Top 3 Places to Find Good Prices

Before we dive in, let's re-cap our new shopping strategy: 


1- Find what items are at their lowest price each week so we don't accidentally pay more for something than we have to.
2- Use a coupon for that item.
3- Buy enough of it to last us until the next time it's at that awesome price.




So, now that we've changed our shopping strategy, what do we do first? 


We've gotta find out which items are at their lowest price this week.  (Some people call it the "stock-up price" since that's when we want to stock up.)


Here are my 3 favorite places to find the good deals.

#1- Circulars (Flyers)

Grocery stores’ flyers usually arrive Tuesday in the mail to show you the prices that begin on Wednesday.

Drug Stores’ flyers are in the Sunday newspaper (they're also on a stand in the store, but your trip will be well-planned long before you walk in).

           

Grocery Store sales typically begin each Wednesday & end on the following Tuesday (at least where I live).

CVS & Walgreen’s sales begin each Sunday & end on the following Saturday.

There are a couple of pleasant exceptions to this rule. 

A) Sunflower Farmers Markets in Las Vegas overlap their ads to run Wednesday to Wednesday.  This means that two sales flyers apply to every Wednesday (the prior week's & the next week's).  That makes roughly twice as many items on sale.

B) Walgreens will usually honor the current week’s prices AND the upcoming week’s prices on Saturdays.  (This depends upon the store’s hours of operations,  so ask the manager about your specific store.)

Keep in mind, this is what happens in Las Vegas.  I see I have some followers from back home, so I'll do some research & post anything that might be different in your neck of the woods.

***CAUTION:  Read circulars & sales flyers carefully!***

Here’s why:

1-      Just because it’s in the flyer, doesn’t mean it’s on sale.  They just print what they want to advertise that week.  Some items will be at a great price & others will not.

2-      Get all the details.  If an item’s on sale & you want to search for coupons, make sure you know its exact size & all necessary details to avoid disappointment at the checkout.  (Now, that's a buzz kill.)

#2- Online

There are countless websites out there that track sales.  They are invaluable.  I will share my favorite ones with you, but I encourage you to surf around.  Find a handful that are your favorites & cross-reference them each week to make sure no good deal goes un-turned!

#3- Emails

Sign up to receive coupons & offers from different products & companies.  My BFF Ginger told me to create a new, free email account just for promotional sign-ups.  She was right!  These coupons are usually high-value, so it's worth being a bit "electronically promiscuous", but be prepared for these companies to send newlsetters & other stuff, too. 

Some companies send out exclusive coupons & CVS sends out vouchers for $4 off a $20 purchase.  (That $20 is before you use coupons, so it’s a lot of fun!)

That's it for Step #1 of our new shopping lifestyle.

I will be sure to post something very soon to help you keep track of all of those amazing prices you're about to find!

Yes, this is an odd mix of products. 

But if you stock up each week, you'll eventually have everything you need...and LOTS of it.

I'll show you how I do it with my handy, dandy spreadsheet!