In my Sunday blog post I noted the presence of “Back to School” sales. I also mentioned that I thought they would get better by the first of August and that waiting just a little longer would benefit everyone in search of true savings on back to school items. How do I know this? Is it because I am that immersed in the world of coupons? No, although my husband may beg to differ, it is because I know where to look to arm myself with the essential information. Granted I have been doing this for a couple of years and I can see the trends, but just like everything else I say; planning goes a long way.

Common sense will tell you to look for pens, paper, back packs and clothes when everyone gears up for the school year. We look for grilling goodies in the summer, chocolates around Valentine’s Day and yummy things to bake with when the weather gets cold in November. These items go on sale, and coupons show up that can be matched nicely with those sales when they are “in season”. That makes sense. You will also find that regular sales rotate on a quarterly basis. If you noticed that spaghetti sauce was on sale or a good coupon was out, you will most likely see that sale again in roughly three months.

What you may not know is that there are other “seasons” to look for. Times in the year that will offer deep discounts and produce high dollar coupons. Even if stockpiling and using coupons isn’t on your agenda buying carefully when items are at their lowest prices can save you money. The family who wants to buy smart can benefit greatly from knowing things like:

* January is ‘National Oatmeal Month’. Quaker products are at their lowest prices and have the most coupons this month.
* February is ‘National Hot Breakfast Month’ and ‘National Children’s Dental Hygiene Month’. Kellogg’s, General Mills, Quaker, Crest, Colgate, GUM will all have good deals available.
* March will bring ‘National Frozen Food Month’ and anything from frozen veggies to frozen meals and ice cream will be some of the best deals you will find.

So where do you find information like this? I find the website Grocery Coupon Guide very helpful. I pulled the statistics above from their cumulative list. Not only do they talk about packaged foods that trend, they also provide a very comprehensive list in each month of what produce is in season so you can spend your money wisely when it comes to fresh fruits and vegetables.

The National Coupon Council says that the “average American” who uses coupons saves roughly 7% from each grocery bill in coupons, or approximately $1000/year. On a $100 grocery bill that is only $7 in savings. If your store doubles coupons you would only have to use 7 coupons. With even the smallest amount of planning you can do much better than that! A little bit of knowledge goes a long way to help you stretch your family’s dollar.