Grocery Store Deals 6/25

Hey everyone! I'm preparing my shopping list this week and thought I would share some links to my favorite coupon matchup sites. These guys/girls have spent a lot of time scouring the ads and coupon lists for the best deals. Let's give them some love. (Prices may vary as these deals come from all over the U.S.)

Albertsons
Dollar Tree - This weeks matchups (items will vary by location)
Publix
Trader Joe's
Winn Dixie




Retail Me Not App Review


Son: "Mom, I need new shoes for work."
Me: "Ok. When do you need them?"
Son: "Tomorrow"
Me: "You realize it's 8pm, right?"
Son: "So?"
Me: "We are going to have to drive to the next town to get them."
Son: "So?"
Me: (sigh)

One of the main tips I give to newbies that are learning to be thrifty is to always plan ahead. This means buying items when they are on sale or clearance and then saving them for future purpose. I try to buy my son's clothes well in advance. His response is usually, "But I don't need new pants!" My response is always, "You will!"  So...one of my biggest pet peeves is being hit with last minute purchase requests. There's really no way to avoid them. I can predict most of our families needs, but I'm not psychic.

What's a mom to do when the inevitable hits and a last minute purchase is in order? Look for coupons! There are all kinds of ways to find coupon codes, printable coupons, etc. My new favorite resource is the Retail Me Not app. What I like is that it is easy to use and it reliably has coupons to stores that are in my area. I was able to purchase shoes at Payless for 20% off regular retail price. That may not be a discount I would normally jump to use, but it was a lifesaver last night.

The app sends you automatic alerts when there are deals available in your area. I didn't realize this at first because we live in a small community. My alerts come up whenever I pass our local mall. I didn't really make the connection, until I traveled to a big city. Wow. I had alerts popping up all over the place.

The app has many other fun features. One helpful feature allows you to bookmark your favorite stores. The app also has a search feature that makes shopping in a new area a breeze. It will even notify you when deals you have saved are about to expire. How great is that?

Take the Retail Me Not app for a spin and see what you think. It's another great tool to use in your quest for nifty thrifty living!










Organize Your Coupons With Google Drive



I am an organizational wanna-be. I love the concept of neatly lined cupboard shelves, filing cabinets  with sorted documents, and crafting drawers where needed items can actually be found. My reality, though, is not anywhere near these lofty goals. But...I never give up on my dream. Every few months, I get the bug to overhaul my piles of bills, throw out the outdated canned goods, and at least glance at my crafting drawers.

Today, the bug hit again. I realized I wanted to do some couponing, but I haven't looked at my coupon binder in forever. I prefer keeping all my coupons intact in the inserts they came in, but even the thought of organizing all those coupons just seemed too much. Then a brilliant idea came to me. (At least it seemed brilliant to me) What would happen if I organized all my coupons in a spreadsheet? Could I avoid having to clip all my coupons, sort them, and then check all the dates? How could I keep track of the coupons I used versus what was still in my binder? Would all this be any easier or just more work? Uggh.

I'm happy to say that I found the perfect solution in Google Drive. Google Drive is free to use with a Google account and you can access your documents anywhere. They even have a FREE app that you can download here. Here's the scoop:

1. Spreadsheet: I created a simple spreadsheet using the online spreadsheet creator in Google Drive. (see pic above) My spreadsheet is very, very simple. I have one column for the title, type, and exp. date of each coupon. The next column is the date of the insert. The last column contains the type of insert (i.e. RP=Red Plum, SS= Smart Source, etc)

2. Filling it in: I seriously do not want to spend hours and hours typing in coupons. I cut down the time it takes to fill out this spreadsheet by simply copy and pasting information  from the Sunday Coupon Preview website. I highlight the whole row of coupons listed for each insert and then just click on the "cell" where I want the information to be inserted into my spreadsheet, hit "ctrl + v" and voile! I now have a list of all the coupons for that weeks (RP, SS, P&G) insert in my first row. (**HINT** I found if I widened the first row this worked a lot better) All I have to do from there is type in the date of the insert, type the insert name, and delete from the list any coupons that were not included in my local insert.

3. Deleting Used Coupons: There are a few different methods I plan on using to keep this list up to date. I can either write down on a piece of paper the coupons I used and then delete them at a later date when I am at my computer or I can use the Google Drive App. The Google Drive App lets me access my documents from my smartphone. I can simply delete the coupons that I plan to use while I am in the checkstand! Easy peasy.

Please Check Out Other Great Ideas At These Linky Parties

Homemade Mondays @ Frugal By Choice
Save Money Monday @ Frugality Girl     
Frugal Crafty Home Blog Hop 63@ Carry This Home    
                                                         
Tell Me About It Tuesday @ Saving For My Family
Fabulous Frugal Thursday@ A Life In Balance
Motivate Me Monday @ Keeping it Simple
Brag About It Link Party @ VMG206
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm



ShareThis