Grocery Coupons
Saving on groceries doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, you have several ways to eat on the cheap, minimal clipping required:
1) The Sunday paper remains one of the easiest ways to find deals. Not only is it packed with manufacturers’ coupons, but you’ll find store coupons, too. If the grocery store or pharmacy has a lenient coupon policy, you can stack a manufacturer’s coupon with a store coupon & double your savings. And having all of the sales flyers in one place makes it easier to compare & find the best price.
2) Even if you get the Sunday paper, you can print free coupons online at Coupons.com. You’ll find many of the same manufacturers’ coupons that make the rounds on Sunday, from yogurt to pet food. Or if you don’t want to print them, you can add the coupons directly to a Savings Card & have the discounts apply automatically at checkout. But be warned: You can’t stack the two. If you print a coupon on Coupons.com, you can’t add it to your Savings Card. And once you apply the coupon to the Savings Card, you can’t print it.
3) You can also print free coupons online at RedPlum.com. RedPlum.com seems to offer fewer coupons than Coupons.com, but it’s worth checking out; you’ll recognize the brands featured on the site.
4) If you have a freezer or room in your pantry, check out the membership clubs in your area. As a general rule, you’ll save up to 30% on everything from groceries to toiletries. You’ll pay a fee to join, but the savings will generally cover that cost & more. Coupon policies vary by club, so check into it before you join. The coupon policy at BJ’s is very consumer friendly–You can stack a club coupon with a manufacturer’s coupon for the same product. Even better: Each item in the multipack counts as a separate item, so you can use one manufacturer’s coupon per item in the package.
FYI–Free trials to membership clubs like BJ’s, Costco, and Sam’s Club pop up throughout the year (free as in “without the 10% nonmember surcharge added at checkout” free), so be sure to subscribe to email updates, follow @citiescheap on Twitter, like Cities on the Cheap on Facebook, or add us to a Google+ circle if you want to stay in the know.
