Shopping Strategies: Plan Those Purchases!

Alrighty, my frugal friends. I have said it before…plan plan plan for maximum savings. A little legwork at home will pay off at the register.

Here are some planning tips:

• Get your Sunday coupons in a Saturday early edition newspaper.
• Group your errands together to save on gas. My bloggy friend Andrea does all her shopping on Mondays only, how clever!
• Pull the coupons you know you can use and tuck them in a small accordion file or envelope ahead of time.
• Use the Grocery Game list to keep you on track.
• Do plan to leave the kids at home, if possible.
• Bring the store’s weekly flier with you to reference if necessary.
• Check the fridge for immediate needs to add to your list (this will help you avoid an unplanned dash to the store for milk).
• Plan your menus based on what is on sale, and what you have stockpiled.
• For planning your deals at CVS or Walgreens, visit blogs that post future sales the week before.

There are so many fantastic blogs worth visiting for the weekly sales preview. I could easily spend hours perusing my favorites to find all the best deals. But I have realized that is not the most frugal use of my time.

I can always count on Andrea to faithfully post the upcoming CVS and Walgreens “snacks” on Thursdays. This helps me strategically acquire and save the coupons I plan to use.

If you have a planning tip to share, please do! Saving money is wonderful, but saving time while saving money is even better.