Grocery Lists And Nostalgia

I used to use a master list for Costco: I would print copies on my computer, and have one on the fridge, checking off items as we needed them. The list contained things that we had discovered were cheaper at Costco (because not everything is).

I'm not sure why I stopped using it - I think I may have been out of printer ink and got out of the habit of printing my list. In any case, I haven't used it in awhile, until today.

I found the list in my PC, and printed some new copies (using the "fast draft" low ink setting on my printer, of course ;) When I scanned the list to see how current it was, I found an item safe to delete: Pull Ups!!

(Awwww, my babies are growing up!!)

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Petcetera Savings

Because of a company restructure, Petcetera is offering discounts of up to 70% on its inventory. Here's a link with more info.

The sale is for 60 days, and is nation wide. Apparently they are trying to generate cash flow while filing for creditor protection. Hopefully this will work for them, because it would be a shame if they went completely under. Still, I suppose this is a reflection of the current economy - expensive pet extras are not in the average family budget these days!

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Organizing Coupons

One of the deterrents I faced to actually using the coupons I had so meticulously clipped was the fact that I could never find the ones I needed while in the store. I finally came up with a simple system that works for me:

1. Sort coupons into piles by BRAND
2. Paper clip each pile
3. Put the piles in an order that works for you (alphabetically, by product type) and store them in a zip loc bag in your purse.

Voila! If you see Tide on sale, you flip through the clips until you get to your Tide coupons. I tried clipping by product type but found it faster to clip by brand, because by brand is usually how the coupons are redeemed.

For those of you who are interested in a more sophisticated system, there is a neat product called The Couponizer, featured in this post at www.homewiththekids.com.

Happy shopping!

Sport Mart Sale

If you need higher end sports shoes (my poor feet have been feeling the "cheap shoes woes" with all the high volume walking I do), Sport Mart quite often has "buy one get the second half price" for their footwear. Today my husband and I each got a new pair with this discount.

Circuit City Tip

Here is an interesting tidbit for Circuit City shoppers... I read this warning on www.consumerist.com about Circuit City price tag strategies.

Apparently they have a policy about keeping the price tags the same at every store, so if a certain store wants to raise the price, they don't tag the item, and then raise the price, then apply a "discount". In reality the customer may be paying the regular price or even a higher one.

Saving Money By Catching Scanning Errors

Did you know that you can save money by catching scanning errors at participating retailers?

The Scanner Price Accuracy Voluntary Code is a policy that gives you an item for free if it's scanned incorrectly and it costs under $10, or gives you an adjustment if that incorrectly scanned item costs more than $10.

Participating retailers include Wal-mart, London Drugs, and Save On Foods. You may have to involve a manager because there may be new cashiers who are unfamiliar with the policy, but if you are willing to do so, you can save a few dollars.

Here is a link with more information on the policy, and another link as well.

Happy scanning!