Yeah, that's happened to me. Many, many times. Most recently, I got a rain check for CVS Purelax. The next week, I saw it advertised in Walgreens for about a dollar less, and CVS even had it priced for less than the rain check!
I ain't a perfect shopper. I'm still learning. Good thing I didn't cash in that rain check after all.
I don't always get to use coupons, because I don't always have time to hunt around for coupons, or to clip coupons, or to organize them. My printer is acting up right now, so I haven't been able to print the coupons I have found on the Internet. I can't even print coupons at work now.
I also live in a military community. Our grocery stores will not compete with the base commisary (a grocery store located on the military base for military families). And because of the commissary, we can't even get super awesome grocery stores like Kroger in our area, although I could find several Krogers if I wanted to drive an hour to the big city of Raleigh.
None of our grocery stores double or triple coupons, either.
So I kind of have to fend for myself down the grocery aisles. I do the best I can. Many of the bargains I find are through trial and error. And through stockpiling, I'm now able to replenish or add to our stock when prices are at an all-time low, like when Food Lion had canned vegetables priced at $.33 each. BTW, Food Lion is lowering prices on thousands of items, but they still have a lot to learn.
Additionally, with the help of many bloggers, like Melissa at Melissa's Bargain Blog, Lori at Moms by Heart (I love her $.50 or Less Shopping posts), and Crystal at Money Saving Mom, I am able to learn about super special deals at places like Target, Walgreens and CVS.
I've also gotten a pretty good "feel" for what a good price for a particular item should be. And also which places have the best deals for certain items. Meats: IGA, Save-A-Lot and Piggly Wiggly. Frozen veggies: IGA or Target. Canned veggies: Food Lion and Save-A-Lot. Canned fruit: Piggly Wiggly, Walgreens. Soup: Target. Canned broth: IGA, Walgreens. Bread: IGA or Food Lion. Pasta: IGA or Save-A-Lot. Produce: Save-A-Lot, Food Lion, IGA, Piggly Wiggly. Health & Beauty Aids: Target, Walgreens, CVS. Laundry: Target. Plasticware: IGA, Target.
But there are some things that I still haven't quite figured out what a good deal is. Like paper products, ESPECIALLY paper towels.
My friend Melissa gets hers for free, using ECB's and RR's at CVS and Walgreens. I simply can't get enough of a stockpile of ECB's and RR's in order to do that.
I try to use coupons when I can, I buy only when on sale, and I even buy generic. But I still haven't quite figured out what the best price should be before coupon savings.
Anybody got any suggestions? What do you pay for a roll of paper towels? Two rolls of paper towels? What about the big or double rolls that say something like 6=8, or 8=12?
Your suggestions and input are appreciated!
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Paper towel deals are tough to find to be honest....We started re-organizing my stockpile in the garage and I realized I'm down to only 4...YIKES! The Bounty towels go 10/$10 at our Kroger store for the single rolls sometimes and there are usually $.25 coupons, so they'll triple and I can get them for $.25/each. Walgreens has the Tuf paper towels for $.59/each with in ad coupon about once a month. It's a good "Filler" for me since it's something I need/use anyway. Also, watch for seasonal ones (with holiday prints) - they clearance them out after the holidays and I stock up then, too. My last round was at Target after Halloween when they clearanced the two pack double rolls to $1.02 and I had my $1/1 coupons from my P&G rebate book.
ReplyDeleteWow, that's cheap! I've been hesitant to buy single rolls, not sure if it's worth the price. Where'd you get the P&G rebate book from?
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