I get this email newsletter from Hot Coupon World every Tuesday. Some weeks the deals seem ho-hum. But this week is different. There is a ton of great information, so I wanted to share the highlights of my email with you. (I highly recommend signing up for this newsletter, if you haven’t already.)

Lots of Mother’s Day-related pricing this week out in stores to watch for.

Brands to watch this week:

Jimmy Dean - If the kids or hubby are making you breakfast in bed on Sunday, you might see this in your shopping cart.  Watch for sale prices (there was a coupon this past week in an insert) and combo deals like “Buy X product, get eggs and juice” type offers.

Kraft - Big Kraft sale coming across the brand,  so it will be salad dressings, mac/cheese, Capri suns, etc.

BBQ sauces and condiments - all brands - With Memorial Day around the corner, you’re going to start seeing BBQ/picnic foods coming on sale.  But for whatever reason, condiment sales seem to kick off the season first, usually starting right about now.

New Brand Alert - Huggies Pure and Natural Diapers - $3.00 printable off any one - LINK

Seasonal Allergy Meds - this should be getting into the competitive stage of spring marketing this month - Claritin has a $4.00 printable - LINK -  and we’ll also be seeing more insert coupons this month for assorted brands.

Falling prices this week:

Ok, whoever decided asparagus is symbolic of love was a really good marketer because the idea stuck.  You’ll see asparagus on sale this week for mother’s day - as low as $1.49 per pound.

Keeping with the Mother’s Day food theme, you’ll also see choice cut beef (think t-bones and ribeyes), lobster tails, king crab legs, halibut steaks, and salmon on sale.  A good price on the choice cut beef right now is going to be anything less than  $4.99 per pound. The seafood is going to be a special buy for most stores, particularly the lobster tails, so if you like them, this would be a good time to pick up a few spares for the freezer to pull out later this summer.
You’ll also find strawberries and whipped cream should be on sale as well.

Printables are going to be HOT this month.

If you didn’t already print out all those awesome Kelloggs coupons, they’re just tip of the printable coupon iceberg this month.  I have it on really good authority that the coupons are going to be rapidly changing all month and we’re going to work to keep you posted because they’ll be fast, furious, and high-dollar off values!!

HCW Printables - LINK
HCW Smart Source Printables - LINK
HCW Red Plum Printables  - LINK

There’s already new ones in all three of those even from last week, and Heidi’s doing a great job keeping them updated in the Coupon Database - just search by printables to get the full list - there are currently over 3000 links in there!

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Hot Deals and Great Money Making Opportunities

HOT - $25 Restaurant.com gift cert for $4 plus a free $15 FTD Reward Certificate -  Use code GIFT  - LINK TO OFFER

Boca Java coffee - 4 bags at the intro rate of $4.95 plus free shipping - LINK TO OFFER

Nielsen Net Ratings (survey site) is open again - get prizes to do surveys - LINK TO OFFER

Don’t have an account to Bidz.com?  Get one now for free. Bidz is a dedicated online auction site for jewelry - they have great prices and you can save a chunk of change - LINK TO OFFER

My friend Kristin recently passed on this pandemic planning checklist about how to plan for and get through an influenza pandemic, such as the one we’re experiencing now with the swine flu. Although several cases have shown up in Wisconsin, I’m not all that worried about contracting this flu. As my friend Nikki said, we’ve lived through the regular flu, bird flu and SARS, so the swine flu doesn’t seem like anything unusual to worry about.

That doesn’t mean I’m taking this lightly. I’m being extra-vigilant about handwashing with the kids and myself, and I’m watching my family for any signs of flu. We’ve had a bad run of illness this winter, and I’m not keen on repeating the last few months of that drudgery.

Loving my stockpile

The government’s planning checklist is interesting to me because it closely reflects the items I already have in my stockpile. However, if I had seen that list a  year ago, I would have needed to run out and purchase many of the items on the list. I’m sure many people are doing that right now — and paying top dollar for that panic-induced grocery run. Even though I truly believe I won’t need to live off the food in my basement and deep freezer, I feel so much more comfortable knowing it’s there, just in case the worst happens.

(On a side note, I read The Road by Cormac McCarthy recently. That alone made me want to stockpile fresh water, soap, firewood and food, then barricade the doors with my doubel-barreled shotgun while herding my family into the basement. This pandemic almost makes that look like a logical next step.)

The government’s checklist includes:

• Ready-to-eat canned meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, beans, and soups — I have dozens of cans of tomato/chicken noodle/minestrone/cream soups, chunk tuna, corn/tomatoes/artichoke hearts/peas, and kidney/black/pinto/white beans. The beans alone could keep us alive for quite a while, and I’m pretty sure my kids and husband would be happy about that.
  
• Protein or fruit bars – I have six boxes of different granola bars, and I’m stocking up on more next week.
  
• Dry cereal or granola — Do you think 17 boxes of cereal is enough? I dunno.
  
• Peanut butter or nuts – I have several cans and bags of almonds, cashews, pecans and walnuts. Plus one jar of peanut butter. More PB is on the list for next week.
  
• Dried fruit – My stockpile includes two bags of craisins, one can of organic raisins, a carton of figs, and two canisters of prunes. (I guess it’s a good thing the government also recommends stocking up on anti-diarrheal medication and toilet paper, huh?)
  
• Crackers — Two boxes of crackers, two bags of pretzels, one bag of tortilla chips…and more on the way next week.
  
• Canned juices – I have about 30 cans of frozen concentrate, as well as several jugs of fruit and vegetable juices.
  
• Bottled water – I still have some from a party we had in September.
  
• Canned or jarred baby food and formula – We don’t need this stuff anymore. Hurray!
  
• Pet food – Just bought a 30-pound bag not too long ago.
  
• Other non-perishable items – Plenty!
• Medications and household basics, like soap, garbage bags and flashlight/batteries – My forays into Walgreens have nicely prepared us in this department. I was getting a little embarassed by the amount of toothpaste and kids cold/pain medicine we had piling up in the closet, but now I feel strangely justified.

Like I said, this flu isn’t throwing me into a panic. I don’t intend to lock the doors and live off the food in my basement — and I don’t even own a shotgun! But it’s nice to know that my frugal shopping has an unintended consequence: Peace of mind, just in case.

I’m trying to stalk deals at other stores these days. I realize that other people shop at places other than Pick ‘n Save and Kmart, so I’m attempting to branch out.

With that in mind, I noticed this one-day meat sale at Sentry. It runs tomorrow only, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Clean out your freezer and stock up — those beef tenderloins sound like a good deal for the grill!

At $1.68, the bacon is also a great price (it’s usually about $2-$3/package). My friend Becky heard a great tip recently about grilling bacon so the whole house doesn’t smell like bacon grease. Now that the weather is warming up, I think it’s worth a try. The Klement’s brats are a fantastic deal — especially if you use the coupons floating around from the Sunday paper.

There are other deals at Sentry this week (sugar, pasta mangoes and mac and cheese come to mind) that are interesting. I might have to stop in to check it out.

My problem is that I don’t know stores like Sentry or Piggly Wiggly as well as PNS, so it’s hard for me to gauge whether or not the sales are true deals. If you know these stores well, let me know if you find a good sale. Your expertise will help me provide the best information on this blog. Thanks!

The very best place to save money isn’t at the grocery store. It’s at the Brownberry outlets in Oconomowoc and Brookfield. If you haven’t discovered these hidden gems, you need to stop buying bread at the grocery store and hit an outlet today. Two weeks ago I got high-quality bread for 54 cents a loaf! That’s incredible.

I shop at the Oconomowoc outlet about once every three months. I buy two dozen or so loaves of whole-grain, high-fructose corn syrup-free loaves. I also buy a few Boboli pizza crusts, Thomas english muffins and bagels, and Entenmann’s treats. Our outlet also carries soup mixes, Snyder pretzels, spices and other snacks, but I rarely buy those because they tend to be priced at full retail value.

Outlet bread prices are half of retail prices (which run $3-$4 per loaf). That’s already a great discount. But I always buy the “green line” loaves, which are just $1.09 per loaf.

Plus, you can find coupons in the local paper and at the store itself. At my last visit, I bought a stack of photocopied outlet coupons for just $4. It was worth every penny! This packet features four coupons for each two-month period throughout the year. Each set includes two 50% off coupons, one 12 for $12, and one 15 for $15. You can use these coupons on almost everything in the store, including my favorite green-line items, except red line items.

I used the 50% off coupon at my last trip and saved nearly $11 — bringing the final cost of the bread to 54 cents a loaf. That’s much cheaper than many store-brand white breads that have no nutritional value whatsoever. In fact, that price rivals what I spend making my own bread — without the effort.

The loaves freeze well (my basement freezer is full of them for now) and we love the bread. To me, it’s the best deal around.

This shopping trip was really unexciting. There weren’t any fantastic deals, so I am not jazzed about my total savings. I also splurged on several impulse buys, since I knew my total bill would be lower than normal.

My friend Becka also joined me tonight to see how I work the store. That means I broke two of my cardinal rules: shop alone and don’t deviate from the list. [Insert image of me hanging my head in shame.] But moving on…

Tonight my total bill was $74.47. Before my Pick ‘n Save card or coupons, my bill would have been $99.12. With discounts, coupons and bag refunds, I saved $24.65.

Eh. Not very exciting.

The best and the worst

My best deal this week were the Scotties tissues. I spent $3 on five boxes of tissues, which normally would have cost $8.75. That’s a 66% savings.

My “worst” deal is a toss-up between two gallons of Organic Valley milk (a better deal than the Stonyfield Farms I had originally planned to buy) that I bought for $13.38 and the Wagners pure maple syrup that I impulsively bought for $6.29.

These items are far more expensive than anything else on my bill. But they are important to me (I refuse to feed my family regular syrup and we try to eat as much organic as possible), so it’s worth the extra cost in my book. If I couldn’t fit these items in my budget, I wouldn’t buy them. But I’ve made room for them, so I’m comfortable spending the extra money on high-quality items.

I know Becka was disappointed that she didn’t save more (she did about as well as I did), but it’s important to remember that these savings add up little by little. Every time you shop, you’ll learn something new that will save you even more money next time.

I was so proud when Becka suggested getting a rain check for the whole chickens that were out of stock! A few weeks ago, she wouldn’t have known to ask for one and would have paid too much for a chicken. Now she knows better, and that knowledge will help her save even more in the long run.

So, how did you do this week? Did anyone out there beat me? I’m sure there is, so ‘fess up! How much did you save?

Today is the last day to get my act together before the big shopping day. There’s usually not a lot to do. I’ve already made my list, found my coupons, and coordinated as many sale items with those coupons as possible.

Tuesday night, I finalize a few things:

1. I print out my shopping list from Pick ‘n Save and stick it in my coupon organizer with the coupons I plan to use.
   
2. I make sure all of this week’s coupons and list are in the front slot of my coupon organizer.
3. I check what I’ve spent so far this month on groceries.
4. I add up what I think I’ll spend this week and compare the total to our monthly grocery budget.
5. If I have time, I search for extra coupons for items on my list. This morning I found some Stonyfield Farm coupons that will come in handy for extra savings on my milk.

Over the last eight months, I’ve learned a few things that keep shopping simple and smooth. Here is my best advice for enjoying your coupon-fueled trip:

• Don’t shop with your kids — or anyone else for that matter. You need to be focused, not refereeing mid-aisle bickering or socializing.
• Shop at night, preferably on Wednesdays, which is double coupon day at Pick ‘n Save. The evenings are always quiet and there are never crowds.
• Bring your reusable bags. Pick ‘n Save gives you a 5 cent refund for every Pick ‘n Save bag you use — but not bags from other stores. Note that this is a new policy. I still use other bags even though I don’t get a refund.
• Each time you choose an item from the shelf, pull out the corresponding coupon. This will save you time at the checkout, when the impatient bachelor behind you is tapping his toe as you dig through your bag for a lost coupon.
• Make sure the cashier scans the best FIVE coupons first. Pick ‘n Save allows you to double up to five coupons, up to $1 apiece, with a separate $25 purchase. Many cashiers don’t know that only five coupons can be doubled (and some don’t know that coupons over $1 aren’t doubled), and they will scan coupons willy nilly, which can cost you money.
• If a sale item is out of stock, get a rain check at the customer service counter. This coupon-like slip of paper allows you to purchase the sale item within the next two weeks at this week’s sale price. As you shop, keep track of what is out of stock and note the brand/manufacturer, price and size so you can expedite this process.
• Stick to your list. Deviate only when there’s a fantastic unadvertised sale on something you will use. This is why it’s important to bring all of your coupons with you — you never want to miss out on a good deal if there’s a secret special.
• Keep an eye out for tearpads, blinkies and wine tags. These in-store coupons, rebates and mailers help you save even more.
• Practice restraint. Please don’t clear out of the shelves (unless it’s the last few items) or gobble up all the in-store coupons. Just because we’re saving money doesn’t mean have to lose our manners.
• Review prices as you check out and look at your receipt before you leave. Make sure prices are accurate and you got all the savings you’re entitled to.
• Brag. Let someone (your husband, your mom, your best friend) know how much you saved. I even keep my receipts so I can keep track of prices and savings. It’s good incentive to keep it up!

Next up: The main event — Shopping!

Yesterday I discussed how to find, organize and coordinate coupons with your grocery list. Today I’ll share what I’m planning to buy this Wednesday (the only day I grocery shop because it’s double coupon day at Pick ‘n Save).

After looking through my coupons and what’s on sale this week, I further revised my list:

• Stonyfield Farm organic milk (I’m going to scour the Web for a coupon!)
• Half and half
• Butter
• McCormick chili powder ($1 coupon)
• Thai Kitchen coconut milk (50 cent coupon)
• Trop50 juice ($1 coupon)
• Ortega taco shells (75 cent coupon)
• Roundy’s organic cereal
• Roundy’s bagels
• Northland dark juice ($1 coupon)
• Del Monte tomatoes (40 cent coupon)
• Emerald almonds
• Roundy’s pretzels
• Purex (35 cent coupon)
• Scotties facial tissue ($1 coupon)
• Turkey tenderloins
• Whole chicken
• Jennie-O ground turkey
• Bananas
• Bell peppers
• Apples

The italicized items are things that I might not buy, but I want to look at anyway. I will check prices during my shopping trip, see if there’s a “secret sale” on any of these items, and decide in the store whether or not to buy them.

The bolded items are on sale this week. As you can see, I try to pair up coupons with as many sale items as I can. Not everything matches up perfectly, but I’m OK with that. My mantra is: The perfect is the enemy of the good.

Sales cycles and panic mode

Sales cycles can run from every other week to once every 12 weeks. Knowing this allows me to avoid shopping in panic mode.

I’ve heard lots of people say they don’t like tracking sales and using coupons because they spend more time and money chasing deals than just buying what they like. I think chasing deals just to pinch pennies is a ridiculous waste of time. Being informed, shopping smart, and knowing where to draw my “frugal line in the sand” is, however, profoundly valuable.

That’s the beauty of understanding how sales and coupons work: You’re able to buy good food with confidence, knowing you’re getting a good price on items you will use – instead of panicking and buying odd things just because they’re cheap.

Next up: Planning the shopping trip, with key tips and tricks to make it go as smoothly as possible.

It’s Friday night, the kids are asleep and Chandler just got home from Chicago. You know what that means, right? Time to check the stockpile!

Surveying the pile

I just spent half an hour in my pantry and in the basement, perusing my ever-growing array of non-perishable food. This helps me cross off two important things from my list:

1. Replenish my pantry with food from the basement stockpile. I rotate food so the items I use most often are within arms’ reach instead of downstairs in our cold, dark basement. This includes items such as canned tomatoes, cereal, canned beans, granola bars, etc.

2. Add to the grocery list. My rummaging around also tells me what I’m running low on, what I have enough of, and what I need to replenish this week or next.

Adding to the list

This second item is the important one for today. After I see what’s in my stockpile, I cross-reference that list with what’s on sale for the next week so I can shop accordingly.

Pretzels and kleenex are on sale this week, and my stash is running a little low, so I might pick up some of that next Wednesday. Everything else looks pretty well stocked.

There are some good deals this week (Purex comes to mind), but I might skip it. I have several (like, six) bottles downstairs. I don’t think we’ll run out anytime soon and that stuff goes on sale pretty regularly.

The dreaded no-sale zone

As much as I hate to buy things that aren’t on sale or don’t have a coupon, there are times that I need to buy something at full price. It really bugs me, but it does occasionally happen. Today it looks like I might need coconut milk, since I used two of my three cans in last night’s chicken curry.

Yet, I’m probably not going to buy any coconut milk this week. I’ll put it on my long-term shopping list and wait ’til I see a sale or find a coupon — or, better yet, both.

But this also tells me that it’s time to hit the Asian market on 35th and National in Milwaukee sometime soon. They often have the best prices on coconut milk and other Asian staples.

Even though it’s a long drive for us, our girls love going there to check out the bizarre foods, like frozen eels and piranha-type fish. We also buy our jasmine rice in 25-pound bags, and we stock up on any other Asian goodies we can’t get anywhere else, like fried garlic, fish sauce and these great little rice roll-up thingies that I fell in love with in Thailand.

Revise the list

Now that I know what I have and what I need, I can revise my grocery list that I made yesterday. With these changes, it’s a little shorter:

• Yoplait yogurt
• Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers
• Roundy’s organic cereal
• Kashi TLC crackers
• Roundy’s bagels
• Northland juice blends
• Emerald almonds
• Roundy’s pretzels
• Scottie’s facial tissue
• Turkey tenderloins
• Roundy’s whole fresh chicken
• Jennie-O ground turkey
• Beneful dog food
• Bell peppers
• Braeburn apples
• Bananas
• Organic milk
• Half and half
• Butter

There are still a few things that I’m thinking about — I put those in italics. I’m waiting to see what kinds of coupons I can find for these items. If I get good ones, they’ll stay on the list. If not, they’ll go.

Next up: Coupon day! It’s almost as good as Christmas morning.

I shop at Pick ‘n Save in Oconomowoc, just off Highway 16. I don’t grocery shop anywhere else. It’s close, it has good deals (yay for double coupon Wednesdays!), and I know the store. I’ve spent the last eight months or so learning how to shop the deals there, so I know what’s a good price and what’s not.

I’ve tried to chase good prices around town at Piggly Wiggly and Sentry, but it’s just not worth it to me. Saving a buck or two by going to a new store is not time well spent for me. I like to save money, but I don’t want to go crazy doing it — and running around town like that drives me crazy.

Pick ‘n Save sales run Thursday to Wednesday. This means that sales start on Thursday and end on Wednesday. The printed sale fliers usually come in the mail on Wednesday, and the online version is ready on Thursday. I am subscribed for weekly special emails, which sends me an email when the online weekly ad is available. I love that!

Today’s to-do list

Today is Thursday, so I’ve already checked out the online flier to see what’s on sale for this coming week. I have to admit that this week isn’t all that great for me. I don’t see anything that really trips my trigger, so it will be a small trip.

It’s important to remember that the online weekly ad is not comprehensive — it doesn’t include many personal care and home items that are on sale. The printed flier includes these items, but there are always good deals in the store that aren’t advertised anywhere. That’s why it’s so important to take all your coupons with you, so you can take advantage of unadvertised sales with whatever coupons you have.

This week, my list includes:

• Yoplait yogurt
• Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers
• Roundy’s organic cereal
• Kashi TLC crackers
• Roundy’s bagels
• Northland juice blends
• Del Monte tomatoes
• Emerald almonds
• Purex
• Borax
• Roundy’s pretzels
• Scottie’s facial tissue
• Turkey tenderloins
• Roundy’s whole fresh chicken
• Hormel pork tenderloin
• Jennie-O ground turkey
• Beneful dog food
• Bell peppers
• Braeburn apples
• Bananas
• Organic milk
• Half and half
• Butter

Everything but the last four items is directly from the weekly ad. I almost always buy these last four items, whether they’re on sale or not. But everything else is on my list solely because it’s on sale and I know I’ll use it at some point. I stockpile items when they’re on sale and store them in my basement. That way, I never have to buy something at full price, and I always have something good for dinner.

(I’ll post more about stockpiling later, since it’s a key element of my shopping routine — and it also explains why my grocery bills are higher than what you might expect. About half of the food I buy is what we use on a weekly basis. The other half goes into my well-organized stockpile.)

This list is bound to change over the last week, but it is my starting point. It helps me comb through my pantry/stockpile to see if we really need what’s on sale this week. I know that many items on this list are already in my stockpile, so there’s a good chance I’ll remove many of them before I shop next Wednesday night.

Next up: Add (or subtract) items as the week progresses. This includes assessing my stockpile, looking through my pantry, and taking stock of what we’ll eat in the upcoming week.

I spend a lot of time thinking about, buying, preparing and cleaning up after meals. We rarely eat out, which leaves a lot of food to prepare at home for the five of us. But I don’t mind the work I put into meals. I love to eat. I love to cook. I love to talk about food and drinks. It’s almost like a hobby.

That’s why grocery shopping is my favorite thing to do. I would rather spend an hour in the produce section than a mall. Feeling the heft of a glossy ruby red pepper, eying up briny jars of olives, imagining the creamy smell of a chunk of Havarti cheese…it all thrills me. Grocery shopping is a sensual experience for me, one inspires gourmet meals and fantastic dinner parties, if only in my head.

The method

Despite the emotional experience of buying and eating food, my planning is all business. I have a specific routine that helps me prepare my list and then execute my plan.

Starting today, I’ll spend the next week outlining each step of my plan. For now, here’s an overview of my process:

1. Access the Pick ‘n Save flier online

2. Build my grocery list from the weekly specials in the ad

3. Add any items to the list that might not be on sale but I need anyway

4. Find, cut and organize coupons for the items on my list

5. Shop!

I can spend up to 10 hours a week on this process. I know that sounds like a lot of time (and maybe more than you want to spend), but when it’s broken down each day, it isn’t much. And it pays off! I love to see the savings add up.

Stay tuned for more posts about the specifics of each step.