The Passionate Penny Pincher

With this balmy mid-winter warm weather, it feels like yard sale season with all those great bargains is almost here. Need another coffee pot? I predict great bargains in nearly new conventional drip coffee pots at yard sales this spring due to the popularity of those savvy new gourmet one-cup coffee makers. It’s not just the cost of the coffee maker to consider. The coffee is considerably more costly when purchased in packages of 10 or 20 1-cup portions as opposed to by the 12-33 ounce package.  For casual coffee drinkers who enjoy a variety of coffee types and flavors, go for the one-cup coffee makers, but if that coffee mug rarely leaves your hand, check out those yard sales and tell us what you got.

What ways do your plan to stretch your money in 2012?
One of my new year’s resolutions is to make a list before going food shopping and sticking to it! However, I will be flexible within each category to take advantage of sale items. One such recent example is soup. It seems a different brand is on sale each week. All things being equal, I will buy the brand that’s on sale that week, especially when I have a coupon for another $1 or so off a few cans. Fresh fruits and vegetables seem to vary so much in price, that I will compare prices and buy the fruits and vegetables that are more reasonably priced. Perhaps I’ll hold off on that eggplant parmesan dinner for a few weeks until the eggplant is cheaper. I will clip coupons from Sunday’s Public Opinion and/or access coupons from websites, study grocery store advertisements to take advantage of sale items.
I’m hoping making those little extra efforts will really pay off in 2012.

Get the most from your holiday shopping by taking advantage of special offers. By doing some research and being flexible, I sometimes get more for my money, especially at Christmastime. Some restaurants and other retailers will give customers an extra gift card during the holidays when they purchase a gift card. Kohl’s is offering their credit card customers $10 in Kohl’s cash for every $50 they spend, and that’s in addition to discounts of 15%, 20% or 30% off merchandise that’s already been reduced. Because the Kohl’s cash can’t be redeemed until Dec. 25, wait to buy non-holiday items until then. Last night at Kohl’s some of the toys and games were reduced by 50%, 60% and even 70%.
Kohl’s has incredible buys – up to 90% off – on adorable Halloween serving bowls, pumpkin and other Halloween themed metal sculptures, cookie jars and other Halloween decor – just store it away for next year and you’ve saved big!
Target credit card customers get 5% off everything all the time – even on food! That can add up over the course of a year. Target had lovely designer perfume sets for great prices. The one I bought for $30 would have been $88 if the items were purchased separately. I just got a $5 coupon from Giant in the mail if I spend $50. Check out websites for coupons. Be patient – wait for after Christmas sales on big ticket items such as big screen televisions, laptops and such and you just might get a great deal. Watch for great buys on shrimp for new years – I love the Butcher Shoppe’s new year’s shrimp sale. Happy shopping, and a joyous holiday season.

Dollar stores are the absolute greatest! It’s so much fun to browse around. The “Awesome” stain remover – that’s the name of it, not my description, is as good as anything else I’ve used. For a buck, you get a large spray bottle of the stuff – the plastic bottle alone would cost more than that! I’ve saved a bundle on cleaning supplies. The same gourmet crackers for $1 at the Dollar Tree might cost $3-$4 at a grocery store. Wrapping paper, gift bags, greeting cards, stationary supplies such as pens and pencils, crayons, markers, writing tablets, coloring books, stickers and so much more. I’ve even purchased good books there that retailed for $20+. Dollar tree has a large selection of baby supplies. It’ a great place for toiletries if you’re not a stickler for particular name brands as well as over-the-counter allergy and cold pills, cough medicine and other such products. Problem is, it’s hard to pay retail after you get spoiled shopping at dollar stores. And if what you bought isn’t good, all you’ve lost is a buck.
And it’s so much fun just lookin’ around!!!!
What’s your favorite dollar store purchase?

Some get their kicks shopping at discount groceries such as Bent and Broken, Aldi’s, etc. I tend to overbuy and end up having to toss out a lot of those great buys after storing them way too long!

What looked like an interesting and cheap dining adventure at the store was far less appealing and way too much trouble to prepare at home.

How cheap is a 24-can case of stewed tomatoes for $10, when the expiration date has long come and gone and there’s still 22 unopened cans sitting in your basement? I’ve gotten great buys there, but I’ve learned not to overbuy and to know the retail prices of the products. Though most items are cheaper at discount groceries, they’re not if you end up tossing them out. Lastly, check those expiration dates when it matters.

Have your discount grocery shopping experiences been worthwhile?  What are your grocery shopping tricks?