Monday, February 2, 2009

The Power of the Consumer Story

Sandy Harper handles the grocery budget for her family of eight in Tucson, Arizona. “Our youngest is one and our oldest is ten,” says Sandy. “Saving on groceries is very important at our house.” But with six children, Sandy doesn’t have time to hunt through stacks of supermarket flyers looking for bargains. Instead, Sandy is a member of a web site called mygrocerydeals.com. She found mygrocerydeals.com early in 2008 when she was searching for ‘grocery deals’ and that was the last time she needed to run that search. “I use mygrocerydeals.com every week to quickly scan for the best prices on the items on my list and to watch for especially good deals.”

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Get frugal with food shopping

By Allecia Vermillion GateHouse News Service
http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2009/01/30/56980161/index.xml

The average person spends $3,400 per year on groceries, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Multiply that for a family of four – or more – and food costs can take a bite out of the family budget almost as large as the mortgage.

No matter how much you spend on food, chances are you could spend less. Use these tips to give your household a monthly raise by lowering your grocery expenditures.

1. Brand-name vs. generic
Generic brands are great for ingredients like pasta noodles, frozen vegetables or butter. For items like cereal or salad dressing, incorporate items gradually so you and your family don’t feel deprived of your preferred brands. Always compare the cost per ounce, since some national brands cost the same as generic counterparts.

2. Coupons
Clipping coupons can ring up savings, but you have to invest some time, says Kathy Peel, author of “The Busy Mom’s Guide to a Happy, Organized Home.” She suggests starting with one to two coupons per week, since “habits always start small.” Stick to brands you know and products you need or you could end up spending more money. Be sure to take advantage of your store’s double- or triple-coupon days.

3. Buying in bulk
Consumer Reports studies show shoppers consistently save money buying in bulk at warehouse stores like Costco and Sam’s Club. However, a bulk box of cereal isn’t a good buy if half of it goes stale and uneaten. Frozen meat or veggies make great bulk purchases because you can freeze them for later use. Nuts are another long-lasting bulk staple.

4. Sales
Like coupons, sales only save you money if you stick to products you already use. If you haven’t already, sign up for your grocery store’s loyalty card to take advantage of members-only coupons and savings. Consumer Reports recommends scouting www.mygrocerydeals.com to see what’s on sale at stores in your area.

5. Don’t shop hungry
When your stomach is empty, your eyes are drawn to items you don’t need, especially more expensive packaged snack foods. Grocery stores are laid out specifically to tempt you to buy these sorts of items, and a full stomach is your first line of defense. If your stomach is growling, make sure you have a quick snack before heading off to shop.

6. Make a menu
If you shop once a week, take the time to plot all the meals and snacks you will be making before your grocery run. Not only will this help you avoid unnecessary purchases, but you can save money by coordinating ingredients. For example, if you buy a bunch of celery to make chicken soup, top extras with peanut butter for the next day’s snack, or combine with extra chicken for chicken salad.

7. Make a list
A list prevents you from wandering the aisles and buying whatever items look good at the time. Peel suggests adding an item to your list as soon as you run out. Knowing in advance that you need more ketchup means you won’t run back to the store for it later and risk buying unnecessary items.

8. Mind your meat
Peel estimates you save 25 to 30 percent when you slice beef or pork tenderloins into filets yourself, or buy whole loin to cut into chops. Lean meat is a savvier purchase than cheaper cuts with lots of excess bone and fat. Boneless and skinless chicken breasts are expensive, but Peel says they are a better buy since you’re not paying for parts you will discard.

9. Shop with a small cart
If there is less room in your cart, you are less likely to add items you don’t absolutely need. Or use a shopping basket. Having the weight of your purchases hanging from your arm will make you think twice about that liter of Coke or can of fancy olives.

Sources: Consumer Reports; “The Busy Mom’s Guide to a Happy, Organized Home”; U.S. Department of Agriculture Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Grocery bargains on Web sites help savvy shoppers save a bundle

Coupon clippers click away for deals

With the economy in the doldrums, more consumers are hitting the Web to shop for bargains before hitting the grocery.

"We make it a little bit easier," said Paul Davis, chief executive officer of mygrocery deals.com, which helps consumers find grocery sales at some 270 retail chains. "This is a fabulous way of saving money. Many say they save up to $200 or $400 a month."

A number of grocery Web sites track the best sales, sort coupons and even calculate savings with a few mouse clicks. Most are free.

The sites help shoppers find grocery sales by store, brand and specific product. Others, including coupon mom.com and grocery guide.com, offer directories so shoppers can find the exact coupons they're looking for in their newspapers.

My Grocery Deals

WLUK FOX 11 Green Bay
Dec. 19, 2008. 06:24 AM EST

Profile of mygrocerydeals.com

Grocery Savings Search Engine Finds 144,600 Deals In November



All Press Releases for December 28, 2008 Subscribe to this News Feed




In Tough Times MyGroceryDeals.com Helps Careful Consumers With Big Saving on Groceries

New York, NY (PRWEB) December 28, 2008 -- mygrocerydeals.com announced today that it served up more than 144,600 grocery savings deals to members across the country during the month of November. "We are working hard to help our members stretch their grocery dollars," says Paul Davis, CEO. "November was a very good month for saving on groceries, particularly in a very tough economy."

mygrocerydeals.com

canadianchains.com — mygrocerydeals.com using retail flyers and circulars to save money for grocery shoppers. The flyers information is independently and unbiased. Mygrocerydeals dot com put together a determined and professional team that worked hard for close to a year to deliver this service to you. They want all grocery shoppers to save time and money.

FÁCILES MANERAS DE REDUCIR EL COSTO DE SUS ALIMENTOS

En realidad, el Departamento de Agricultura de Estados Unidos estima que los costos de los alimentos se incrementarán aproximadamente un 5 por ciento durante 2009.

Pero antes de recurrir a comer las sobras cinco días por semana, existen maneras de ahorrar en los costos de comestibles. Todo lo que necesita es un plan, algo de disciplina a la antigua y un poco de tecnología para tener un impacto significativo en su factura de la tienda.

Siga estos consejos sobre la manera de gastar de la forma más inteligente y reducir los costos de los gastos de alimentos:

● Revise sus facturas de la tienda para conocer más sobre sus hábitos de compra. Cuanto más sepa usted sobre qué compra y cuánto cuesta, más podrá comparar precios y ahorrar.

● Elija los menús de las comidas antes de salir hacia la tienda. Si usted hace una lista de los artículos comestibles que necesita para toda la semana, será menos probable que se exceda en las compras y desperdicie alimentos. Además, no vaya a la tienda con el estómago vacío.

● Aproveche las rebajas de las tiendas en los ingredientes que usa a menudo y acumule un surtido. Compruebe los boletines semanales para ver qué está en oferta antes de salir hacia la tienda. Al estar alerta de estas promociones, usted puede ahorrar tanto como un 20 por ciento en sus facturas de comestibles.

● Busque ofertas en línea. Algunos sitios web, como:
www.mygrocerydeals.com, le permiten ingresar su código postal y extraer las mejores ofertas en cualquier artículo desde costillas hasta granos de café. Una vez en línea, puede crear listas de búsqueda para los artículos que compra más comúnmente que lo dirigirán a las tiendas donde puede ahorrar más.

● Recorra varias tiendas. La tienda de comestibles no es el único lugar donde encontrar alimentos básicos. Cuando se detiene en la farmacia o en una gran tienda de descuentos, camine hasta el pasillo de los comestibles para ver qué tienen para ofrecer. Podría encontrar mejores precios en artículos como la leche, el cereal, jugos y algunos más.

Por último, no olvide los cupones que pueden sumar ahorros significativos. Puede obtener muestras gratis y cupones de descuento en sitios web como Coolsavings.com

Bargains in the Tri-State Area

NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- With the economy in its current state, every penny counts and reporter Sean Adams is out there trying to save you as much money as possible. Listen to his reports below.

01/05/2009: Save Money and Ditch the Supermarket Circulars
LINK: mygrocerydeals.com
Getting a "Good Deal" on groceries this time of year isn't hard; all you have to do is spend a little time on your computer. I've found two websites that can help out the busy mom and dad trying to make ends meet by cutting down their grocery bill.

Here's the first site I checked out. It's www.mygrocerydeals.com.

All you have to do is enter your zip code and it will list all the deals at the grocery stores in your area.

The other site is very similar in name. It's www.grocerydeals.com.

This site offers coupons at more than 4,000 department stores across the country, and it also offers printable coupons that you can take with you to the grocery store.

And, when you are browsing around our website, you can also find printable coupons. Just go to the front page, click on "marketplace" and you'll see the link for the coupons.

Now, if you'd like to earn some gift cards for the department stores, there's a way to do that too. Just go to http://www.gather.com/gatherpoints.jsp.

All you have to do is offer your comments on this website and you can earn those gift cards. A big thanks to Roger Dean Kiser for this great suggestion.

If you know of another way for folks to get a "Good Deal" on the First Coast, drop me a line at pcrosby@firstcoastnews.com.

I'd love to hear about it and share it with the rest of our viewers!

Save Big On Your Groceries

VANESSA TYLER REPORTING

December 16, 2008

CLIFTON, NJ - Call it the Google of supermarket coupons; one website is making it a whole lot easier to take advantage of grocery deals in the New York area.

Mygrocerydeals.com does all the work your grandmother use to do, slaving away over the countless flyers and newspaper clipping to find the best deals. The website boasts it has found over 144,000 bargains in the last month alone, comparing deals between supermarkets and even drug stores.

Along with helping you find deals, the website allows you to print coupons and organize your shopping list.



http://www.wpix.com/landing/?Save-Big-On-Your-Groceries=1&blockID=163756&feedID=1404