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September 2008

Lisa Leete, owner of ThriftyKitchen.com  

Q:  "To what degree do coupons play a part in your savings vs. buying store brand and taking advantage of sales?"

~ Mirna, Lakeside

A:  Coupons are plain and simply free money!  If the coupon is for an item I would take if it were offered to me for free, then I clip the coupon.  Often enough, I do end up getting the item for free.  Store brands can be a terrific deal, and I buy plenty of those as well.  But in general, the very cheapest items are brand name items purchased when they are on sale AND you have a coupon for the item.  I subscribe to two Sunday newspapers to get twice the number of coupons (just one good coupon a week will cover the cost of the subscription!) and I get many coupons from online sources as well. 

Each week I match sale items with available coupons, and those are the items I stock up on that week.  So one week, I may buy 10 boxes of cereal, 10 packages of cookies, and 5 jars of peanut butter.  The following week, I’ll stock up on plastic bags, pasta and cooking oil.  You get the idea!  I shop with about a 3-month period in mind for non-perishables.  For perishable items, I stick to meats, cheeses and produce on sale that week, and buy non-essentials such as yogurt, ice cream, or frozen vegetables only when the price is right.  This all sounds a bit complicated, I know, but I like to think of it as a game or treasure hunt, and when I save money, I win! 

Lisa Leete

Founder of ThriftyKitchen.com   

Phone: 858.679.7275

Email: lisa@thriftykitchen.com

Thrifty Kitchen: A great savings resource, which offers quick & easy dinner recipes based on weekly grocery sale items.  Save time, save money, eat well!