POTC Spotlight: Grocery Savings
Just about mid-August, wow the summer is flying fast! There are still plenty of events and things to do before we hit Labor Day, which naturally means that you’ll have to go to Aroundthesunblog for all your weekend goodies! Among those that we would recommend include the last few days for the free Washington Park Summer Festival concerts, Multnomah Days at Multnomah Village, SE Portland Sunday Parkways event and the Hawthorne Street Fair.
Willamette Week’s new Cheap Skate deals include Dave’s Killer Bread at Winco, a free chicken barbecue and neighborhood get together, a “Chi-town Throw Down” party and more.
POTC Spotlight: Grocery Savings
We all have our strategies for saving money at the grocery store, such as:
- never shopping when hungry!
- making a list and sticking to it
- knowing our prices and stocking up when the staples go on sale
- buying fresh items when in season.
Of course, one of the key methods for saving money is in using coupons and combining them with the weekly deals found at our local stores. Not too long ago, I purchased a Vitamin Water from Target for just $.05 (on sale for $1, I had a $1 off coupon and just had to pay for the deposit). Sunday morning I’ll be the first one through the Oregonian, clipping coupons and then scanning the sales inserts for Rite Aid, Fred Meyer, Target and Walgreens among others. Come Tuesday, I’ll be doing the same with the Food Day section and checking the advertisement inserts for Safeway, Albertsons, QFC, Thriftway and Haggen. Whew, that’s a lot of work!
Fortunately, there are two local web sites that track these sales and specials. Then they go one step further: they actually go out and put their money where their mouth is and post their spending amounts.
The first of these is Save With Louise. Louise loves to save money and she is very good at it, saving an average of 50%-75% off her family’s monthly grocery bill and having a mention in the Oregonian’s Food Day. Her web site has how-to’s on finding coupons, using coupons and deciphering coupon terminology. Our favorite section is “This Week’s Deals,” which takes you to her blog. Louise will list some of the best weekly grocery deals available and then publishes what she buys and the exact amount she paid.
Over at Frugal Living Northwest, you’ll find weekly deal posts, freebie offers, information on using coupons, and occasional giveaways. Frugal Living NW is brought to you by two moms, so naturally the inclination is on sales items for raising a family (diapers, household items, etc.), but they also publicize shopping deals and store coupons, general groceries and more, so do take a weekly look! And if you really want to become an expert on using coupons, then why not attend one of their ‘Couponing 101′ classes? The fee is $20, and the next one offered is tonight, August 13th at 6:30pm in the Happy Valley/Clackamas area; if you are not able to make this one, then be sure to check their web site for the next class.
Thanks for reading and please return on Monday for our cheap-o picks of the week! Happy saving!
