Photograph Credit: Flickr (I-5 Design)
My shopping trips usually land on a weekday. Either I shop with my girls after dropping my son off at school, or I shop with all 3 children after picking my son up from school. If I can, I allow Publix and Bi-Lo to supply the afternoon snack of a free cookie for the kids while we replenish our family’s food supply.
Last week in Gathering your Savings – Part 1, I explained my tips when entering the grocery store and planning the route to take through the aisles. In continuing gathering your savings, I will share in Part 2 how I shop my grocery list. With seven total steps, I will break these down into 3 different posts: Part 2a, 2b, and 2c. Today, I will share steps 1 and 2:
STEP ONE: Knowing the Store
The more you shop at your store, the better you will know where items are located. In using time wisely, I try to move forward aisle by aisle without backtracking.
STEP TWO: Including my Children
We play games throughout the store. One on-going game is “finding the coupons.” Have you seen the blinkie machines in your store? These little machines are small movable devices that dispense coupons. The little red light blinks to get your attention. When you take the coupon, the dispenser waits a few seconds and then partially ejects another coupon. My children have learned to:
- Notify me of their find,
- Allow me to determine if we will use the item, and
- Pull out only the ones we will use.
If I am purchasing the item and need a coupon, then I will use one of these on this trip. Most of the blinkies we take, I save for a future purchase which might be redeemed at another store. These coupons that are dispensed are manufacturer coupons that can be used at any store that accepts manufacturer’s coupons.
By knowing the store and including my children, I can quickly maneuver through the store gathering my savings while using time wisely. Though my children are not always cooperative with the coupon finding, I usually gain a few minutes to concentrate while they snack on their cookies. As I remember where items are kept in the store, my shopping trip times are improving with less roaming and more gathering. Next week, I will share the next two steps of my in-store shopping strategy. Until then . . . happy savings!
Question: How many blinkie coupons do you take from one dispenser? Pop over to Using Time Wisely‘s Facebook page to see my answer.