For those looking to save money at the grocery store, coupons can be the answer.
Kris Ingmundson, a training specialist in University Food Services and self-described “savings warrior,” recently taught a class entitled “Shop Smart and Save” on how to save money while grocery shopping.
“You save the most money by matching coupons to what’s on sale,” she said. “Then plan your meals around that.”
To get coupons, Ingmundson recommends perusing the Sunday newspaper. Other coupons can be found in the mail, front entrances of stores or even near the store’s product display. There are also online coupons, some of which can be printed or added to a grocery store savings card. Some grocery stores also double coupons up to 50 cents. Then, match coupons to store sales to get items at drastically reduced prices. Store sales can be found in weekly flyers (especially in the Sunday newspaper) or online.
To really save money, Ingmundson then uses online services like www.couponmom.com to match grocery store sales to coupons. The Web site lists sales by stores and shows percentage of savings for sale and coupon items.
Ingmundson admits that it takes a little bit of pre-planning to research the best deals, but says it’s well worth it.
For more tips, Ingmundson will be teaching the class again Jan. 28 at the Training and Development Center. Space is limited, and registration is available online at www.hr.uga.edu/careerdev/career.html.
