I Saved $26 on Groceries by Using Coupons — and Hated Every Minute of It

Other mom friends said they plan their grocery list around what’s on sale that week. This approach seemed like too much work for me, so I decided to keep things simple by making a grocery list, then scouring for coupons before I hit the stores.

Finding coupons to clip was made easy with the help of a mobile app, which Fuscaldo perused before heading out to the grocery store.

Dolly Faibyshev

My first challenge was finding the circulars. I don’t get a newspaper delivered to my house (because who still does?). However, I do know how to use Google, and a quick search yielded dozens of free apps and websites that aggregate supermarket weekly circulars. I discovered the stores that I typically shop at for groceries — Target, Walmart and Stop & Shop — post weekly deals on their websites and mobile apps. To keep things simple, I downloaded Flipp, a free app that allowed me to select my supermarkets and browse their circulars right from my smartphone. 

After perusing the circulars — which, I have to admit, got tedious real quick — I selected one supermarket that offered the best deals based on my grocery list and downloaded the store’s loyalty app. From there, I clipped digital coupons, adding them to my store loyalty card. Two items — paper towels and London broil — were cheaper at a different grocery store, so I planned to stop there on the way home. 

I made a conscious decision to tackle my coupon search the day before I went out shopping for groceries, so I could browse the circulars in front of the TV at my own pace, instead of forcing myself to tick off both tasks back to back. I almost threw in the towel the first night but kept at it with dreams of saving a fortune circling in my head.

On the hunt

Determined to save money, I headed to the grocery store ready to scour the shelves, put my prep work to use and find the best bargains the supermarket had to offer. Unfortunately, that plan went out the window as soon as I entered the store. Where I live, supermarkets are crowded, lines are long and nerves can easily get frayed. Add the fact that I went grocery shopping on a rainy Saturday afternoon, and you can see why I yearned to be pretty much anywhere other than the supermarket. 

Still, I forged ahead, committed to saving as much money as possible. I tried to stick to my grocery list the best that I could, but I admit that I went rogue a few times and purchased items that weren’t on sale. After all, who can pass on pumpkin special edition Oreo cookies or cotton candy-flavored grapes? I know I can’t. 

Fuscaldo loads her cart with staples for the week, taking extra care to stick to her list.

Dolly Faibyshev

Checking out was easy, sort of. I forgot to bring in my reusable shopping bags, so instead of paying for paper bags, I set my cart aside and darted out to my car in the rain to retrieve them. Once I was back inside, my clothes dripping wet, the cashier scanned the store loyalty app on my phone, and the coupons were automatically applied to my bill. I ended up saving $25.98. I was thrilled! Sure, the gentleman in front of me saved a lot more, but he also had a $300 plus grocery bill. Mine was shy of $150. I determined in my head what my extra $26 would go to. (And, no, it wasn’t more groceries.)

I felt very proud of myself. But I also lost my food shopping drive and decided to skip the second store. I figured that I had saved money and that my family had enough paper towels to get by until the next outing. All in all, I think I did a decent job of saving money even if I hated every minute of it.

But I could have done better, says Trae Bodge, a shopping expert who gave me a 7 out of 10 for my efforts.

What I did right ...

She did it! Fuscaldo proudly holds up her receipt showcasing her $26 savings.

Dolly Faibyshev

Given my hatred of food shopping and little resolve, Bodge says, choosing a method that was doable for me warranted a high grade. “Ultimately, saving money on regular purchases like groceries is only effective if you can do it regularly,” Bodge says. Sure, I could have been more aggressive by clipping paper coupons and visiting multiple stores, but would I do that long-term? The answer is probably no. 

What I did wrong …

A grade of 7 out of 10 means there is room for improvement. Bodge says simple steps such as purchasing store brands, joining a warehouse club to buy bulk items and using a credit card that rewards my food shopping purchases with cash back or points would have bumped up my savings. “Some credit cards allow you to earn cash back on everything you buy,” Bodge says. “Along those lines, if you’re going to continue to shop at Target for groceries, use their debit or credit card, which gives you a 5 percent discount off your bill. If you place your order on the Target app, you’ll also be able to see what’s on sale.”

Will I change? 

It felt great to save 26 bucks, but the next week, I was back to my old ways. The allure of the Target app and the idea of not navigating the store aisles won out over saving money with digital coupons. Maybe in the future, I’ll start buying store brands and use a cash-back credit card, per Bodge’s advice, but I doubt it. After this experience, I would say my relationship to grocery shopping is a little less hate and more love, but you won’t catch me cutting out paper coupons anytime soon.