The Web is a treasure-trove of information for bringing down the skyrocketing cost of groceries -- even if you can't bring yourself to spend time clipping coupons
You've read about the coupon queens: avid couponers who feed a family of teenage boys on something like $10 a week.
These folks are truly the black belts of couponing. They scrutinize the Sunday newspaper circulars and zip from store to store to leap on the best deals -- which they can identify because they maintain detailed "price books" tracking the historical sale prices of hundreds of items.
Their dedication clearly pays off. But what if you don't have hours to spend following their example?
Fortunately, the Web provides plenty of easy shortcuts to substantially cut your food bill. I rounded up some of the best ideas and tools from Web sites, bloggers and posters on the Your Money message board. Such as:
Stalk the sales . . . from your couch
You can always check the grocery store ads you can find in your local paper, typically on Wednesday or Sunday, or both. The best deals are usually -- although not always -- featured on the front page of the circular. Plan your weekly meals around those, and stock up on nonperishables and stuff for your freezer.
Or use the Penny Pincher Gazette to get an overview of all the advertised sales, as Your Money message board poster "gardeninggrandma" does.
"I can input my zipcode and it will bring up the sale flyers for the stores in my area," she wrote. "That tells me whether it's worth driving an extra 5 miles to the Albertsons."
The Penny Pincher Gazette organizes the sales by category: baby products, beer and wine, produce and so on. This makes it easy to see when a rival store offers a better deal.
But the site's most helpful feature is a rating system that allows users to point out the best deals. If a sale price rates just one or two stars, for example, the so-called sale might not be much of a discount. But if it rates five stars, it's time to run out and stock up.
This feature does for us grocery amateurs what price books do for the coupon pros by letting us know when a sale is really a sale.
Use the coupon sites, even if you don't coupon
The Web site The Coupon Mom, for example, tracks advertised and unadvertised sales at grocery stores, noting when there's a coupon that can help you get an even better deal.
You don't even have to clip in advance. If you get a Sunday paper, you can put aside the national ad circulars from Procter & Gamble, SmartSource and RedPlum, writing the date they came out on the front. The Coupon Mom will direct you to the relevant week's circular.
Of course, if you don't want to mess with coupons at all, you don't have to. You'll still be able to see when the stuff you buy regularly goes on sale, although distinguishing between so-so sales and great ones is a little tricky.
The Coupon Mom notes how big a discount you're getting (with a coupon, if one's available), but that doesn't necessarily tell you if that's a good deal or not. For example: Some products, such as soda, are regularly discounted 50% off or more, so a half-off sale might not be reason to stock up.
If you need a little more guidance, there are forum sites where users track the sales at their local stores and flag each other when deals pop up. Poster "montemonster" likes Hot Coupon World.
"You can go to the forum for your favorite store," montemonster wrote. "Read the posts on the great deals that others have found and repeat what they do."
The forum sites depend on volunteer participation, which can be uneven. One region's stores might have plenty of deal watchers ready to point out the great savings, while another's may have only occasional postings or none at all.
Buy a little help
If you want more help separating the good deals from the great ones, check out The Grocery Game. Unlike the other sites mentioned, this one charges a subscription fee. You get a four-week introductory trial period for free, and thereafter the cost depends on how many grocery stores you want to track. Tracking one store for eight weeks costs $10; two stores, $15; three stores, $20, etc.
The site logs historical prices on hundreds of items so it can distinguish minor sales from major ones. It color-codes the deals so you can see at a glance where the biggest bargains lie. And, like The Coupon Mom, it lets you know when a coupon from the Sunday circulars is available to reduce the price further. (The site likens coupons to the cards you're dealt in a card game; it aims to show you when to "play" your coupons for maximum gain.)
Is it worth it? Some hard-core couponers scoff, refusing to pay for what they can do for themselves with a price book or time spent on coupon forums. Those of us with fewer hours to invest, though, may find it worthwhile. I saved $9 buying five items in my first shopping trip using The Grocery Game. Your mileage may vary.
Try a simple coupon strategy
If checking in at Web sites is still too much work, you can try the strategy Trent Hamm at The Simple Dollar learned from a friend who worked for a grocery chain: Use coupons, but wait a month.
"(H)e said to take the coupon section out of the Sunday paper and put it aside for four weeks -- don't even bother to look at it. Four weeks later, open it up and clip everything that's even remotely of interest, whether you'd buy it normally or not.
"At that point, take the wad of coupons to the store and just look at the shelves. Magically, most of those coupons you have will sync up very well with stuff that's already on sale on the shelves. When you combine the sale price and the coupon, you'll usually be able to get items for next to nothing."
Hamm tried it and discovered that about 40% of the coupons he clipped synced up with a sale.
Why does this work? Because coupons are usually the first wave in a manufacturer's promotion of a product. Four to six weeks later, many try to extend the promotion by discounting the grocery store price.
Also, try these five tips from the old school:
- Plan your meals. You don't have to have an elaborate two-month schedule for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Even planning a few days in advance will help you save money and ensure you don't have to rush to the store at the last minute -- or give up and order in.
- Shop with a list and a calculator. You may get a better deal on a store brand than on a heavily-advertised one, even if the latter has a coupon. Or you may discover it's cheaper to buy a smaller package than a larger one. You've got to do the math. (The Get Rich Slowly blog has a good tutorial in unit pricing if you need help.)
- Get organized. The Simple Dollar's Hamm has also blogged about his coupon organizer, which is simply an inexpensive photo album with clear pockets. Each coupon goes in its own pocket and is organized by expiration date. If you want to get more elaborate, you can try The Couponizer or Mrs. A's Grocery Coupon Organizer to keep track of your money savers.
- Cut the crap. Drink water or tea instead of soda, fresh-popped popcorn instead of chips and food made from scratch instead of heavily processed, prepackaged convenience foods. Smart Spending blogger and MSN Money columnist Donna Freedman makes a 2-cent glass of iced tea sound like fine wine; you can read more of her tips here.
- Don't waste. The next time you scrape uneaten food into the disposal or toss rotten groceries into the garbage can, think about the wasted money (and resources) that represents. Regularly patrol your fridge and pantry so you can use food before it expires, and serve smaller portions.
