Cha-Ching on a Shoestring™

Living Large on a Limited Budget

Six Ways to Save Even More Money Shopping at ALDI

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I confessed last week that I only coupon at one store now, which is one reason I have a 20 minute couponing system that works for me and still saves me thousands each year.

The main reason I can still maintain my grocery budget without being an extreme couponer? ALDI. They are my secret weapon.

Since ALDI does not accept coupons and their prices are already so low, I’ve discovered that I need to get a little creative when it comes to finding ways to save even more. But believe it or not, it is possible to score even greater savings at ALDI. So, grab a notepad, and look up Aldi openings, because here are six simple secrets to help you score rock-bottom deals at ALDI Food Stores:

1. Save extra with receipt-scanning apps:

Checkout 51: I was just tickled when I realized that I could use Checkout 51 to score even better prices at ALDI. (It’s how I scored blueberries for $0.74 and a dozen eggs for $0.39.) Even better, a smartphone is not required! Not all Checkout 51 offers will work at ALDI since they don’t carry many brand name items. But look for Checkout 51 offers for ANY brand to slash your savings even more.

Receipt Hog: Receipt Hog is another fun way to save by scanning your receipt – and they allow receipts from any store!

2. Look for In-Store Price reductions:

Ways to Save More Money Shopping at Aldi

I get all a-flutter, when I spot signs like this in the store. Sometimes I find them in the Special Buys section, and sometimes they just pop up out of nowhere. Either way, keep your eyes open for that lovely little “Lower Price” sign.

3. Look for In-Store Coupons:

Does Shopping at Aldi really save you Money?

Occasionally, ALDI breaks their own “No Coupon” rule and slaps a coupon on something. Typically you can find these in the meat section, when a product is nearing its Sell-By date. Grab it up and your discount will come off at the cash register.

4. Shop the Seasonal Clearance section:

Can you really save money shopping at aldi?

Typically there is a seasonal clearance section at ALDI. These deals are usually super low – and who says you can’t eat Red Velvet cake even after Valentine’s Day?

5. Look for unadvertised limited time promotional offers in store:

Can you really save money shopping at Aldi?

Again, I get a little giddy when I spot limited-time promotions in store like this Buy One Get One Free bread deal which scored me loaves of bread for just $0.65 each – no coupons involved! Keep your eyes open for these offers – you just never know when they will pop up.

6. Bring Your Own Bags.

I’m throwing this one in for ALDI newbies. Be sure to bring your own bags. One way ALDI keeps their prices so low is by charging a few cents per bag. Bring your own bags and you’ll keep your savings in your pocket! (You’ll also want to read my ALDI 101 post to find out why you should bring a quarter and a couple other important details.)

Of course, the best way to score great deals at ALDI is by shopping their sales. I post the ALDI Weekly Ad each Wednesday for my local ALDI chain. (Be sure to check your ad to see if your store offers the same deals.) Their regular prices are pretty awesome, so you can imagine how amazing their sale prices are!

How about you? Can you think of any other ways to get the most bang for your buck at ALDI?

I linked up to Thrifty Thursday.

My 20 Minute Couponing System that Saves Me Thousands of Dollars per Year

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This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will make a small commission if you click and make a purchase.

20 Minute Couponing System

If you watched my ridiculous Coupon Lingo video earlier this week and are new to couponing, you may find yourself thinking, “This couponing thing is really hard.”

Listen to me when I tell you this, friends:

Couponing does not have to be difficult.  I promise. 

In fact, in this season of my life with three young boys, I have developed a system for my couponing that is so easy, it literally takes me about 20 minutes per week.

If you are in a busy season of life or feel overwhelmed by couponing, I want to share my system with you so that you have the tools you need to get the most bang for you buck.

Recently, you saw how I got $56 worth of items for $3.61, $57 worth of items for $3.99 and this $0.33 shopping trip at CVS.  Those really are typical CVS shopping trips for me  – and can easily be for you too.  And since I save about $30 – $50 per week, that equals about $2000 or more per year that I am saving with my 20 minute per week system.

So here is my Tried-and-True 3-step 20 Minute Couponing System: 

coupon organizer

1. I use the No-Clip Couponing Method.

I don’t clip coupons.  Are you shocked?

When I first started couponing, I would spend an hour or so each week clipping and sorting coupons.  It was fun for a while…until it wasn’t.  When I discovered the No-Clip Coupon Method, I was sold and never looked back.  I can’t even calculate the number of hours I’ve saved through the years because of this.

Have I missed some deals while in the store because I didn’t have all my coupons? Sure.  But I’ve made the choice to use my time to save money in other ways, so I’m quite sure it all comes out in the wash.

2.  I only coupon at one store.

My store of choice for couponing is CVS since I find it is the easiest store for me to regularly save 80% or more.  On occasion, I will use a few coupons at the grocery store, but for the most part I shop at ALDI – where they don’t even accept coupons!

In the early days, it was easy for me to spend hours planning and carrying out my shopping trips.   Time is a very precious commodity to me now and so I’ve cut back.  In fact, after my third son was born, I went months and months without couponing.   But now I’m enjoying the savings that CVS brings me – and a trip to CVS is often just what we need to break out of the house now and then!

3.  I use my CVS Store Deals Custom Shopping List. (Now found on the Favado app.)

Since the sales are already matched the coupons available, this simplifies making a shopping list SO much.  Here’s how I use it:

  1. I check out the best weekly CVS Deals.
  2. I select only the top 3-5 deals or so.  My goal is always to get the most ECB’s for the smallest amount of money, so this means only taking advantage of the very best deals each week.
  3. I email that list to myself and print/clip the coupons that I will need.

Typically this whole process only takes me about 20 minutes. Occasionally it takes a bit more if I have to clip more coupons, but last week it only took me about 10 minutes!

I also make a point to clip any coupons for upcoming deals that I post throughout the week so I am prepared when the time comes – yes, I follow my own blog!

And there you have it, friends.  My 20 Minute Couponing System.  It works for me and it can work for you too!

Click here to subscribe to my posts by email so you don’t miss a deal!

Here are some posts that you may find helpful: 

Coupons 101

Drugstore Shopping 101

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this and feel free to ask any questions!  That’s why I’m here! 🙂

Shopping Adventures: How I Spent $3.99 on $57.52 Worth of Products at CVS this Week

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This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will make a small commission if you click and make a purchase.

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In the world of couponing, some weeks are a win and other weeks are a fail.   I’d say this week was a win!  I bought everything pictured above for a total of $3.99 OOP!

(Psst…don’t know what OOP means?  Be sure to watch my silly Coupon Lingo Video that I shared earlier this morning.  Actually, be sure to watch it even if you do know what OOP means. ;))

I also learned my lesson and headed to CVS on Sunday, so they still had the items in stock unlike last week.

Here’s how I worked this deal:

Buy (4) Skippy Peanut Butter @ $2.50 ea.
Buy (2) Scott Bath Tissue Rolls @ $1 ea.
Buy Culturelle Kids Probiotic for $10
Buy (6) Snickers Bars @ $1 ea. (Buy 2 Get 1 FREE)
Buy (1) M&M’s single serve @ $0.75
Use $5 off $25 coupon that arrived by email
Use $1/2 Scott CVS coupon from the coupon machine
Use $5 Culturelle coupon (no longer available)
Use $2 Vitamin purchase CVS coupon (no longer available)
Use (4) Free Snickers coupons (available through 2/28)
Use $5 in ECB’s from last week
Get $3 ECB’s from Skippy
Get $10 ECB’s from Culturelle
Get $0.75 ECB’s from M&M’s
$3.99 OOP after coupons!

Plus I received $13.75 in ECB’s to use on my next trip.  Woo hoo!

Have you gotten any great deals this week?  I want to hear all about it.  Leave a comment and share!

Click here to check out the rest of the CVS deals this week.

Coupons go fast.  Be sure to sign up for my email newsletter so you don’t miss another deal!

My Shopping Trips this Week: Target, Aldi and Landis

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This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will make a small commission if you click and make a purchase.

It was a big shopping week around here.  I had stretched my Emeals plan as far as I could, so it was time to print out another menu plan and head to the store.

I really can’t remember the last time that I spent over $100 in groceries for one week.  Thankfully, I’ve been under budget the past few weeks, so we had some room to spare in our grocery budget.

I didn’t get a picture of my Aldi or Landis shopping trip, but you can see my Target trip pictured above.

Target:

Spent: $8.76 after coupons and gift cards (highlights were free Women’s t-shirts, Welch’s Fruit Fizz for $0.39, free nail clippers, and free Carefree liners)
Saved: $28.71

Aldi:

Spent: $87.65 (highlights were $0.79 bread, bananas for $0.43/lb., cantaloupe and pineapple for $1.79
Saved: approximately $20

Landis:

Spent: $24.87 (highlight was free Suave deodorant)
Saved: $15.24

Total Spent: $87.65
Total Saved: $63.95

I just had to post a picture of this fun little haul I scored at Target with my free $50 Target gift card from MyPoints. (I still have some to spare.)  I can’t believe there will be a little body in these clothes in about a month!

My Shopping Trips this Week: CVS, Giant and Landis

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This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will make a small commission if you click and make a purchase.

If this week’s shopping trip was any indication of what we actually ate, we’d be in trouble.

I had no major shopping to do, so I shopped the sales and got some great deals on cleaning products, soda and ice cream.

How’s that for a balanced diet?  🙂

Everything in the picture above totaled $5.34, so I was pretty excited about the deals I scored.  I also got a few essentials at Landis (milk, bread, fruit), but didn’t get a picture.

So here’s my deal breakdown:

CVS:

Spent: $0.00 after ECBs and gift card on five 12-packs of soda
Saved: $20.95

Giant:

Spent: $5.34 on (2) Clorox Wipes, (2) Clorox Toilet Cleaner, (1) Clorox bleach, ice cream sandwiches, (2) Skinny Cow Ice Cream Cups and Dole Frozen Fruit
Saved: $13.07

Landis:

Spent: $18.21
Saved: $6.29

Total Spent: $23.55
Total Saved: $40.31 (a savings of 63%)

Have you gotten any great deals this week?

My Shopping Trips this Week: CVS and Giant

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I figured out a new way to save money on groceries this week.  Let the stomach bug hit your family.  There were several nights of crackers and cereal for dinner…so we cut waaaay back on our food bill. 🙂

In all seriousness, I didn’t have to do any real grocery shopping this week because our Emeals Meal plan from last week is still getting us through.  (Thankfully, we are all healthy again, so I’m guessing grocery shopping will need to take place next week.)

But there was a cereal deal at Giant that I didn’t want to miss and thankfully, CVS had a gift card deal on Scott toilet paper because we were down to our last roll!  (And don’t you just love a good deal on toilet paper??)

So here is a summary of my saving and spending:

CVS:

Bought: (2) Scott Toilet Paper, (2) Scott Paper Towels, (2) Pert Plus and a Colgate Pro Relief
Spent: $14.69 after coupons and ECBs (plus received a $10 gift card and $4 in ECBs)
Saved: $27.04

Giant:

Bought: (12) boxes of cereal, a gallon of milk, a dozen eggs, bananas, turkey and cheese and Coffeemate creamer.
Spent: $22.89 after coupons and instant savings
Saved: $34.17

Total Spent: $37.58
Total Saved: $61.21 (a savings of 62%)

Have you gotten any great deals this week?

My Shopping Trips this Week: CVS, Landis, and Redner’s

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I did some bargain shopping this week at Landis, Redner’s and CVS.  I purchased a few essentials I needed as well.

Here is my Landis purchase:

I took advantage of the Kimberly Clark rebate that was in this week’s Landis ad.  After my $10 rebate, I will have paid $27.86 for everything pictured above.  Plus there is a Kleenex catalina going on right now, so I received a $1.50 catalina coupon to use on my next shopping trip.

The Duncan Hines cakes mixes were $0.55 after doubled coupon.

Spent: $27.86

Saved: $35.76

Here is my Redner’s Shopping Trip (and the Colgate toothpaste is from CVS):

Some of the highlights were grapes for $0.98/lb., a pound of strawberries and two bags of Fresh Express salad for $0.96 (strawberries were free when you buy two plus I had a $1/2 coupon).

I had a coupon for the Smart Ones entree from a while back, so it was free.

I paid $0.06 after coupon and ECBs for the Colgate toothpaste.

Total: $32.19

Saved: $20.74

Total Spent: $60.05
Total Saved: $56.50

Have you gotten any great deals this week?

My Shopping Trips This Week: CVS, Aldi, Landis and Redner’s

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This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will make a small commission if you click and make a purchase.

This week I needed to do some actual grocery shopping.  That’s what happens when you eat, I guess.

I printed my E-Mealz meal plan this morning and headed to Aldi.  (And did I mention I didn’t have any children with me?  And that I stopped by Starbucks for this while I was out?  Yep.  It was a good day.)

Here is my Aldi purchase:

*Disclaimer: I apologize for the blurriness of these photos.  My husband needed the camera today, so I used my iPod.  Won’t be winning any photography awards any time soon.

Some of the highlights include:

  • A 3 lb. bag of Tangerines for $1.49
  • A bag of baby carrots for $0.69
  • A pineapple for $1.89

And thankfully, I already had quite a few of the items needed for the menu plan, so this was a quick trip!

Spent: $35.58
Saved: $15 (estimate)

I also stopped by Redner’s on my way and grabbed a couple of their deals.  I don’t have a picture, but highlights were Fresh Express Salad for $1 and Kraft Shredded Cheese for $2.  (Would have been cheaper, but unfortunately they wouldn’t accept one of my coupons.)

Spent: $14.29
Saved: $7.97

Here is my CVS trip (minus a certain Reese’s Chocolate Egg…)

CVS has been very fun for me this week.  I took advantage of the FREE Physician’s Formula deal, the Skintimate moneymaker (when it was still working), the free Speedstick (plus I’ll submit a rebate) and the free Hallmark cards.  Oh…and there may or may not have been a Reese’s Chocolate Egg deal that went down as well.  Ahem.

Total: $2.72
Saved: $37.61

I also made a run into Landis last night for a few deals and some cheese we needed for dinner.

Total: $7.94
Saved: $7.19

Total Spent: $60.53
Total Saved: $67.77

Have you gotten any great deals this week?