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Expiring Coupons for April

All of the coupons listed below will be expiring at the end of this month.  If any of them can help your family, make sure to print as many as you can.

$10 Amazon Gift Card Only $5

You only have 8 hours to act on this before it is over, but Amazon is offering a $10 gift card for only $5 though their Amazon Local program.  This is pretty much a no brainer purchase as EVERYONE can find something at amazon that they need.  With free shipping on tons of items, even if you you only purchase toilet paper you will still be ahead.

Get your $10 Gift Card Now!

Restaurant.com Certificates Only $1 for $25 Gift Certificate

I have told all my blog readers about Restaurant.com and usually they will have their $2 certificate coupon at least once a month.  Today, they are offering a code for $1 certificates.

This is the lowest I have ever seen it.  In fact, the demand for this was so high this morning that it made the servers that Restaurant.com runs on go down.  So check it out and be patient if things are running a little slow.

Expires December 24th

Nielsen Home Scan Open Again

I am sure most of my readers are familiar with Nielsen.  They are the company that has been providing rating to your favorite television and radio programs for the last 20 years or more!

Anyway, they now have a new program where they provide you with a portable scanner and in exchange for you scanning all of your grocery purchases you earn rewards to spend on additional purchases.   It’s a real slick program and you really don’t have anything to lose.  Sign up through the banner below to  get started.

Plan Your Meals and List Your Savings

When it comes to really saving on your grocery shopping all of the experts will tell you that it pays to have a plan.

Creating a grocery list the right way

Even if you don’t use coupons on your shopping trip, creating a list will help you stay on track and keep you away from the overpriced impulse buys where the grocery store makes most of its money. Obviously, if you want to save the most money then you need to create your list with the available coupons in mind and stock up in a sufficient quantity so that they will last you at least a month.

moon angel /Foter

You probably have went to the store for a single item in the past and came home with multiple bags of groceries and other trinkets that you didn’t even need. Sticking to a list will help you keep your focus and save you money.

Plan your meals and save

By planning your meals in advance you can make sure you have all the necessary ingredients for your dinners are ready in your pantry. This means, that you will have purchased all of your ingredients at the lowest possible cost if you’re smart coupon shopper.

One way to start your meal planning is to open up your refrigerator and take an inventory of what fresh ingredients need to be used quickly.  Many times this can give you a base for our meal planning and, as an added benefit, you make sure that none of your expensive ingredients in your fridge or in or go to waste.

If you’re having a hard time deciding on what meals to prepare for the week then you can always pick up your favorite cookbook, magazine, or food blog and try to gain some inspiration from the rest these you find there.

Once you’ve decided what meals your cooking for the week then it is a relatively simple process of creating a list of ingredients that you need to prepare those meals. You should always count on one or 2 days where your family can eat leftovers instead of preparing a fresh meal as their are generally left overs from some of your meals.

3 Tips to Improving Your Grocery Shopping Experience

To some people going to the grocery store is like a vacation. They look forward to it every week and can’t wait to bring home pile of groceries to feed their family and get the satisfaction of knowing that they paid less for all those products then their next-door neighbor.  Other people look at going to the grocery store like a view going to the dentist.  It is a necessary evil that must be performed to live day to day.

No matter what kind of shopper are you are you can still apply some basic principles to your shopping trip so that you can be a smarter shopper and save more money.  We will review a few helpful tips that can help you on the road to becoming a smart shopper:

1. Always set a budget for your grocery trip – Nobody likes to shop on a budget but the simple fact is that if you don’t start your trip with a budget in mind you will most certainly spend more than you intended to.  In addition, without a budget it is easy to buy brand-name products or specialty products that you would normally wouldn’t purchase and in fact don’t actually provide a better value than purchasing the generic product or the non-specialty product.

2. Cash is King – One of the best ways to enforce your budget is to take only cash to the grocery store. Without having the backup of a credit card or a line of credit you will force yourself to use your budget wisely. You will miss out on a few airline points, but more than likely the savings you receive by staying on budget will far exceed a plane ticket you can use in 5 years.

3. Stay away from the fast food and cook at home – Not only is fast food more expensive then preparing meals at home, they are almost always more fattening and contain more preservatives then home-cooked meals. By preparing your meals at home you get to know every ingredient that is put into your food and can control the quality and the caloric intake of the food you’re feeding your family. In addition, there is the added benefit of getting to spend quality time with your family around the dinner table, which studies have shown that this quality time with families has been diminishing over the last 20 years.

Following just one of the above tips can change the way you shop and save your family money at the grocery store. Next time you’re heading out, simply try one of the tips out and see if it doesn’t help you.  My bet is that you’ll see exceptional savings.

What Makes You Tick at the Grocery Store?

You’re at the grocery store and you purchase an item that wasn’t necessarily on your list, ask yourself one simple question. What was the motivation for me to buy this product? The answer that you get back from yourself could be based on a number of different personality traits that you possess or it could have been the direct result of an advertising message.

Perhaps you’re the kind of shoppers that always likes to try new items and compare them with the regular items that you normally buy. Some people might call this type of behavior “variety shopper”. This type of shopper has a set list of regular items that they normally will purchase, but is also always looking for an additional product to replace the normal product. This works well for the shopper because he or she is always getting the best quality product available.

If on the other hand you bought the product because you heard an advertisement on the radio or saw an ad on television then you are responding to the direct marketing efforts of the product manufacturers who place their products in the grocery store. Advertisers preferred these types of customers because they are always looking for the newest product and will try just about anything wants.

There are is also another type of shopper who will purchase a product outside of their normal shopping list because the price is less expensive than their normal product and it compares in quality and function.

No matter what made you pick up that product that wasn’t on your shopping list it may lend some insight into your shopping habits if you can identify exactly what made you make a decision.

Saving Money with Printable Food Coupons

There are many different ways to save money, and many thrifty shoppers will find that they are able to save a lot of money on their grocery with printable food coupons. There are many different sites that are catered to helping grocery shoppers find the type of discounts and bargains that they need to make thrifty purchases on daily necessities. These printable food coupons are designed to allow shoppers to add a bit more variety into their budget and into their lifestyle as many top brands and smaller companies are looking to promote and advertise their products.

In order to find printable food coupons, it is important to look online for more information. These coupons can be easily found online, and the type of products that they are giving discounts off of can range from everything. There are many top brands that are promoting their product by having many great deals, and small companies that are trying to make it on the market also have many different coupons for thrifty shoppers to try out their products. These food coupons can range from anything in the frozen aisle to vegetables and raw meat! Depending on a shopper’s daily diet, there is a huge variety in the different coupons that are available.

The printable food coupons are extremely convenient as they are not only easily found, but they can be easily printed as well. Anyone can print the food coupons that they need, and the coupons can be printed from any type of computer with any type of ink. As long as the coupon is presented at the time of purchase, it is valid although there may be some restrictions regarding the location or area where the coupon can be used. It is important to read the fine print and description when printing out these free food coupons in order to get a better idea of the expectations that are surrounding the coupon.