How I shop...

As I was writing the last post I realized that it might be confusing to some people. So I am going to list the stores that I have in my area and explain some things about them.

Grocery Stores

Vons: This is where I do the majority of my grocery shopping. Vons doubles coupons up to and including $1.

Ralphs: I used to do a lot of my shopping at Ralphs until they changed their coupon policy. I have not step foot in Ralphs since then. So if you ever see me posting about shopping at Ralphs, call me on it!!

Albertsons: I will occasionally shop at Albertsons. They don't double coupons and their prices are a little high considering that fact. Sometimes they have 8 hour sales with some great loss leaders though so I will pick those up. And occasionally they will have something that is free after coupons (a couple of weeks ago they had Band Aids for $1 and I had $1 coupons).

Stater Brothers: I rarely shop at Stater Brothers. I can't even remember the last time I stepped foot in that store. The selection is horrible and they have high prices.

Food 4 Less: Food 4 Less is owned by Kroger, who also owns Ralphs. I want to boycott them along with Ralphs but I do have some free coupons that are only good at Food 4 Less so I will probably break down and use them before they expire.

Costco: I'm sure you all know Coscto :)

Drug Stores:

CVS: CVS offers Extra Care Bucks (ECBs)on select items. These are basically an instant rebate. For example, toothpaste will be on sale for $2.99 and when you purchase it a coupon will print on the bottom of your receipt for $2.99 off of any future purchase. ECBs can be used the same as cash. Sometimes they are for the entire purchase price and sometimes they are a partial "rebate". If you have a coupon for the item also than that sometimes makes the item a "moneymaker" (ie you make a profit on the item).

Rite Aid: Rite Aid offers what they call Single Check Rebates (SCR). Every month they publish a rebate booklet. You purchase the items and enter your receipts online and they send you one big check!

Walgreens: Walgreens has a rebate program very similar to Rite Aid's. They also publish a rebate booklet every month. Again, you enter your receipts online and they send you one big check. Or you can elect to have your rebate put on a gift card and you will get an extra 10%!

Mass Merchandisers:

Target: I'm sure you are familiar with Target. What you may not know is that Target has their own coupons that you can print online. You can combine these coupons with manufacturers coupons for some great deals!

Walmart: Again, you are familiar with Walmart.

Kmart: I rarely shop at Kmart. But you never know...

Basically, when I shop, I look for the items that are going to be free or dirt cheap after coupons. You will notice that a lot of what I bought today at Vons was free. Today I actually spent a lot more than I normally do, believe it or not. I am starting a diet tomorrow and I've discovered that dieting is not cheap, LOL. I am also cooking dinner every night, which I admit, I don't normally do, so I had to get some staples that I didn't have in my stockpile. Top sirloin was on sale for the killer price of $1.99/lb so I stocked up. I got over $50 worth of steak for under $15!

So hopefully this will explain some things and will make my posts a little easier to understand.