Grocery Store Cycles

Until I started couponing, I did not know that stores had their sales in 12-week cycles.  For those of you who are new to couponing, or are thinking about couponing, your best deals occur when you can combine a great sales price with a coupon.  Let me give you an example.  Giant Eagle currently has Ken's Salad Dressing on sale for 3 for $5.00, which comes to $1.66/bottle.  Before January, I would have thought that was the best deal ever!  Well, it can get better!  I was able to get coupons that allowed me to deduct $1.00 off each bottle of salad dressing.  Yep!  At the register, I paid only $.66 a bottle (I also had to use my store loyalty card)!

In case you are wondering where I managed to score the coupons, I got them from Ebay.  All total, the coupons cost me about $.25 each.  Even with that cost factored in, I spent only $.91 on a bottle Ken's!  In my book, that is still awesome!

Okay, so what does this all mean?  It means record keeping!  Hiss!  Boo!  Yeah, I know.  I am not crazy about that either, but if it means that I can get my food for a great price, so be it. 

Start by figuring out what things you really want to save on, which means do an inventory of your buying and eating habits.  Also, don't be store loyal, and if possible, don't be brand loyal either.  Next, start a spreadsheet with each spreadsheet page devoted to one item or kind of item.  Make labels for the following columns (You can adapt these as needed, of course):

• Store
• date
• Brand name of item
• Size
• Sale price
• Quantity required for price
• Coupon value (if one used)
• Price (after coupon used)

Each week, enter the information for each item for a couple of different stores.  After a couple of store cycles, you should be able to figure out when a store will have a sale on the targeted item.  It may be different times at different stores.  If you are able to always use a coupon when something goes on sale, then you will know that a coupon may be available for the next sale.  Another thing that I have learned is a coupon tends to come out a couple of weeks before the associated item goes on sale.  That is why it is important to keep those coupon inserts.  Happy record keeping!