thadrosen 3 years, 7 months ago

Jenn and Julie,

I appreciate your tips and tricks to save at the checkount counter, but I wonder why I keep seeing the same stores in each column? Do you get a kickback from Dillons to mention their sales? HyVee? Target?

Not once have you mentioned any local stores.

I know that Checkers has VERY competitive pricing. They also match any other ad in town which should put them on par with the stores you're mentioning.

I don't know, I want to believe this is an unbiased article, but I cringe every time I see it filled with those same store logos.

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cwcoup 3 years, 7 months ago

Give me a break.. Of course she doesn't get a kick back. These are simply the deals she has found matching coupons with sales. If you can match up checkers sales with coupons then do so and post it on here to help everyone out. Her coupon match-ups are by no means a comprehensive list of every good deal. Most of the stores listed here have their own store coupons that you can match with manufacturer coupons and when you stack both coupons with items that are on sale it can often end up cheaper than stores that do not offer their own coupons. Unfortunatly most local stores do not have their own store coupons. So although we would all like to support our local stores it may just be more financially feasible to buy our toothpast elsewhere.

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headdoctor 3 years, 7 months ago

thadrosen (Anonymous) says… Jenn and Julie, I appreciate your tips and tricks to save at the checkount counter, but I wonder why I keep seeing the same stores in each column? Do you get a kickback from Dillons to mention their sales? HyVee? Target? Not once have you mentioned any local stores. I know that Checkers has VERY competitive pricing. They also match any other ad in town which should put them on par with the stores you're mentioning. I don't know, I want to believe this is an unbiased article, but I cringe every time I see it filled with those same store logos.

Checkers is eliminated by their own action. The small Ad they put out each week generally is items that coupons do not apply to. The only way to make Checkers work as a coupon store is to physically drive there and see what they have on sale, write it down, then go home to pull your coupons, then make a special trip back to do the shopping. More often than not it is not worth the extra effort to fool with them and they have since reversed their policy but for a while they wouldn't except printable coupons which took them out of the competition almost completely. Waiting until you get to the store to stand there and pull your coupons for a weekly shopping trip is more than just a pain if you are a serious clipper not to mention being in the road of other shoppers while you are gawking and pulling coupons.

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mommydaycare 3 years, 7 months ago

I agree, why does she use the same stores!! There are a lot of people that shop at other places and on the east side as well. Not everyone are Target shoppers!!!!

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mom_of_three 3 years, 7 months ago

Target - honeycrisp apples 1.49 a pound

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Katara 3 years, 7 months ago

The author of the blog is giving you the tools to help save money. It isn't difficult to match the sales from the flyers to the coupon inserts. If you want to shop other stores, then get their sales flyers & match your coupons to them.

Do you actually expect her to do all the work for you?

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madman 3 years, 7 months ago

Aldi's is a good place to get deals. I save a lot of money there. I go there first to get all my basic stuff(can goods, snack food, millk, eggs). Because they don't have a large selection I avoid buying stuff I don't need that large food store put on display (impulse buys) which is probably more of the reason I save.

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Hop2It 3 years, 7 months ago

I think people are trying to point out that it isn't really that helpful to them if it isn't places where they shop.

If it "isn't so difficult" to do this as someone says above...then why is this even useful? Very snippy people.

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SuperJenn 3 years, 7 months ago

Ooooh wouldn't it be nice if I got some pennies for each time I said a store's name?! Unfortunately...its not that simple.

In the spirit of full disclosure let me state this: Neither Julie, nor I are employees of the World Co. We are freelance writers and we DO receive compensation for the work that we produce. When the idea of this blog was created a very specific point that we discussed was that I do not...and I would not...write something that I didn't believe because I'm being paid. I won't do that on my personal blog, and I won't do that here!

When I put this list together...it is just a smattering of deals around town. The idea is to show you what is there...to get your mind working in a way that will help you find your own fabulous deals so you can share them here as well!

I scan through the advertisements and the coupon inserts and I match them up to find the best deals. In the past, I spent a lot of time shopping each and every store that I thought had fantastic deals. I enjoy this, but currently, I do not have enough time for this at this point in my life.

This is the third weekend that we've posted deals for this blog....the very first weekend I delivered my third baby via c-section...so we are all still recovering here :)

Headdoctor made a good point about Checkers. It is across town for me and I don't have a good avenue for scoping out their ads. Right now, I won't be going into the store to find there great deals.

I'm a huge fan of Dillon's and Target in particular. I find great deals there...I've been able to curb my shopping to these two stores, stay within my budget ($50/wk for my family of 5) and get everything we need!

I'm hoping that the ideas and deals that we post will be helpful....I'm hoping to get some great deals from you as well. Die hard coupon clippers get the best deals by sharing their information with each other!

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Katara 3 years, 7 months ago

Hop2It (Anonymous) says… I think people are trying to point out that it isn't really that helpful to them if it isn't places where they shop.

If it “isn't so difficult” to do this as someone says above…then why is this even useful? Very snippy people. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The idea behind it is helpful. If these places are not the places these people shop, simply apply the idea of matching coupons to the existing sales going on at the stores that they do shop regularly.

But unfortunately, many want everyone else to do the actual work for them and then complain when it isn't exactly what they want.

Different families have different needs for shopping. Take the basic idea behind couponing and apply it where it is useful to you.

As for suggesting that the blogger is getting kickbacks for listing certain stores' sales, has it occurred to anyone that the stores listed here are the ones who regularly put out weekly ads in the paper? Checkers has a very small ad inside one of the sections of the paper. The Merc doesn't have sales flyers in the paper. Aldi's doesn't take coupons. What other local grocery options do you have?

If local stores want increased business, they have to let the people know what they have to offer. If you don't advertise, I'm not very likely to know what your prices run or what your selection is like. I don't have time to go to your store and wander about the aisles to see what you have and then do a price comparison to see where I will save more. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ madman (Anonymous) says… Aldi's is a good place to get deals. I save a lot of money there. I go there first to get all my basic stuff(can goods, snack food, millk, eggs). Because they don't have a large selection I avoid buying stuff I don't need that large food store put on display (impulse buys) which is probably more of the reason I save. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You've nailed part of saving the money. You know what your shopping weakness is (impulse buying) and have taken steps to avoid that temptation.

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Katara 3 years, 7 months ago

mom_of_three (Anonymous) says… Target - honeycrisp apples 1.49 a pound ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Great find!

I wish those $1/1lb of apples Target Qs hadn't expired. The honeycrisp apples are my absolute favorite!

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headdoctor 3 years, 7 months ago

Hop2It (Anonymous) says… I think people are trying to point out that it isn't really that helpful to them if it isn't places where they shop. If it “isn't so difficult” to do this as someone says above…then why is this even useful? Very snippy people.

I would call reducing your grocery bill by 50 to 60% quite useful. Once you get couponing down to a fine art the few hours a week spent can be worth 15 to 18 dollars an hour in savings. If you need extra money, where can you find a part time job that pays that kind of wage? The best part is you do not get taxed for that money. You can even apply these concepts for many other things that you buy that are not groceries.

Couponing serves many purposes. One of which is you have a list to work with and you do not buy anything that isn't on sale that doesn't have a coupon except for occasional needed items and items that do not ever have coupons. Following a list is also a good way to avoid impulse buys. Once you get your stock piles built up you can then only buy the best deals when they are available or when you need to restock.

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SuperJenn 3 years, 7 months ago

Madman,

Aldi's is a good place to save money...you are right! I have found that MOST items are not significantly cheaper than other stores...but it is less work if you don't have to match coupons, etc to get the deals. And the thought that there is less to "tempt" you is a very accurate one.

Very specifically I purchase fish and frozen fruit at Aldi's. You can get a bag of frozen Wild Caught Salmon for around $4. There are 4 pieces and they are individually wrapped and the quality is equivalent to the fish I used to purchase from Schwann's.

A good resource for Aldi shopping and menu ideas based around Aldi shopping is www.momadvice.com/aldi .

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thadrosen 3 years, 7 months ago

A comment: Checkers matches all other stores' ads.

That said, the ads you look at apply there without even stepping foot in the store.

Plus, many times they are cheaper anyway.

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headdoctor 3 years, 7 months ago

thadrosen (Anonymous) says… A comment: Checkers matches all other stores' ads. That said, the ads you look at apply there without even stepping foot in the store. Plus, many times they are cheaper anyway.

I have dropped a sizable amount of money at Checkers over the years and yes they will match add prices of other stores provided it is same brand. One of the exceptions is turkey. As long as it is a typical store brand or generic they will match price. Even though I question some of their practices no one is saying Checkers is a bad place to shop. It is just that they do not put out a full sale ad and IF YOU ARE A SERIOUS COUPON CLIPPER CHECKERS IS NOT A GOOD OPTION. I and others are not going to take a 30 minute shopping spree and turn it into 2 hours getting someone higher up to approve the price change on a whole cart of groceries just to buy there. For the record, for similar reasons Walmart is also not a good option either and they put out an ad from time to time. On a small number of items and with the right checker at Walmart they will adjust the price but if it isn't your day to get a knowledgeable checker, they will stand there and argue with you over it and then you get to stand in line at the Customer Service. Also, Walmart doesn't always carry brands that are applicable to price matching.

Dad has stepped down at Checkers it will be interesting to see what the son does now or if it will be business as usual. It seems like there has been a small change or two but only time will tell.

Another thing is serious coupon clippers track prices. They know the general price of many items and at what store. You can think what you want but the blanket statement that many times Checkers is cheaper anyway is not nearly as valid as it once was a few years back. Your statement is only valid for those who are just shopping without paying attention to sale adds and or using coupons. I have walked out of HyVee, Dillons, Target, CVS, and Walgreens with many free items, only paying the applicable sales tax. That isn't going to happen at Checkers. I will qualify the statement by saying that at CVS and Walgreens you sometimes have to factor in the ECBs and Register Rewards for items to be free.

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