Sale Limits

Some sale items in the supermarket's advertising show a limit on the number you can purchase. On occasions I have purchased more than the limit and had no problem. Why have the limit if they are not going to enforce it?

counting out your change

Does the cashier put the coins on top of the bills and dumps everything in your hand? Not with me! "Please hand me the change first" is what I say. Then I take a quick look at the change and then pocket it and finally reach for the bills. How do you handle this?

Packaging smaller portions of meat

Are you a single/senior who finds the supermarket does not package single servings of fresh meat/poultry? What do you do about it?

Slip and falls in the supermarket

Have you ever fallen in the supermarket? Were you injured and did you incur medical expenses? If so, were you reimbursed by the store? Did they turn you down? What was your experience?

Knowing the supermarket manager

I try to make it a habit to look for the store manager and say hello. Just recently I asked him if he could recommend any good deals. He told me that the Cheerios on sale, BOGO, also had free sticker coupons for Yoplait - 4-pack Yoplus+. I found them and at the checkout counter paid $4.49 for two boxes of cereal and 8 containers of the Yoplus+!!!
Has anyone else had good experiences having store associates lead them to good deals?

Quartering a Chicken

When I buy a cooked rotiserie chicken, I ask the deli deparment service associate to quarter it. When I get home and unpack the chicken, more than half the time the chicken has not been cut up into four quarters. Does this happen to anyone else?

Pricing Errors

Have you caught price errors at your supermarket? Have they been sale items rung up at the regular price? How freqently does his happen? When you catch an error, what do you do about it?

Rate the baggers

How do the baggers at your supermarket rate? Do they pack the fresh meat and cleaning products separately? Do they balance the weight of the bags? Do they pack soft items on top? On a rating of one to ten, ten being the highest, best, how do they rate?

Friendly Cashiers?

Do you welcome a friendly cashier? Or, would you rather the cashier limited the talk to "hello" and "thank you for shopping at...."?

Going Over the Express Lane Limits

How many items are you willing to go over the express lane limit before you are embarrassed?

Dirty Carts

Are the carts dirty? Ask and find out how often they are cleaned. It may surprise you!

Buying half of a BOGO

Why do some supermarkets give you half off, when you buy just one of a BOGO sale item and some require you to buy both?

Supermarket Clearance Items

How does your supermarket handle "clearance" items? It pays to know where they are and when new items are added. My Publix has a clearane

Beware of Counterfeit Coupons

Coupon Crooks cost manufacturers hundreds of millions of dollars each year and contribute to rising grocery prices. The electronic age has made it relatively easy to make counterfeit coupons. Some of them are now being sold on ebay!


Manufacturers are offering $2500 rewards for the successful prosecution of these theives. You can read all about it and see samples of the coupons being counterfeited on the website of the Coupon Information Center in Alexandria, Virginia: http://www.cents-off.com/. The site has important information for every coupon clipper.


You can contact CIC:
Bud Miller, Executive Director
(703)684-5307
e-mail: ersalexandria@msn.com

Product Downsizing

Have you noticed the downsizing of a familiar grocery product? How do you feel when their are fewer sheets in the roll? Fewer ounces in the container? And the price actually goes up!

This forum is a good place to post your downsizing news.

Smart Balance Milk

I love finding a coupon someone has left on the shelf so another shopper can have the savings. I call this "Johnny Coupon-seed."

It was a customer or it might have been the driver who delivered the milk, who left a $1 coupon in the case next to Smart Balance milk. Attached to the milk carton I found a coupon good for 55-cents off Smart Balance Butter Blends, another nice surprise. It pays to keep your eyes open!!!

P&G's Room By Room Savings Booklet

I just found the P&G Room By Room savings booklet in a floor display at Publix. More than $17 worth of coupons including Tide, Downy, Charmin and Swifter. They are not on sale this week, but I am confident they will be next week or the week after.

Look for the displays in your supermarket and let me know when you find the sales that turn these coupons into Double Plays.

Stocking Up - Buy A Case

This week I found Special K and Northland Cranberry Pomegranate on sale, "Buy 1 - Get 1 Free." My BW consumes "mass quantities" of Special K and the Northland is a favorite dinner beverage. So, I ordered two cases of each. 14 boxes of cereal to the case, and 8 bottles of juice to the case. And I had some coupons as well. I have been doing this every 3 or 4 months.

Do you stock up? Let me know. --- Martin

Your Questions

Hi! Do you have a question concerning shopping at the supermarket or the use of coupons and other manufacture promotion offers? I will try to answer them --- Martin

Finding More Good Coupons

I call it the "Johnny Appleseed" method: Each week put unwanted coupons in an envelope. Whenever you leave home, wherever you go, take the envelope with you. Surprise your friends and neighbors (the ones who are not already saving coupons for you), by offering them the envelope with a simple: "take out any coupons you can use."

When they have removed from the envelope several coupons they
can use and you see the smile spread across their faces, ask them to put their unwanted coupons in envelopes and keep them handy just the way you are doing. You just planted the seed for a simple way to exchange coupons. With a little luck, the next time you meet that person, she will have an envelope full of coupons for you to go through.

Why be bashful? You have nothing to lose. Carrying around
that envelope of coupons is no big deal. Pleasantly surprise a
few people you know and they may turn out to be excellent
sources for the coupons you can use.

Food or Gasoline?

If you are tight for money, do you cut back on driving and gasoline so you can put food on the table? Or do you economize on food so you can fill up the tank? For many people today, it is a difficult choice.

Food Prices, Up Up Up! What Are You Doing About It?

As food prices go up, so does the interest in saving money. In the past year, the supermarket price of milk has risen almost 20 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nationally, grocery prices in general are up almost 5 percent from December 2007; in the West, they're up more than 7 percent, the biggest jump in the country. Are you a Smart Shopper? What are you doing about it?

Waiting in the Checkout Line

Do you shop at the supermarket very early in the morning or in the evening to avoid the crowds and long checkout lines? Does this cut down on the shopping time?

Checkout Line lane Switchers

Waiting in a long checkout line is the worst part of shopping. Place holders and lane switchers add to the anxiety! Standing in the line in front of you is a shopper without a cart. That shopper is holding the place for another shopper who is still shopping. Or, holding a place for a shopper in an adjoining line, who might switch over if it looks like your line is moving faster. My advice is to tell the place holder to FORGET IT! Supermarket Etiquette is clear. You don't get in a checkout line without a cart! How do you handle this situation?

Shopping Carts - Dirty Carts Can Make You Sick

Dirty carts can make you sick. I am not talking about a sick feeling when you notice all the carts look filthy. I mean touching the cart handle, which may look clean, but in reality is germy. A study done several years ago by researchers at the University of Arizona found that 21% of the cart handles carried bodily fluids including mucas, saliva and urine! These are fluids that can carry viruses that can make you sick.... very sick! They are especially dangerous to those with weak immune systems, seniors as well as young children. The next time you go shopping look carefully at the carts. Are they dirty? Ask the store manager how often they are cleaned (most supermarkets clean carts a few times a year). Does your supermarket offer disinfecting wipes at the cart pickup location? Do you use them, or bring along your own? I look forward to hearing from you.

Coupon Files and Organization

To play the Great Grocery Game, you will want a very large stock of coupons; the more you have the more you save. Early on you will recognize you need a file and a good system to organize them. It makes filing coupons easy and you can quickly find the coupons you need. I recommend an expandable cancelled check file. It can hold hundreds of coupons. I organize the file's 12 pockets by product groups. Question: How do you file your coupons?

Supermarket shopping with young children

I strongly advise leaving young children home for several reasons: Trying to keep an eye on a child makes shopping difficult.... especially if you are intent on saving money. The more active the child, the more difficult it is. Even more important is the safety of your child. According to hospital emergency room statistics, each year more than 18,000 young children are seriously injured in falls from shopping cart!

Cherry Picking and the Price of Gas

If you play the Great Grocery Game, you know that playing with the specials at several supermarkets can multiply your savings. But, does it make sense with the high price of gas? What is your opinion?

Getting This Blog Off To A Good Start

Thanks for dropping by. In the next few days I will post topics that concern supermarket shoppers including money-saving Great Grocery Game strategies. If you don't see a topic that concerns you, don't hesitate to let me know.

Your questions and interesting experiences, let's get rollings with them as well! I intend to make this blog an enjoyable spot to relax, kick off your shoes and get creative.

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