Follow My Husband: Becoming an Extreme Couponer: Kroger

Written by Mark-"extreme couponer in training" ;0) Wife's remarks written in pink ;0)


The first day as most of you read did not go especially well.  However my dear wife promised me going to her favorite store, Kroger, would be much easier.  First, I despise carrying "the coupon bag" that she has put together since it is big and bulky.    Since Shana considers coupons to be another form of currency, losing this would be the equivalent of losing our bank card to her.  (Ironically, Shana loses our credit card quite frequently).  She is almost as protective of the bag as she is of our labradoodle, Truffles so I get nervous taking her "coupon bag" for good reason.

Anyway, she sent me off to "her Kroger" hunting for a variety of everyday items with an emphasis on frozen foods to leverage their "Mega sale" on frozen foods. She told me it was the last day of the sale, last opportunity to get these items at this price with those coupons, so a little pressure.


Shana provided me with an organized list that laid out the items we needed, noted which items had paper coupons which were separated into a separate envelope.  We organize files differently, so it is always  mystery to me when I have to search through her bag.  Having the coupons separated saved me from having to hunt endlessly in the recesses of her bag.  Have you ever noticed that the coupon you need hides from you when you are in the check out line?

The LIST is important
Shana also listed out items to price check and several items to purchase with a coupon if it was at or below a certain price.  I did not know that the prices at the grocery store cycle throughout the month and something that is $3 today may be below $2 later in the month before rising back to $3.   So it is worthwhile to wait on certain items (like snacks) for a lower price that you can buy down with a coupon and stock up.

Visit the Manager's Special
Upon entering the store, Shana had me first go to the "Manager's special" aisle.   I spent my first 10 minutes wandering the store for this aisle.  I finally found it but it was labeled "Clearance Aisle."  It is just the special price stickers that say "Manager's Special."  Depending on what you like, this could be a treasure trove or a waste of time.   I was tempted by several random kitchen implements, which we did not really need.  I did find several tubes of cake decorating gel on clearance for $.25 which will be helpful in the cake I'm making for our daughter's 6th birthday.  (Yes, ladies, he bakes too). oh goodness you are cracking me up ;0)

Shop on the transition day between sales
When I shop, I start in produce and work my way to frozen.  Shana sent me to Kroger on Tuesday, since our Kroger starts its new sales on Wednesday.  What I did not know is that you can often get BOTH sale prices (the current week and next weeks) on the transition day.  So, although the strawberries were marked at $1.98, at checkout they rang up at the new sale price of $1.88. 


"Ten for Ten" does not require you to buy ten
 One of the items on the list was more pasta since our favorite Ronzoni Garden Delight pasta was on sale as ten for $10.  What I discovered is that you don't need to buy 10 to get the price,  the item is really on sale for a dollar.  But, if you advertise it as 10 for $10, you can convince people to buy more at that price.  Since we had coupons for $1 off the pasta, we were able to get it for free.

Mega Event sale
Unlike the Ten for Ten sale, with the "Mega Event," you have to buy the required number of items.  In this case, if you bought 10 select frozen food items, you received an additional $5 off.    This is a great opportunity to stock up on items that you use frequently.   In our case, we stocked up on frozen quick breakfast foods (waffles & pancakes) as well as bread sticks (if you have as much pasta as we do, you need something to go with it). 

Checkout
There is a strategy for checking out, I've learned.  My wife has "secretly" been putting ecoupons on our
Kroger  card to ensure that I always save at least something when I go to the store.  BUT Kroger has a policy that if you use an e-coupon, you can't use a paper coupon.  In addition, the ecoupons do not double.  So what I did, is that I told the cashier that I was going to hold off on using the Kroger plus card until the end of the transaction.  The cashier said that it would not work and I would not get discounts and I responded by politely but firmly telling her I would risk it because I wanted to use the paper coupons first.    So, after scanning all of our goods and coupons, I presented my Kroger plus card.  To the cashier's surprise (and my delight), the register began ringing up a long series of deals as it price adjusted for in-store specials, doubled coupons and redeemed e-coupons.
  Once all was said and done, I saved a total of 52% which was amazing for me. AMAZING JOB HONEY! I think everybody's aim should be to save 50% on all their grocery and household shopping and allow yourself to get into that cycle of savings in about 3 months.


A final thought:  Without the diligent work of my wife, I would have just gone ahead and paid the full price if left to my own devices.  I'm learning that it is easy to save a little and with a bit more effort, one can save a lot.  Don't get drawn into the illusion that you need to save 90% or more in order to succeed at couponing, spend hours preparing or have immense stockpiles of mustard.  With only a little extra effort, advance planning, and practice, you can make a big difference in your family's weekly food bill.  I do not want to build my life around couponing and deal hunting, but want to continue to learn how to leverage coupons to support our family.

And yes, I'm still not thrilled about having my picture taken before going shopping. Not sure where she is sending me today so stay tuned! I appreciate your feedback and challenge other husbands and newbies to give this a try. E-mail or leave comments, questions for my wife she is MORE THAN HAPPY to guide you along your way!

 VERY TRUE! I am very happy to help out! I don't always see the comments on the chat wall I know it appears that I am on the internet all the time but really I am not so your best bet is to leave a comment here or on facebook fan page. I have some readers e-mail me their shopping plan especially when they are about to go a pharmacy and ask me if "their plan" will work, I am SUPER HAPPY to look over your list etc! mymemphismommy@gmail.com

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