MAKING SAVING EASIER - SALEWHALE

Making Saving Easier

I've discovered a really neat site that I want to share as it makes buying on sale and comparison shopping super easy. The site is called salewhale.ca and it really does live up to its logo of "making saving easier".

The information is taken from the local flyers, based on the postal code and put into an easy to use format. On the first page of the site they have four areas listed. I think the best way to describe how each of these work will be easier and more accurate if I just quote directly from the information provided by the site.

1.    Browse Flyers: "Easily browse through your favourite flyers and use our filters to narrow down your categories of interest."

The categories for groceries are broken down as follows: Baby, Beauty, Food, Health & Pharmacy, Home, Personal Care, Pets.

Instead of checking through pages of stuff you don’t want or need, these categories make searching only for what you want much quicker.

2.    Find a Product: “Find a product on sale. Just type in the name, brand or keyword of a product and we’ll tell you where and if its on sale.”

3.    Create Alerts: “Create alerts of items and let us tell you when they are on sale.”

Right now I have 39 alerts on everything from bathroom tissue to chocolate chips. On Fridays I receive an email as follows: “This week’s savings on the products you love.” If any of the items I have listed with them are on sale, they will show up in the email. Then all I have to do is add them to the Save Sales (4).

4.    Save Sales: “Save a list of all the sales you are interested in before you head to the store.”

This is a neat feature as it breaks the sales down by store. For this post I added ten sales to be saved and then printed them off as follows:

Cauliflower $1.99 at Food Basics

Maxwell House Ground Coffee $6.99 at Foodland

Romaine Hearts $1.47 at NoFrills

5 items at Shoppers

2 items at Walmart.

Walmart and Shoppers are both closest to me and right across from each other. I know I can AdMatch the cauliflower, coffee and romaine at Walmart, which means I only need to go there and to Shoppers to get everything I need at sale prices. Saves money on products and gas plus saves time – I’d say win, win.

The other thing I like about salewhale is that they show the sale products and the stores they're listed at on the same page, making it super easy to compare prices. The following items were on sale the first week of February.

Maxwell House Coffee 925g                  $6.99 Shoppers	Maxwell  House Coffee 925g                      $6.99 Food Basics	Folgers Coffee 642-920g              $7.99 Independent
Romaine Leaf Lettuce                         3/$5.00 Independent	Romaine Hearts 3 pack                2/$6.00 Zehrs	Romaine Hearts 3 pack                2/$5.00 Food Basics
Royale Bathroom Tissue 12=24 single       $3.99 Shoppers	Royale Bathroom Tissue 32=64 single     $10.74 Walmart	Selection Bathroom Tissue 12=24                    $3.99 Food Basics

Working with the bathroom tissue, its easy to calculate the per price roll - $0.33 per double roll at Shoppers and Independent and $0.34 at Walmart. On this occasion, Shoppers has an even bigger edge as the sales were offered during one of their 20x points events, so customers with an Optimum Card, meeting the minimum $50.00 requirement, would receive additional savings in point value of 800 points worth $1.00. Isn't this easy?

Check it out yourself - You've got nothing to lose, just time and money to save. Click on the link Salewhale.

I am not affiliated with salewhale in any way nor am I paid to promote them. The only purpose of this post is to provide my readers with information that I believe will benefit them.

Talk to you again next week,

Lenie

Popular Cost-Cutting Measures.

I can hardly believe that this is already my 26th post - half a year of blogging and still enjoying everything about it - the research, the learning, the writing and the sharing. It's all good. I thought I'd mark this half-year point by taking a second look at how I use some of the more popular cost-cutting measures from previous posts.

It doesn't require any great effort to achieve 20% savings in most areas and, as groceries are something we all need to buy, this seemed the best choice to focus on. Since the average Canadian family of four spends at least $600.00 a month on groceries - $7,200.00 a year - savings of 20% on that amount works out to a whopping $1,440.00 a year. That's a lot of money.

I am actually a bit more ambitious than 20% when it comes to saving on groceries. I aim for 40% or better but am willing to settle for no less than 30%. I now have a system in place that usually lets me reach that goal, but that means I can't let any saving opportunity slide by. It also requires the following:

1. Advance Notice - The grocery sales forecast, emails from favourite stores about upcoming sales and promotions, and of course, the weekly flyers, are the tools I use to calculate what sales to look for and around which I can plan the shopping and menus. 
2. A Well-Stocked Pantry - Having a good supply of products on hand makes it possible to choose when to restock and at what price. Its when you run out of things that you're forced to pay full price and that just isn't the frugal way.
3. The "Will Need Soon" List - Keeping a list of items that will soon be needed is an easy cost-cutter. I keep a notebook on my counter and as soon as I notice or think of something I will soon be needing, I write it down. This can range from everyday products like eggs and milk to the occasional need like a new fridge light or batteries for the smoke detectors. Just whatever comes to mind gets written down. Then, using the tools mentioned above, I can quickly determine if the time is right to buy any of the "will need soon" items. The savings can be especially significant if there is enough time - like a couple of months - between when the item is first noted and when its needed.
4. Coupons - Using coupons can make quite a difference to the bottom line. I don't spend a lot of time looking for them, but do check out the obvious places, like the Smartsource coupons on my site and of course, the e-coupons from Shoppers.
5. The Flexible Grocery List - Having a flexible grocery list is another simple way to achieve big savings. Meat is normally one of the big costs and frankly, it doesn't matter to me what kind of meat I buy, as long as its a healthy product we like and its on sale. We are lucky as we have access to a New-Life Mills food outlet which sells frozen utility turkeys for 79 cents a pound. I shop there a lot and replace the chicken in recipes with the turkey. Coffee is another expensive item, but regularly used as a loss leader, and since it stores well, it should never be necessary to pay full price. Fruits and vegetables, same thing - the product on sale is what we buy.

One of my favourite stores to shop at is Shoppers Drug Mart. This surprises a lot of people since their prices often seem high, but through careful shopping and making the best use of the Optimum card, the savings can be huge. When I first received my Optimum card I also signed on to receive email notices of upcoming events and this has paid off big time. I receive advance notice of sales and special promotions which helps with planning and comparing prices plus I receive coupons for products and points.

Shown below are two Shoppers receipts from the same day last week -Thursday, the 19th - which show how I manage to get the most value for the dollar along with earning the most points.
Prior to going shopping, I used the flyers to compare products and prices. I never buy anything not on sale and never buy anything at Shoppers that costs less elsewhere.
At the checkout, before unloading the cart, I bought a gift card to receive extra points - in this case a $45.00 gift card for which I received 450 points.
I had an email coupon worth 8,000 points for spending $30.00 or more on food. Correct food total was $33.43.

I normally check my receipt before leaving the store, but on this day I neglected to do so which was a big mistake, one that I was actually aware of even when it was happening. I had kept a running total while I was shopping and knew the $45.00 gift card was more than enough to cover all costs, so when it came up short I should have checked right then, but by that time I no longer had the energy to deal with it. Once I got home I saw the problem and called the store who assured me it will be corrected, but still.....

The final dollar cost: The pre-sale total was $77.48 with savings of $29.08 or 37.5%, for a total cost of $48.80 which was paid for with the gift card.
The final points earned: 450 for gift card, 8,000 for e-coupon, 480 regular, for a total of 8,930 points, worth more than $10.00. Adding this amount to the $29.08 brought the day's savings to roughly $39.00 or 50% - great savings with no real effort required.

Saving on groceries doesn't need to be time-consuming. It just needs a plan.

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MORE SCAMS I JUST LEARNED ABOUT ...

• A "collection agency" calls telling you that your bill with a business (vague about which business) is being sent for collection and in order to provide you with more information they need your bank account and social insurance numbers - its a scam.
• This call my husband received - apparently we can't receive any more credit on our credit line, if we want more information, we just need to press 1 - another scam. 

If anyone has heard of other scams making the rounds, please share. It's only by sharing and reporting that we have a chance of making a dent in this activity. 

Grocery Sales Forecast for September

I love September. I've always thought it seemed more like the start of a New Year than January ever did. Once the children returned to school life again settled into a less hectic, more comfortable routine. Its also a great month for the frugal-minded, offering a number of money-saving events, such as Walmart’s Anniversary Week Sale starting September 13; Foodland's One-Day sale on the first Thursday after Labour Day; and Shoppers' September promotions for Optimum Card holders. September is also the month when we find the greatest selection of low-priced, locally-grown produce and we'll probably have the opportunity to stock up on super-priced 5lb and 10lb bags of Carrots, Cooking Onions, Red Onions and Beets.

Having a good idea of upcoming sales can substantially increase the savings - fortunately stores generally run according to a set pattern and reviewing past activity provides a fairly accurate picture of what we can expect. Based on previous activity, I'll be planning my shopping around:

• Walmarts Anniversary Week Sale: While this sale doesn't appear to impact on groceries so much, other than detergents and paper products, there are fabulous sales right throughout the store, including housewares, electronics, toys, tools and more. 
• Foodland's One-Day Sale: Excellent prices on a limited number of products - at times they've held truckload sales to coincide - in 2012, every kind of Schneiders' product was offered. 
• Shoppers Optimum Card Promotions: Shoppers 20x points (spend $50.00 or more) promotion on the Saturday of the Labour Day Weekend. Chances are good that they will have September 'Spend Your Points' Days offering increased value for Optimum points redeemed on those days. I personally won't be spending my points at that time as I'd rather wait until December when Optimum points usually have the greatest value.

In Season Vegetables:

Broccoli - Baby Cut Carrots - Cauliflower - Cucumbers, Field, English, Baby - Lettuce, Iceberg, Romaine Hearts, Leaf - Mushrooms - Peppers, Assorted - Potatoes - Mini-Potatoes - Tomatoes, Field, Grape - Zucchini.

In Season Fruit:

Apples - Blueberries - Grapes - Melons, assorted, including Watermelon - Nectarines - Peaches - Pears - Plums - Raspberries - Strawberries.

Stores will be competing for business with sales of Back to School products with many of the featured items used daily by almost everyone so we can all benefit:
Nature Valley Granola Bars, Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Bars, Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks

Quakers Oats & Instant Cereals, Post, General Mills & Kellogg’s Cereals

Pillsbury Toaster Strudel, Eggo Waffles

Nutella, E.D.Smith Jam, Smuckers Jam, Kraft Peanut Butter

Yogurt & Yogurt Drinks

Cheese Bars, Slices, Strings

Allens & Minute Maid 200g Juice Boxes

Variety of Chocolate Bars

Mr. Christie Crackers, Cookies and Mini-Treats

Schneiders Lunchmates, Snack Pack Pudding, Mott’s Fruitsations.

At the end of the month we'll have the opportunity to restock the baking cupboard with sale priced-products when a large variety of Baking Supplies are expected to come on sale:
Flour - Pie or Tart Shells - Evaporated Milk - Sweetened Condensed Milk - Dried Cranberries, Raisins or Pitted Dates - Cranberry Sauce - Assorted Chipits or Baking Bars - Brown, Golden or Icing Sugar - Lard or Shortening - Canned Pie Fillings - Marshmallows.

Nestle's and Chapmans will be offering an assortment of frozen treats to promote National Ice-Cream Sandwich Month.

A selection of Processed Tomato Products will be featured, including Canned Tomatoes - Tomato Paste and Sauces - Pasta Sauces - Canned Prepared Pastas - Ketchup - Salsa and Taco Dinner Kits, etc.  Canned, Condensed Soups will also be listed.

Finally, I expect Pet Food and Supplies to be listed for sale during the month.
Coupon available for Pedigree Dry Food (Buy 2 Get 1 Free).

Thought for today - Being frugal has nothing to do with being cheap and everything to do with being smart.
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Smart Source Coupons Now Available:
Food Products: Any Fruittella Product ($0.50)
Child/Infant: Huggies Diapers ($2.00) - Huggies Baby Wipes ($1.00) - Pull-Ups Big Kids Flushable Wipes ($1.00) - Pull-Ups NightTime Training Pants ($2.00) - Goodnites Bed Mats ($2.00)
Personal/Health Care: Arm & Hammer Spinbrush ($1.50) - Arm & Hammer Toothpaste ($1.00) - Any Almay Product ($3.00) - Phillips GoStyler Trimmer ($3.00) - Phillips Body Groomer ($10.00) - At Shoppers or Rexall: Zax's SkinCare Creams ($3.00)
Cleaners/Detergents: Lysol Fabric Mist ($1.00) - Any 2 Lysol Products ($1.00)
Pet Care: Pedigree Dry Food (Buy 2 Get 1 Free)
For any of these coupons, simply click on GetCoupons and follow the instructions.
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Grocery Sales Forecast for June.

I was faced with a bit of a conundrum here. I really wanted to introduce Richter's this week but then realized that this post would be going out the first week of June. Since the 'sales forecasts' rank among the top three popular posts, I decided to stay with the proven and add Richter's next week.

Father's Day falls on Sunday, June 16/13. This means the stores will go all out to compete for the Father's Day business and offer good sales on all the different Men's Toiletries, such as Shaving Products - Kits, Razors, Shaving Cream/Gel, After Shave; Personal Care Products - Body Wash, Deodorant, Shampoo; and Fragrances of all kinds.

Coupons are often available for Father's Day Items, Pharmacy Supplies, and similar products. Before going shopping for any of these products, click on 'Get Coupons' from Smart Source to check if any are available. Might as well take advantage of all the savings.
If you have a Target store near you, remember that they allow coupon stacking - One manufacturer's coupon plus one Internet coupon printed from www.Target.ca.

Summer Backyard Season continues and so do the specials on meat for the barbecue: Ground Beef, Steaks, Chicken, Ribs, Wieners, Sausages.
Vegies for the grill include:
From Canada - Assorted Peppers, including Mini-Peppers; Mushrooms; Hot-house Tomatoes.
From USA - Corn on the Cob.
Other: The condiments - Ketchup, Relish, Mayonnaise, Salad Dressing, Salsa, Pickles, etc.; Bottled Water, Energy Drinks, Iced Tea, Lemonades, Clamato Juice and Vegetable Cocktails; Ice Cream and Ice-cream Novelties, Freezies; Paper and Disposable Products - Plates, Cups, Utensils, Napkins, Paper Towel, Bathroom Tissue, Facial Tissue; Pharmacy Supplies - Insect Repellant, Sunscreen,  Pain Relief, Allergy/Sinus Medication, First Aid Products. Toothpaste and other Oral Care Products and Laundry Supplies may also be featured.

June is National Turkey Lover's Month, which should mean that turkey products are featured, but looking through past information this doesn't seem to be the case. Turkey is one of the healthy meats, so if the past repeats itself the Turkey Producers Marketing Association is missing a great opportunity to promote their products.

June is also National Dairy Month and this is promoted very well. All the dairy products will be featured at some time during the month, including Butter, Milk, Cream of all kinds, Yogurt, Smoothies, Cheeses - large variety of Hard and Soft Cheeses, Cottage Cheese, Cream Cheese, Cheese Slices, Cheese Spread. Also look for sales of Sour Cream and Eggs.

As soon as Father's Day is over, stores will start offering the products that go along with Holiday Weekends, Canada Day (July 1) and USA Independence Day (July 4). These sale products will include, in addition to the Summer Backyard Season items already listed, Chips, Dips, Coke, Pepsi, Other Sodas, Tacos, Tortillas, Crackers, Chocolate Bars, Marshmallows.

Seasonal Fruits and Vegetables. With the weather we have in Ontario, and throughout most of Canada, local grown fresh produce is sometimes hard to find, but it does start to make an appearance during May/June and from then on expands to provide an excellent selection of fruits and vegetables right through October. Whenever possible it makes sense to stick to the 100-Mile Rule. This rule promotes the purchase of foods grown locally within a 100-mile area. There are many advantages for those who follow this rule - top quality, best-tasting produce picked when fully ripe; less expensive as costly long-distance transportation is eliminated (bonus, less transportation pollution); and, local producers benefit from the sales which in turn strengthens the community. Unfortunately, not everything is grown within 100 miles, but when it is, it makes a lot of sense to follow this rule.

Ontario grown produce available during June:

Rhubarb, Strawberries 

Asparagus; Cucumbers, including Mini-Cucumbers; Leaf Lettuce, Mushrooms; Peppers, including Mini-Bell Peppers; Radishes, Hot-house Tomatoes. 

Produce Grown in USA:
Apples and Pears; Blueberries and Strawberries; Cantaloupe and Watermelon; Nectarines, Peaches and Plums.
Green Beans; Baby-cut Carrots (these are just regular carrots cut down to size - wouldn't carrot-sticks at 1/4 the price do as well?); Corn on the Cob; Boston, Leaf and Romaine Lettuce; Green Onions, Grape Tomatoes.

I mentioned at the beginning of this post that the Sales Forecasts were among the top three most popular posts. There is a little counter on my posting page that shows how many people visit each post. From that I'm able to tell which ones readers like well enough to share.
So far the most popular posts have been:
1. Loyalty Cards
2. Walmart vs Target
3. Grocery Sales Forecasts
4. Coupons 101

So that's it for another week. I hope everyone enjoys reading these articles as much as I enjoy writing them.

Target vs. WalMart - How do they compare?

A little more than a month ago, Target Stores came to Ontario, with the first three stores opening in Fergus, Guelph and Milton. Once the good weather arrives my friend and I will resume our biweekly day trips, with our first one planned to check out the Target Store in Fergus. There was a lot of hoopla surrounding the openings so it will be interesting to see for ourselves if all that was warranted. In the meantime, I'm getting ready for our trip. I've received the Target Debit Card (Red Card) and familiarized myself with their store policy. On the surface their policy appears much the same as WalMart's, but a closer look showed up some notable differences as described below. (Refers to Canadian Store Policies only.)

Target’s Price Match vs. WalMart's AdMatch:

• Both will match the price of identical items listed in local competitors’ printed ad (local competitor determined by store). While WalMart will AdMatch the competitors' current price, Target will also match the price of identical items listed for less in the following week’s Target flyer. Identical means the same brand, size, weight, colour, quantity and model number;
• Target requires price-match to be requested at guest services prior to purchase with proof of lower price. AdMatch takes place at checkout with competitor’s ad not required;
• WalMart will AdMatch produce and meat when the price is offered in the same unit type (lb. for lb., each for each, etc.). Target will not price-match produce and meat;
• Both have same general restrictions – no clearance, closeout, damaged products; no ads when the actual price cannot be determined; no percent or dollar off with no price specified, no pricing or typographical errors; No mobile offers or internet prices.

Rain-Checks:

• Customer (or guest) must request the rain-check for out-of-stock advertised items at customer service (guest services);
• Both stores may offer substitutions – again by request;
• Similar restrictions apply – while supplies last, bonus, and limited quantity items do not qualify. Both stores may limit the number of items applied to the rain-check;
• Big difference – Target issues a rain-check for each item: 4 bags of sugar=4 rain-checks, WalMart issues one rain-check per product: 4 bags of sugar=1 rain-check (4 units). Target guests have 30 days to redeem rain-checks. WalMart has the better policy in that customers can redeem rain-checks, one unit at a time, over a 90 day period, until all units have been redeemed.

Returns:

• Both stores allow most general merchandise (must have original accessories, packaging and receipt) to be returned within 90 days; 
• For computers, portable video players, GPS Units, Wireless prepaid phones, etc.,Walmart allows 14 days while Target allows 30;
• Both stores allow 30 days for TV’s, Home Audio Systems. Target allows exchanges of opened music, movies, video games and software; WalMart will not accept returns of those products.

Coupons.

• Both stores accept manufacturer coupons if they are original (no copies), legible, with Manufacturer Coupon printed on them, valid in Canada, have a correct remit address, a valid expiration date, and a scannable bar code. Items purchased must be identical to coupon description;
• Both will accept manufacturers coupons (showing specified price) for dollars/cents off, for free items (except those printed off the internet), and Buy one, get one free (BOGO coupons);
• WalMart will accept competitors coupons if for a specific item at a specified price – Target will not;
• Coupons can only be accepted for merchandise sold in store and must be presented at time of purchase;
• WalMart – One coupon per item and no limit to coupon transactions;
• Target - One Manufacturer coupon and one Target coupon per item (unless prohibited by coupon terms) and limit of four identical coupons per household per day, unless otherwise noted;
• Target – Coupon amount may be reduced if it exceeds the value of the item after other discounts or coupons are applied. No cash back;
• WalMart – If coupon value exceeds the price of the item, the excess may be given to the customer as cash or applied toward the basket purchase.

Loyalty Program.

• Target Red Card: This is where Target really shines. Using either the Target Debit Card or Target RBC Master Card provides 5% savings on most merchandise purchased in the store. Exceptions apply and include pharmacy and mobile services. Using the Target RBC Master Card at other locations earns rewards towards Target Gift Cards. No Annual Fee. 
• WalMart Master Card: Earn 1.25% of purchase in WalMart Rewards for virtually every dollar spent in WalMart stores. Earn 1% of purchase in WalMart Rewards in other locations where MasterCard is accepted. 

Assuming that the quality and price of the merchandise is comparable, it would appear that shopping at WalMart is slightly more convenient and less time consuming while Target may offer the shopper a few more ways to save.

Costly Asssumptions!

Have you noticed that things aren't always what you expect, especially when shopping? We enter a store with certain expectations about the way things should be, based more on what makes sense to us than what actually is and that can end up costing us. The following are some of the assumptions I've made in the past and now want to share so others can avoid them.

Bins at the entrance of the store.  Just like the large stacks of 'featured products' at the entrance of some stores, other stores have bins at the entrance just piled high with goods. Because of this and the way everything is just sort of tossed into the bins, they're often thought to contain on-sale or discounted products. On top of that, just to confuse things even more, sometimes these items actually are discounted, but for the most part they're just regular priced items. Comparing these items with similar products is key to determining the difference between the good and not-so-good buys. Interesting little side note. There is no need to pick up these items when entering the store because, in most cases, they can be found on the shelves with similar products which makes comparing content and price much easier.

Items on the end caps of shelves. This can be a real tricky one. Quite often the merchandise advertised for sale in the weekly flyers is placed on these end caps to make it easy for shoppers to grab as they walk by. Because these are the featured items they're often assumed to be the best deal; but if you compare with products further down the aisle you can often find a better buy. Another false assumption here is that having seen many of the featured items there, it is then assumed that all goods placed there are sale items. Not so. It's not unusual for the retailer to use the location to increase exposure of regular priced items that aren't selling well in order to remove them from inventory. Or else, this spot may be requested by manufacturers for the same reason, again at the regular price, so obviously no savings there. Checking and comparing all end-cap products carefully can lead to substantial savings.

Brand name items. Brand name products generally come in bright, attractive packages which makes them stand out from generic or store brands. This not only catches the eye, making them first pick, but it's often thought that brand name products are better quality. This is another false assumption. Consumer groups have found that most generic or store brands are just as tasty and nutritious as the name brands. They may actually be the same thing, just packaged differently. If it's found, by comparing nutrition and content information, that there is no difference, then why pay more just for the glitz and label?

Store Pricing. Until we've been proven wrong, we tend to believe that store prices follow a pattern that makes sense. We assume that buying in bulk gets you the best price or that purchasing the largest size of any product has to be the most economical way to buy. That isn't necessarily true. Surprisingly, it is often more cost effective to buy two smaller sizes of the product. This is especially true of cleaning supplies and detergents, but also of a great many other items - yogurt, for instance - found in almost every department throughout the store. Only comparing products will show which size is actually the better buy.

Here is a perfect example of 'doesn't make sense' pricing:

18-PACK EGGS. In our area, at this time, the regular price for the 18-pack of eggs is $3.89 or 22 cents per egg. At the same time, the 12-pack sells for $2.17 or 18 cents per egg. Absolutely no difference in egg size or quality, yet the larger pack cost four cents more per egg, which would work out to almost fifty cents more per dozen. Definitely doesn't make sense.

Being careful not to take our assumptions shopping or to take anything for granted can go a long way to stretching the grocery dollar. 

Store Practices to Watch!

Over the years I have become aware of hidden store practices designed to make customers spend more. Sometimes I've stumbled on this knowledge by accident while at other times friends shared their  experiences. But once I learned about these practices I was able to use the knowledge to further my own agenda, which was to spend less, not more. In this article I thought I would like to share some of what I've learned about store selling methods.

Featured sale products placed at store entrance. This is a practice widely used by one of the larger retailers. When you walk into their stores, the first thing you notice is this big stack of ‘on sale’ products. In most cases these are the featured sale items, which is fine, but the main problem with this placement is that these products are so far removed from where they’re normally stocked that its difficult to compare to similar products. That could mean that the customer, who thinks they're getting a bargain, may actually end up paying more than necessary.

Anyone interested in buying one of the featured products would do well to bring the store's current flyer with them when they go shopping. Its not necessary, or even desirable, to pick-up the item(s) at the beginning of the shopping - its much better to check out the shelves where they’re normally placed. If all of the featured items have been removed to the front, its still easy enough to compare similar products located on the shelves directly to the flyer description. If, after comparing quality and price of those products, it turns out that the products at the entrance are the best buy, then they can still be picked up on the way to the checkout.

Eye-level shelves.  At one time or another we've probably all heard about checking products on all the shelves, not just those at eye level, but for various reasons we often forget to do this. Yet when we do, we realize just what a difference it can make to the bottom line. Goods on shelves at eye level are the highly-promoted, attractively-packaged products which are usually associated with the highest markup and price. Its interesting to note that the products placed on the upper and lower shelves tend to blend into the background. Very few have bright packaging, which doesn't matter in itself because this doesn't mean much as far as quality is concerned, but it does mean that they fail to attract the eye and are therefore overlooked. Making a point of checking all the shelves, not just those at eye level, wll provide greater product choice and often a much better price.

Bundled products.  The other frequent come-on is the bundled items deal – such as 4 cans of tuna for $5.00. The wording makes customers think they need to buy the four cans to qualify for the discounted price, but not so. Unless it specifically says something like 4 cans for $5.00 or $1.49 each, the customer can choose just one can for the sale price of $1.25. This is especially important for singles or seniors where multiple quantities of anything may result in waste, which naturally increases costs. 

These are just a few of the more common practices - there are more. A good way to get around this is to shop at just a few stores to become familiar with their methods. This makes it easier to recognize their practices, interpret their wording, and remember product placement. This also allows the customer to make buying decisons based on quality and price, rather than the retailer's selling methods.

Grocery Sales Forecast for May.

With May just around the corner most of us can't wait to begin our backyard living, but before we do that, we first have the opportunity to celebrate Mothers on their special day - the second Sunday of the month. This means the stores will be packed with Chocolates, Flowers, Bath Products and Fragrances. Competition between the stores to bring in the shoppers will be intense before Mother's Day, which normally means great prices, but for super buys, check the day after. If just wanted for personal use and not for a gift, that's the day to really find deals on those products - anything wrapped in ‘Mother’s Day’ packaging will be offered for huge discounts.

The beginning of May is the time to start becoming familiar with the regular price of summer-time products. Knowing the regular prices will help determine when a sale is a true sale because they're definitely not all the same. Some sales barely make a dent in the price, so setting a 'don't pay more than' price of 70% of the regular price provides a range to work with. For example, if the regular price of ketchup is $2.00, then the 'don't pay more than' price-range at 70% is $1.40-$1.50 or less. If the price listed is $1.90, then its time to wait for a better deal to come along.

May is also a the time to check the pantry and fridge for the best-by dates of condiments, seasonings and other products that may not have been used since last Fall. Its quite possible that several of them will have expired and will need to be replaced. With the summer-time sales coming soon, this is the opportunity to do so at what will probably be some of the best prices for some time to come.

The main happenings in May to impact prices are the Holiday Weekends, regarded by most as the Unofficial Kickoff to Summer. These weekends take place on:

Canada – May 18-20/2013, Victoria Day (May 2-4 Weekend) and

USA – May 25-27/2013, Memorial Day.

Pretty well anytime after the beginning of the month and during most of May, the following products will most likely be featured....Ketchup, Relishes, Mayonnaise, Salad Dressings, Salsa, Pickles, Seasonings, Barbecue Sauce, Steak Sauce, Marinades, Olive oil;
Tacos, Tortillas, Hamburg/Hot Dog Buns, Variety of Buns and Breads; Chips, Dips, Sour Cream, Cheese Slices;
Coke and Pepsi Products; Juices, Vegetable Cocktails, Yogurt Drinks, Energy Drinks, Bottled Lemonade and Iced Tea, Bottled Water;
Ice-cream-all kinds, Yogurt varieties, Popsicles-all kinds, Freezies;

Fruits and Vegetables – Asparagus*, Romaine Lettuce, Salad Blends, Assorted Peppers, Cucumbers- English and Mini, Mini Carrots, Corn on the Cob, Vidalia Onions;
Grapes, Blackberries, Blueberries, Strawberries, Raspberries, Cantaloupe, Watermelon, Grapes.

*I just heard a rumor that, due to adverse growing conditions, asparagus may be in short supply this year. If this is true the price will more than likely remain high.  

May is National Asthma-Allergy Month, which is meant to create greater knowledge and awareness of these serious health issues. This will trigger the sale of over the counter medications intended to reduce and/or eliminate symptoms. 

With people longing for summertime and outdoor-living, choosing May to host National Barbecue Month was a natural. This promotion will influence the sale of meats and vegetables that are great grilled on the barbecue. Look for great prices for Beef – Steaks, Lean Ground Beef; Pork – Tenderloin, Backribs, Sideribs; Chicken – Breasts, Drumsticks, Legs (back attached); Other – Wieners, Beef Patties, Kielbasa, Oktoberfest Sausages, Breakfast Sausages, Bacon, along with the vegetables already listed above.

There's a better than average chance that the following products will be discounted during the month: 

Summer-Time Needs….Disposable dishes and cutlery; Paper products: Bathroom tissue, Paper towel, Paper napkins, Facial tissue, Plastic wrap, Foil wrap; Sunscreen, Insect Repelant, First-Aid Supplies, Batteries, and

Laundry and Dishwashing detergents.

Having a fairly good idea of what will be coming on sale within the next month helps plan the 'on sale' buying and makes cutting costs just a little bit easier.

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Don't Pay More - Substitute!

A few days ago I went shopping to replenish my perishables - milk, fresh fruits and vegetables. I was in luck with the milk, bananas, broccoli and cucumbers because they were all on sale, but the price of head lettuce – and a small head at that – was unreal. It was priced at $2.79 which is way beyond my ‘don’t pay more than’ price of $1.50. As I was standing there debating which of the sale products I would choose to substitute for the lettuce salad I had planned, I spotted a bin with nice big bunches of leaf lettuce at $1.27 each. The leaves were beautifully crisp and dark green and later turned into an excellent salad with superior flavour. I have had this happen many times before where the substitutions turn out to be better than the original choice.

Not being too specific when making up the grocery list is a good way to exercise flexibility when it comes to choosing products. Instead of writing head lettuce on the list, it pays to just write salad fixings. That seems to create a different mindset and basically says all that's required is something to make a salad - it doesn't need to be lettuce, there are lots of other options. Since both cucumber and broccoli were on sale, I could easily have made a great salad with either one of those products to replace a lettuce salad.

This shows that being frugal is not about cutting standards or buying lesser quality products, but about looking differently at the many choices available.

My Kindle e-book, Frugal for Everyone-Cutting the Grocery Budget, provides a lot of money-saving tips that take no time and effort to implement and which can be readily adopted by everyone..