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Grocery sales, coupons, have cycles

I don’t always clip coupons, but I’m a dedicated user of the Publix “buy one, get one free” promotions. Nothing annoys me more than stocking up on something only to see it go BOGO the next week.

Watching TLC’s “Extreme Couponing” makes me realize that there are times it pays to clip coupons. I would never buy 100 bottles of mustard of stock up 30 years’ worth of toilet paper, but I don’t mind amassing 10 boxes of granola bars.

When I started paying closer attention to BOGO sales and trying to match them with coupons, I realized that both come in cycles.

Certain items going on sale every three months and others every six months. Once I learned that, I started waiting to stock up.

I can almost always get a BOGO deal on cereal, tea bags, granola bars, salad dressing, snack crackers and frozen dinners. Other frequent sale items include canned tomatoes, name-brand toilet paper and paper towels, soda and ice cream. Meat also has predictable sales cycles.

Want to match your coupons with sale items? Hold on to your coupon supplements, because many items for which you’ll find coupons in Sunday’s paper will go on sale about a month later.

Really dedicated bargain hunters keep a price book to track how often their favorite items go on sale and at what price, so they know what bargains to wait for.

 

Teresa

About Teresa

Teresa Mears is a publisher, writer and editor who was raised to be frugal. She became a website entrepreneur after 30 years as an editor at newspapers ranging in size from the Portland (Tenn.) Leader to The Los Angeles Times and The Miami Herald, where she worked most recently. She moved to Florida in 1980 because it was the only place she could get a job during that recession and has lived in South Florida since 1985, in Miami, Hollywood, Tamarac, Wilton Manors and Fort Pierce. She is co-owner and CEO of the parent network, Living on the Cheap.

Living on the CheapMiami on the Cheap is a member of Living on the Cheap, a network of websites published by frugalistas, journalists and consumer advocates. Find practical advice on saving money on groceries, travel and shopping, plus tips from our experts on how to live the good life for less at Living on the Cheap.

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