How to shop at Kroger for less than Walmart

Ok all, here's the skinny on how I save on our household/grocery bills. First, coupons take a bit of time but if you think of your savings as income, you are getting paid. :) Organizing your shopping list and making the trip also takes some time. That said if you are willing to invest some time, you can reap the rewards.

• First things first - try to get ahead. With the exception of fruits, veggies, milk and bread you should be able to buy ahead of time and freeze or stock your shelves so you are only buying when there is a good deal and your coupons are working for you...don't pay $4 for a box of cereal when you could get it for $1.50. (More on this later)


• Utilize all the available coupon sources. Your Sunday paper has 2 - 4 circulars with coupons. Comb through them and clip ANY that you might use. Even if you don't need paper towels right now, if you find a pack of Bounty on clearance and your coupon takes them down to $.25 cents a roll, it will be worth buying and stocking up.


• Try to find a friend that you can swap circulars with. Chances are you buy different things and you'll be able to get a few bonus coupons for free from your coupon buddy.


• Hook up your Kroger shoppers plus card to Shortcuts.com and Cellfire.com. Make sure you sign up to receive email alerts when new coupons are posted and that you go to the site and add any and all coupons to your card. It won't hurt you if you don't use them.


• Make sure that your Kroger card has your current address and phone number attached to it and if you use an alternate ID at check out (like your phone number if you forget your card), make sure that your alternate ID is hooked up to your card and not someone else’s. Kroger tracks your purchases and sends you out coupons based on what you buy regularly, you want to take advantage of these coupons, they are great!


• Keep in mind that you can use Kroger coupons AND manufactures coupons and that all coupons under $.50 double at Kroger EVERY DAY!


• Become a Mypoints.com user and print coupons from their website. Then you are redeeming coupons for points that you can use to earn gift cards, etc. If you are new to Mypoints and you decide to create an account, use my email address (davidandred@gmail.com) so I'll get the referral credit please. :) Mypoints also gives you points for shopping through their website at online retailers. And they will send you emails to visit websites at 5 points a pop and offers to complete surveys for a variety of point values, usually starting at 10 points. These take a few minutes each day, but the rewards add up. Just this week I redeemed my points for a $25 gift card to Kohl’s and I can usually do this 3 - 4 times a year.


• You can get the same coupons you'll find on Mypoints from Coupons.com just without the added bonus of accumulating points.


• Visit the websites of manufacturers you use often and see if they have a mailing list (postal or email) that you can sign up for and get coupons. I belong to Gerber, Procter & Gamble, SC Johnson, and probably a few others I can't think of right now. I get email alerts when they have new products and coupon offers and get free samples and coupons in the mail.


• Check out Couponmom.com. She has alot of great coupon resources on her site as well, plus David is her graphic designer so we like to send her business (her site is free to use!)


• Work your circulars. Sometimes Kroger doesn’t have the best deal. In our area Publix occasionally has BOGO offers that will beat the Kroger price. Keep in mind you can use 2 coupons for BOGO offers, and you can use BOGO coupons on BOGO items to get them for free! Unless I really need the item I’ll usually wait it out and buy at Kroger for my gas benefit ($.10 off per gallon for every $100 spent), but if I need it I’ll shop somewhere else. I certainly don’t have loyalties to any one place.


• At Publix and Target, you can use manufacturers coupons AND Target/Publix coupons at their respective stores. For example, if you have a Target coupon for $1.50 off 3 boxes of cereal and you have manufactures coupons for $.50 off each box of cereal, you can use 3 manufactures coupons and your Target/Publix coupon for a savings of $4.50. If you shop when the cereal is on sale you can save even more. I try not to pay more than $2 for a box of cereal ever.

When I found out I was pregnant, my goal was to build up a 6 month supply of staples (deodorant, shampoo, household cleaners, dish soap, laundry detergent, etc.) before the baby came. I keep track of this "inventory" in my budget and update the quantities when I use something so I always know where I am. At month end I check to see where I'm running low and start hunting for bargains again. I never want to pay full price for something and this is how I track it. It does take a little organizational savvy, but it works for me and it has saved us lots of money.

Since I was buying ahead I never bought unless I was saving 50% or more off of Wal-Mart prices, not Kroger prices. For example - I use All Small & Mighty detergent. It's around $5 regular price at Wal-Mart and Target. Wednesday I bought 3, 32oz bottles for $2.50 each. On household items scoring a 50% discount is fantastic!

One final thought. If you have a choice in your wholesale club and BJs is an option - go for BJs. The membership fee is less than Sams and Costco and they honor both their coupons as well as manufactures coupons. I was a long time Sams member, almost 10 years, and we switched because the value at BJs was unbeatable with the coupons. Last month I got a 16 pack of puffs tissues for $7. When do you ever find Puffs for less than $.50 a box? :) Do keep in mind though that just because you are buying in bulk doesn’t mean you’re saving money. I can often times get paper towels or toilet paper cheaper at Kroger with their sales and my coupons than I can get a BJs. Also sometimes Target or Wal-Mart will have the better deal. I shop around before I buy and comparative shop before I buy whenever possible.

I you have other thoughts or ways you save money, please post a comment and share. :)