I Saved $55.83
By Melissa TosettiOne of the strategies for Savvy Living is to time your purchases with sales cycles as well as seasonal sales.I typically save 20% - 25% on almost all of my groceries by basing my purchases on the weekly sales which are typically on a 6 week sales cycle – anything that regularly goes on sale does so on a 6 week cycle. With this in mind, I purchase enough of a sale product to get me through the next 6 weeks until it goes on sale again.During holidays, grocery stores offer deep discounts on certain items (depending on the holiday) so there’s an opportunity to save even more… again, simply by timing your purchases.This weekend, I was reminded of just how powerful that strategy is when Dice, one of my favorite clerks at Safeway, handed me my receipt.Just as I do every week, prior to heading to the store, I sat down and read the weekly sales ad. As mentioned, because of the holiday, I knew there would be opportunities to stock up on certain items. It took about three minutes to review the ad and finish making my list before heading to the store.Just some of the items I decided to stock up on based on the sale price include:
- Coke – Buy Two Get Three Free
- Box Cake Mix (I like to have them on hand for dessert emergencies)
- Planter’s Peanuts – half price
- Dreyer’s Ice Cream – Buy One Get One Free
- Limoncello – A habit we picked up in Italy - $6 off
- Cascade – I’m brand loyal, but only buy when it’s on sale
- Flour
- Sugar
Everything purchased were items we regularly use and will be consumed over the next six weeks. Nothing will hang out on our shelves and become decorative.The original total for all of my groceries was $163.51. After Dice scanned my Safeway Club Card, my new total was $107.68 – a savings of 34% or as I like to think about it, $55.83.In just six weeks, there’s an opportunity for you to implement the Holiday Sales Strategy – Memorial Day Weekend. That is the first of the summer BBQ holidays and all things BBQ will be on sale. You’ll have an opportunity to stock up on:
- Mayo
- Mustard
- Ketchup
- Hot Dogs – which freeze
- Hamburger – which freeze
- Hamburger & Hot Dog Buns – which also freeze
- Ice Cream
Before heading to the store that week, take a few minutes to check out your store’s sales ad and look for opportunities to stock up and save – if nothing else, stock up enough to get you through to the week of 4th of July when those BBQ items will be on sale again!