We are currently in a "busy" season of life in my household. I have been extremely busy at work which has included some extra hours and travel. This has its positives (we are obviously busy at work = sales!) however it also has its negatives (less time with my family). The kids have also been busy with various activities, swimming, soccer, karate, and now T-ball. With all this "busy-ness", we have had to adjust our shopping style lately.
I have not been doing as much bargain/coupon shopping as I normally like, but we have found some new ways to save money which is currently working for us. Here is my list of our top stores that we have been frequently lately:
1. Costco - this one is new to us. We put off getting a member for so long because I doubted we would use it. Well I was wrong, my husband and I love this store and all it offers! There prices on a lot of items can't be beat! However we are still being very careful comparing prices and not just buying something because it "appears" to be a great deal. They are the cheapest in town right now on milk ($2.28 per gallon) and eggs ($3.19 for 3 dozen).
2. Aldi - this is always one of our favorite stores. We continue to get a lot of our staples at Aldi's including fruits, canned goods, cereals, frozen items, and boxed snacks. They have raised prices on milk (not happy) but are still the cheapest in town for bananas ($0.44/#), chicken noodle soup ($0.49 per can) and small cans of tomato sauce ($0.25/can). They have also ran some $10 off a $40 purchase coupons in our Sunday ads (love them - more please?)
3. Giant Eagle - my favorite store to coupon. Lately, the coupon deals have been, uh SLOW! I only shopped twice this past month. The first time was to use 10% in Food Perks and the second time to use the catalinas from the first trip. There truly have not been any great sales worth a stop. I hope this changes!
4. CVS - my favorite drug store! I use to make weekly trips during my lunch break at work. Lately the trips have been every other week. Again the sales have been mediocre. I have only been going when I truly see the value. I will continue to work my Extra Care Bucks however!
5. Walgreens - they are falling on my list! Too many new rules with coupons! I have had several instances where my Register Rewards failed to print and I had to return items because management would not honor. I will still shop there if there are some good freebies, but they are not top on my weekly shopping list anymore!
Well, that will do it! These are the stores I been shopping at most lately. As with life, things change quickly and we have to change are shopping habits to adjust to our current lifestyle!
