When to Buy Part 2

After you know when to buy in general based on the yearly or monthly sales cycle you also need to know the rock bottom price of each item.  If you buy at the rock bottom price with a coupon you should be able to save over 50% in most cases.  So what is the rock-bottom price or how do you find it? In general as stated in my first post it is 30-50% off and only comes around every 12 to 24 weeks. 
To get more specific you can start to generate a price list book of your own.  Recording all the prices until you come up with the rock-bottom price for the items you buy frequently.

Here's some advice on how to do it:

http://www.grocerycouponguide.com/articles/price_book/2/

I honestly have never tried to generate one of these.  The 30-50% rule works for me.  Most stores advertise what you are saving.  The ones that don't all you have to do is look at the price tag on the product and compare it. 

What I have referenced is a great price list generated by the Southern Savers website.  I took it and highlighted the ones that I've seen here in MI then crossed out some and wrote the lower or higher price here in MI.  It was a great guide for me and worked good enough.

Check out the article and the link to her "Buy price" shopping list.  You will notice there are several items that are free! That is you should never have to pay for them if you shop at the lowest price and use a coupon.

http://www.southernsavers.com/2009/02/extreme-couponer-101-whats-a-good-price/