Take the time to go through al the deals and choose which you will buy before you leave the house.  I also recommend that you do the tasks for a couple of "maybe" deals because the store may not have the items for you to purchase.  If you can't purchase the item then you can't get the cash back.  It is important to note that if the Ibotta deal is on 2 products, then you have to buy the 2 products during the same shopping trip at the same store.  Example, $1.50 cash back if you buy Scott Paper Towls and Palmolive Dish Soap.

Then, I went to Target for Deal #1 and Deal #2 purchased on 2 separate days.

Let's talk about a specific Ibotta deal:

$5 Autumn Stock Up:
Redeem at least 2 offers per day on 2 separate days for a total of 4 offers or more to earn an extra $5 bonus.

These are the items that qualify:

• Kleenex tissues
• Scott TP
• Pull-Ups
• Goodnites
• Depends
• Poise
• U by Kotex
• Viva PT
• Huggies Wipes
• Huggies Diapers

On Trip #1, I bought Huggies Wipes and Huggies Diapers (amongst other things).  On Trip #2 I bought Kleenex and Scott TP (and other things, too).

• Just for doing the tasks (prior to shopping) I get money off of each purchase.  Please note that these amounts have to be estimates because I can't locate them in the Ibotta App anymore (because I submitted my receipt):

Kleenex tissues ($.50)

Scott TP ($.75)

Huggies Wipes ($.75)

Huggies Diapers ($1.25)

So, buy these 4 items and then submit you receipt and your UPC scans to Ibotta and earn:
.50+.75+.75+1.25 = $3.25

• Then, you earn $5 for the fall stock up sale above.  As long as you follow the requirements and buy 2 items on 2 different days before the deal expires, you will get the $5.  So you earned $3.25+$5 = $8.25 on items that you needed anyway and would have paid FULL PRICE for.

• Finally, you purchases also count towards some other bonuses, too.  Ibotta will keep track of all of your purchases and will show you the percentage complete for each bonus.  Here are the additional bonuses you may qualify for by purchasing the same 4 items that I bought:

1. The Scott TP and the Kleenex count towards the $3 Freshen Up Bonus.
2. The Huggies Wipes and Diapers count towards the $2 Hug Your Baby Bonus.
3. All 4 offers qualify towards the $20 for 10 Offers Bonus.
4. All 4 offers qualify towards the $10 Share the Love Bonus.
5. Any of the offers qualify towards the $1 Steady Eddy Bonus.
6. All 4 offers qualify towards the Money Bags Bonus (I'm not sure that this has a monetary value, though).

Having manufacturer or store coupons would reduce your OOP (Out of Pocket) total, too.  I just didn't have any.  I'm happy to help with questions or planned deals.  Just leave a post or drop me an email.

If you are interested, please consider using my Ibotta link:

http://ibotta.com/r/ek3svw

DISCLOSURES:
I was not compensated by Ibotta, Target or anyone else for my post.
If you click on my Ibotta link and sign up for Ibotta I will receive some kind of Ibotta monetary bonus.  I gave you a link to my favorite coupon website Hot Coupon World but I am not compensated by them either - except in the form of all the deals and knowledge I received from that site over the years!

First Ibotta Shopping Trip

Target Ibotta trip 9/4/13 ($22 received from Ibotta):

I just learned all about Ibotta!  There is a special promotion now called Share the Love.  If you redeem at least 5 offers within the first 2 weeks of registering, then you earn an extra $10.  That offer motivated me to check it out and sign up.  It expires soon though so, if you are interested then get moving now!

You complete little tasks to receive cash back after you buy each item.  They are not coupons.  It's real money that you can transfer to your Paypal account.  The tasks usually consist of watching a short video, Tweeting something about the product, Facebooking about the product or answering a trivia question.

I like to have some ready to eat food in the freezer for those times when someone is starving and needs to eat ASAP or when we don't have anything in the house to bring to work for lunch.  The Ibotta deals that were catching my eyes were for freezer stuff and baby stuff.  Sounds good to me so off I went to Target!  I was able to go shopping alone for this trip.  It turns out that it is really easy to do Ibotta deals because all the info you need is on your cell phone while you shop. 

Here's what I bought:

Huggies wipes, $10.99
Huggies Diapers, $19.59 (Target GC deal WYB 2)
Huggies Pull-Ups, $22.49 (Target GC deal WYB 2)
Barilla Plus Pasta, $2.14
Ore-Ida Potato Wedges, $2.14
2 Bertolli Frozen Meals for 1 $3.29 x 2 = $6.58
Jimmy Dean Breakfast Sandwiches, the Healthier ones were on sale this week, $5.00
Totinos Pizza Roll,s $2.99
Simply Potato Hash Browns, $1.67
Chobani Kids Tubes 16ct, $4.99
Red Baron Frozen Pizza, $3.34

Total $83.12 (includes MA Tax at 6.25% - unprepared food is not taxed in MA)
**This may seem high to those without kids in disposable diapers - but this trip included boxes of diapers, wipes and pullups.

Let's talk about the subtractions:
-0.00 Target coupon for brining my own bag (dang, they didn't give me the $0.05/bag discount)
-3.62 for using the Target Redcard Debit Card (if you shop regularly at Target it is SO WORTH getting one of these).

TOTAL OUT OF POCKET: $79.50
Also, I received a $10 Target Gift Card (GC) for buying 2 boxes of diapers.  I won't reduce my out of pocket to $69.50 though, because you can't use the GC in the same transaction that you earn it.

I submitted a copy of my receipt via my Smartphone to Ibotta.  Then, I scanned all the applicable bar codes.  You can see that since I am new to Ibotta I am only buying products for the deals during one transaction.  Then, I buy the other stuff that finds it's way into my cart in another transaction so that I don't lose my mind.  Within an hour, I was notified that my receipt was accepted and I received $22 from Ibotta.  I did a Paypal transfer to get the actual cash. 

FINAL TALLY:
$79.50 - $22 (from Ibotta) = $59.50 out of pocket
Plus I have a $10 Target GC to use another day.

And, just a reminder, if you had a nice selection of coupons, you could have easily got this total down lower.  I only had 5-6 random coupons in my coupon binder, so my coupon selection is low right now.  Since my stockpile of household items is also low, I decided to just jump into some deals.  Now that I have a small stockpile, I can wait to buy duplicate items until I am able to get the free, get paid to buy them or get them when they are at my rock-bottom price.


If you are interested, please consider using my Ibotta link:

http://ibotta.com/r/ek3svw

DISCLOSURES:
I was not compensated by Ibotta, Target or anyone else for my post.
If you click on my Ibotta link and sign up for Ibotta I will receive some kind of Ibotta monetary bonus.