Frugal Living Tip #22 - Discovering the Deals

Discovering The Deals

So, you may have bought a few Sunday papers by now and glanced at the weekly ads, but you haven't figured out how to get the big savings. Here is the good news - there are lots of people who already do that and you can find the information on-line for free!

There are lots of free resources to find sales. It really just involves you performing a Google search. If you find a site that you like, bookmark it or become a "follower" or "subscriber". Some words that I would suggest for your search are "coupon", "match-up", "sale", the name of the specific store you are planning to shop at, and the time frame of the store's ad. Most ads either run Sunday-Saturday or Wednesday-Tuesday.

I have a few blogs that I like to check out. When I was still shopping at Martin's I would look at For The Mommas, she is in Pennsylvania so she shops at Martin's sister store, Giant. Another great site that you can check out is Money Saving Mom - she has a section that she gets contributors from all over the country to submit their local store deals. Tiffany is a blogger in Richmond who posts match-ups for Martin's and Kroger at Young and Frugal in Virginia!. If you just want a heads up on the best grocery deals in Richmond check out the weekly post that Alison, of Richmond Bargains, post every Wednesday to RVA deals on the RVA news site.

There is also the option of joining (for free) couponing sites such as Hot Coupon World, We Use Coupons, or A Full Cup. They have forums that are broken down by store and people will discuss deals that they found, help you figure out a game plan, and post previews of the weekly store ads.

The great thing about any of these resources is they tell you what is on sale and what coupons to use in order to get the best price. When I first started couponing more seriously a few years ago I appreciated learning from the forums and bloggers what was a good price on an item and the sales cycles.

There is a little bit of lingo that you may want to learn so you can understand what they are talking about. I am leaving you with this link to a page from Hot Coupon World - Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Coupon Terms.

Do you have a favorite blog or deal site that you like to check out? Please feel free to share a link!

 

I'm back for 2013

I took a bit of a hiatus the last few months.  It has been a time of refocusing for our family.  We have had several changes.  

The biggest change has probably been that after being actively involved with several different areas in our church we felt God telling us it was time for us to step away.   We listened, although questioning, and have found new friends for all of us and a new body of believers that we enjoy getting to know better and worshipping with on Sunday mornings and during the week.

We have been able to continue to build relationships with other families in our neighborhood.  We have had several get-togethers with other families of preschoolers. On Halloween we set up a Halloween Hangout for all of our neighbors in our driveway.  We had a wheel for the kids to spin for prizes, along with hot dogs, chips, and lots of sweets.  

I have also changed where I am grocery shopping.  I was becoming more and more frustrated when I shopped at MARTIN'S and was going to start shopping at Kroger when a new independent grocery store opened near us - Libbie Market at Ridgefield.  It is owned by former Ukrop's employees and a majority of the staff are former Ukrop's employees.  The prices are also fairly reasonable.

So, I have decided to revive my blog for 2013 with a different concept.  I am going to have a post everyday (or at least try to).  I hope to have a daily post about a frugal living tip.  It may be how to save money, ways to make do with what you have, or new ways to get discounts.  These may not be all new tips to you, but hopefully what seems like an everyday thing to you will really help someone else.

I look forward to sharing these tips with you and having you, my readers, share feedback about the tips and any tips that you have for saving money, time, or just your sanity.

~Ann

I am not going to share MARTIN'S deals any longer....

I have decided that I am no longer going to post weekly match-ups for MARTIN'S.  It was a decision that I have prayed about and weighed the pros and cons for the last several months. 

Steve and I have recently been evaluating how we are spending our "free time".  We have been looking at things that we are involved with and things that we do on a regular basis and asked ourselves if it something that is helping to build the body of Christ.

I realized that sharing coupon match-ups, although it was hopefully helpful to others, was not something that was the best way to spend 3-4 hours a day.  (Yes - that is on average how long it took me to sit down to look at the sales flyer, look in a coupon database for potential matches, verify the available coupons, and type everything out).

We have also decided that we need to step away from some of our responsibilities at our church and instead, work on investing and building relationships with people who we come in contact with on a regular basis.  This includes neighbors, co-workers, people who we routinely see at a restaurant that we frequent, and even the ladies who I see for my nails and hair.   We truly want to be salt and light in the world.

My plan is to keep my blog still up and running and instead of it be about coupon match-ups, be what I originally wanted it to be - a blog about the crazy life of a mom with young children.

If you are looking for a replacement for my MARTIN'S deals there are two blogs that I would encourage you to check out - Young and Frugal in Virginia or For The Mommas. 

Thanks for checking out my weekly top deals posts and sharing the deals that you found.  I have enjoyed interacting with fellow deal seekers.   I hope you will continue to visit my site and get to know me and my family better. 

~Ann

Wow – it is already July!?!?

I realized that the last month and a half have been very busy and that I haven’t been doing very well with keeping up with my crazy life blog post in addition to my coupon savings blog post.  So, here is a a quick update of what we have done since the middle of May and I will hopefully find time to share more and some pictures in future posts.

May – During the last week of May the girls and I visited my family, Steve joined us Friday afternoon, and had a whirlwind time with celebrations.  My mom was an elementary school secretary for 24 years and officially retired the end of June.  The school had a retirement party for her and the other staff members who were retiring at the end of the school year.  That same week we had a bridal shower for my soon-to-be sister-in-law, and a family birthday party to celebrate Megan’s second birthday.

June – We had a family day with Megan on her actual birthday.  Steve took the day off and we got pictures taken, enjoyed lunch together at California Pizza Kitchen, and went out after naptime for bowling and finished the day off with dinner and ice cream at Friendly’s. 

Steve and I were able to add a trip for just the two of us to the end of a business trip he had in London.  He left a few days before me and then I left the girls in very capable hands and flew over to meet him.  We had a great time together exploring the city together and enjoying some time just the two of us before baby #3 arrives in August.  We even happened to get a glimpse of Queen Elizabeth during a parade in her honor. 

July – My brother (who is 12 years younger than me) got married on Saturday.  The girls were flower girls and my sister and I helped with coordinating the wedding.  It was a whirlwind few days with last minute preparations, calming nerves, and making sure everything was taken care of.  The girls did a good job as the flower girls, they were not perfect angels, but they definitely provided some comic relief.

The next thing I have “on my plate” is a reception for a missionary family at my church Sunday evening.  After that the next plan of attack is getting ready for “Baby Brother”.  I have to finish getting the girls settled in their new room, get his room ready for him, and start getting the house ready for guests.  I also need to start thinking about things like packing a hospital bag and picking out a real name for the little guy.

These are just the highlights of the things that have been keeping me busy.  Like I have said before my life is always crazy, just some times are crazier than others.  :)

~Ann

Exciting News!

One of my favorite blogs to read is Money Saving Mom.  She has lots of great tips, promotions, and coupon deals.  She recently added a sidebar to her blog that features deals at your local stores.  She has bloggers who cover the deals for local or regional stores give her the top deals for the week at that store and then links them from her blog.  I realized that she didn’t have anyone featuring MARTIN’S and sent a note to her site asking if I could be a contributor.  They accepted my request.  :)  So, beginning this Monday, May 31st.  I will be submitting the top 4-7 deals for MARTIN’S to Money Saving Mom.  Hopefully this will also give me the “deadline” to finish up my match-ups in a more timely fashion.

By the way – if you haven’t checked out Money Saving Mom it is a super informative blog.  I highly recommend it!

Just a FYI

I have added a copyright to my blog.  You may have noticed it on the side bar under the “about me” section.  I want to prevent bloggers from reading my coupon tips and sharing them on their blogs as their own information.  I spend hours each week with the weekly sales ad, looking through a coupon database for potential matches, and then verifying the coupons and sources from my own pile of inserts.  I make additional trips to the store to verify what items are included in sales and to find unadvertised sales.  I also share links that I find to internet printable coupons.  I don’t have a problem with sharing info, I would just like a shout-out for my efforts.  ;)

Back into blogging...

When I originally started my blog this past summer I didn't really know where I was going with it.  I thought I would talk about my girls.  The crazy things they do and say during the day.  I thought I would talk about the adventures that Steve I have had as a couple, as parents, and as leaders with our church.  I admittedly had become a little obsessive abut couponing and wanted to share some tips to help people save money.  One of my motto's is "Why pay more than you have to?".  I never thought that I would be doing what I am doing now - weekly coupon match-ups for Ukrop's, specifically double coupon Wednesday's.

I am not complaining.  I just think it is neat to look back and think about why I started to blog and how it has evolved.  I am contemplating starting a new blog - or really a seperate blog.  I am thinking about moving my coupon match-ups to a seperate site so that this site can strictly be about my crazy world as a wife and a mom who works as a drug dealer pharmacist one day week.  My dilema right now is what to call a new site.  I want to stay with just local stores.  There a tons of other sites that cover national chain stores like Target, Walgreens, and CVS.  There are even plenty of sites that cover the other grocery stores that we have in the Richmond area such as Kroger and Food Lion.  I found my spot (I hope) helping people get the most for their money at Ukrop's.  Sadly the Ukrop's era is coming to a close, just as I was about to start the blog "I love Ukrop's". I can't honestly say I love Martin's - at least not yet. 

Suggestions?  Thoughts?  Any tips on topics that would be helpful?