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Home > Smart Spending > Archives > 2008 > December > 15 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USSuper(Market) Savings: On-line Options Abound
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Yippee! I broke a personal record in reduced grocery bills last week by amassing $58.12 worth of goods at my supermarket while paying $25.44. Clipped coupons, 2-for-1 deals and a $5 off card from the store collaborated to do the trick.
Then I discovered a web site that might help me rewrite the new record before the ink is dry.
Mygrocerydeals.com lists on-sale items at all stores — 12, in my case — registered with the service in your zip code. As I type this, my neighborhood Publix is pitching 158 price cuts.
You also can zero in on sales within certain categories, such as bottled water or candy, as well as select a specific item to see if any store in your zip code is offering it at a bargain.
The site, which supplies nutritional information on more than 100,000 products, also has online coupons, many of which differ from the ones I scissor out of the newspaper. Be forewarned: Some retailers, usually on the smaller side, decline to accept such coupons. Check first before wasting printer’s ink.
I tend to avoid web-based coupons, finding it more of a hassle to print them out than to clip them from my AJC. Agree? Or do you prefer the online option?
Because my shopping circuit consists of two supermarkets, I expect to be perusing sales at each and deciding how to divide my grocery needs between the two.
Check out the site and give me some feedback.
Here is a rival site to MyGroceryDeals.com. And another. How do they compare?
Do you tap into an additional site for coupons?
For us grocery shoppers determined to save, those three sites alone provide plenty of food for thought.
To find ways to help make you way through a bumpy economy check out Your Money.
Comments
By Can't Use Internet Coupons
December 15, 2008 8:38 AM | Link to this
I can’t find any grocery stores that will accept printed internet coupons! WalMart used to accept them, but they changed their policy.
It’s so frustrating to get awesome coupons in my email from various food brands, but not be able to use the coupons!!!!
By Zoe
December 15, 2008 8:54 AM | Link to this
The Publix stores I go to accept them, but nothing over $1.00. Also, if the store won’t accept them, I usually call company offering the coupon and they’ll send me a couple real coupons to replace the internet ones the store wouldn’t accept.
Also, a trick to internet coupons, use them at the self check outs. Since you’re the one scanning them and putting them in the little slot, there isn’t anyone there to tell you they aren’t accepted. I figure as long as they scan, they are good coupons. That means you can’t save ink printing them out on draft, you’ll have to make sure the barcodes are legible.
By Clyde
December 15, 2008 9:04 AM | Link to this
I only use coupons when they save me money on items I usually buy.I found years ago that clippng coupons for the sake of just saving money meant that items I didn’t normally use kept piling up,unused.I am not usually brand specific when I shop so I have a lot of leeway.I have never used online coupons.
Yesterday I bought a day old pastry for half price while I was out shopping,but since I rarely buy any pastry,I can hardly put this item in the credit side as money saved.I believe this item should properly be placed on the debit side,under the heading of impulse purchases.See how easy it is to think you’ve saved money when you’ve actually splurged?
By Stacey
December 15, 2008 9:37 AM | Link to this
I have also found that the stores where I shop refuse to take internet coupons. With Wal-Mart and Kroger it usually depended on the cashier. Teenage boys would take anything that scanned but middle-aged/older women refused to take any internet coupons and would stand there and read each line of the ones clipped from the newspaper before rummaging through each bag to be sure that bought the size and/or quantity specified on the coupons. :-(
By Kaye
December 15, 2008 9:57 AM | Link to this
Kroger won’t let you scan coupons at the self check out. You have to take them to the cashier. It’s too bad that someone had to create fake coupons (which is why a lot of retailers have banned them). I found it easier to collect coupons, since you can organize by cateogory. Now it’s an after thought to clip coupons.
By M
December 15, 2008 10:07 AM | Link to this
I use printed Internet coupons all the time and have only run into a problem once in the Atlanta area - I use them at Kroger, Publix, CVS… And I much prefer the couponmom website to any alternatives - it’s free, she’s local, and she lists which items would be great to donate to charity (something’s free-after-coupon this week and you don’t need it? if it’s nonperishable, it’s worth getting to donate - that sort of thing!). I’ve kept track of my savings and they are, in fact, true savings on good, quality food, thanks to couponmom and various savings message boards!
By Wifey
December 15, 2008 10:10 AM | Link to this
I use a lot of internet coupons without any trouble…including at Kroger, Wal-Mart and Publix. Also try www.eversave.com for more online coupons. Just a few weeks ago, I used both clipped and printed coupons, mixed with store sales and saved over $104.00 (spent just under $80) and we’ll eat off of those finds for 3 weeks!
Way to shop!
By Di
December 15, 2008 10:13 AM | Link to this
I also recommend checking the deals on couponmom.com before heading to the store. And I like her idea of just saving the coupon flyers from the paper & only clipping them when you need them. Before, I’d end up with a huge envelope of coupons, half of which I never used & would expire. This way, I only clip what I’m going to use that day. Also, some stores let you go to their site & select only coupons which will automatically deduct when you check out. It’s associated to your store saver number (whatever you call it - like the Kroger card).
By Christine
December 15, 2008 11:17 AM | Link to this
Couponmom.com is the best and free. It lists many more Kroger brand names on sale than the other sites, and it lists more Kroger sales than even Kroger has the money to advertise about. It allows you to sort products alphabetically by clicking the arrows at the category name at the time. This allows you to zero in on the Kroger deals, for example, or your favorite brand name products. It also allows you to sort by greatest percentage deal.
By Christine
December 15, 2008 11:19 AM | Link to this
Since I’ve been using couponmom.com I’ve saved $1,300 of my grocery bill in one year ($25 per week).
By Brett
December 15, 2008 9:49 PM | Link to this
I dunno… coupons are good, of course, but I’m with Mr. Cheapskatin’ when it comes to using www.mygrocerydeals.com for the best way to sync your regular list with the flyer deals. The flyer deals are as local and timely - every week - as you can get and www.mygrocerydeals.com has them all: 25,000 stores from coast to coast. They say they posted 144,600 deals in November. Are there that many useful coupon deals floating around at any one time? Maybe, but www.mygrocerydeals.com has absolutely all of the coupons as well anyways. (All the coupon sites get them from the same suppliers, I think.)