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Using the Sales to Create a Grocery List

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Last week I shared how I saved 81% on vegetables and Mentos at Publix. This scenario was possible because I knew where to find the grocery store ad, the coupons, and the prices. Now I will share my secrets on how I create my grocery list. For this example, I chose to make out a PUBLIX list. I probably start where you start by:

  • Scanning the sales flyer from the Tuesday and Sunday newspapers. Sometimes these flyers have store or manufacturer coupons within.
  • Visiting www.southernsavers.com. I love Jenny Martin’s website. If you live in the southeast, Jenny covers all the major grocery and drugstore deals. She posts each deal and lists the coupons available with those deals.
    • When I go to her home page, I hover over “Publix” under the grocery store deals bar.
    • Then a drop-down list shows “Weekly Ad.”
    • I double-click on that post title.
    • Then click on the top post title – Weekly Ad.
    • Now the entire sales flyer loads in a list-format.
    • To the left side of each item is a box. If I am considering purchasing that item, then I click the box. If not, then I proceed to the next item until I reach the end of the list.
    • At the end of the post, I can click “Create list.” I also choose to show coupon matchups. The list is then created in another document.
    • You can also add items to your list. Then print your list.
  • With my list in hand, I then begin looking through my coupon files for any matchups. I rarely find all the coupons Jenny lists on her site, but I find many of them.
  • I then make the decision of how many I need to purchase of each item. I write these numbers next to the items on my grocery list.
  • All my coupons are then placed in an envelope with PUBLIX written on the outside. Now I have my grocery list and all coupons to be used in one place. I find that shopping with this system keeps me organized and makes checking out very simple.
  • Then I go shopping.

This list covers the basics of how I create my shopping lists based on what the store has on sale for the week. I will continue to share how I save while keeping my family fed.