Match your money-saving tactic to the store - Courtesty of Monroe on a Bugdet

Admittedly is does take some time to cut coupons and to match them up to store sales.  Of course coupon match-up websites help but there is still time involved.  And for some personalities this just might not work. Monroe on a Bugdet has a few thought-provoking questions that will help you find your particular frugal shopping style and answers particular to her area of Monroe County but many work for us here in Oakland County.  Some highlights are:

•Do you want double value for your coupons? Then do the math up to 50 cents and shop at Meijer, Kroger, Busch’s and Food Town.


•Do you want a discount store that takes manufacturer coupons at face value? Then shop at Wal-Mart, Dollar General and Save-a-Lot.

•Do you hate fussing with coupons? Shop at Aldi and Big Lots because neither store takes coupons.

•Are you willing to bag your own groceries? Aldi and Save-a-Lot expect you to do that.

•Do you want a discount for unemployed people? Kmart has such a program.

•Are you willing to cut out and use coupons that are for just one store chain? Walgreens and Target often have such promotions.

•Do you want the store to give you recommendations based on your shopping patterns? Check out the card program at Busch’s.

•Do you want the store to give recipe suggestions based on their product lines? Meijer, Busch’s and Aldi all have those services available on their web sites.

•Are you willing to use a shopper card to get discounts? Sign up for those cards at Kroger, Big Lots and CVS.

•Are you willing to use a shopper card to earn rewards points for a school or charity? Sign up or link your cards at Gordon Food Service, Meijer and Kroger.

•Do you like the idea of eCoupons? Kroger participates in those programs.

•Are you willing to participate in a rebate program to earn coupons for future purchases? CVS and Rite Aid have such promotions.

•Would you like to buy groceries and supplies on line? Meijer, Alice.com and Dollar Tree have that option.

•Are you interested in warehouse or bulk quantities? Check out the selections at Gordon Food Service.

•Do you submit receipts for over-the-counter medications to your Flexible Spending Account? Then shop at a store where the receipts will be coded for you to use in that manner – many of them do that automatically but Walgreens is one example.

•Do you like store brand or generic groceries? The stores where you will find store brands in a variety of product lines include Wal-Mart, Meijer, Kmart, Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, Kroger, Food Town, Hi-Lite, Target and Aldi.

Check out all the details here.