When I was little, there were no ‘flyers’ in the mailbox, much less in the newspaper. But, in spite of persistent predictions about the imminent coming of a paperless world, it seems the printing presses are working harder than ever to churn out all types of advertising material!
One week’s flyers – all received on Thursday! Scan the supermarket flyers
for real savings and become a bargain ninja!
I’m old enough to remember the annual Sears and Eaton’s catalogues. They were true ‘doorstop’ volumes, coming in at hundreds of pages and several pounds apiece. Then there were the seasonal editions – Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer. Then there were separate Christmas catalogues. Then ‘special’ holiday mini catalogues – for Valentine’s and Mother’s Day, Easter and so on.
And thus did ‘catalogue creep’ beget the current situation where we receive a pile of flyers in our newspaper or on the doorstep all by themselves, at least one day every week. And that pile of flyers can be even thicker and heavier than the department store catalogues we used to get just once or twice a year!
Anyway…
You really should take the time to leaf through the Supermarket flyers. Ours come, all together in one big lump, every Thursday. Sound familiar?
Now, I don’t mean you should look at every item on every page. Just look through for the things you use most: Eggs, Butter, Margarine, Milk; whatever cuts of Meat you prefer. Stock up and fill your freezer and pantry. You will save considerable cash over a year if you stick to this shopping regime for your household staples. And you’ll always have your fave foods on hand when you have a hankering to serve them!
You’ll probably find that ‘specials’ on staples like Butter, Milk and Eggs, come up in a regular rotation – every four or five weeks. You can actually plan around that ‘schedule’ for most basic items. And most meats come up regularly, too. You can expect to see Pork Loins, Chops and shoulders come up in regular rotation with Chicken (Whole and Parts), Beef (most cuts) and ‘specialty’ meats such as Lamb, Turkey and Ham.
Marketing gimmicks you should know…
You can sometimes even get 40 – 50 – 60 per cent off certain items. Don’t worry. The supermarket won’t go out of business. There’s a marketing gimmick at work. One is called a loss leader. That’s a deep, deep discount on something everybody wants, just to get you into the store. Try to find a store that doesn’t put a limit on loss-leader items. Most do put a condition on loss-leaders that goes something like this: “Limit of 4. Regular price per item after limit.”
Another supermarket marketing gimmick is the ‘Two-for-One”. No matter how you run that through the calculator, it’s still 50 per cent off. Fine with me! Just make sure the price you’re paying for one isn’t markedly higher than the usual shelf price.
But don’t fall for the various ‘BOGO” offers. Unless it’s a Two-for-One. Most BOGOs these days are ‘Buy-One-Get-One-half-off”. That’s a mere 25 per cent off the entire purchase. Not enough to interest to a real, hard-core bargain hunter like you!
After a while, you’ll know the real bargains as soon as you seem then…
Be a Bargain Ninja!
Keep a sharp eye on the flyers and pounce on the REAL deals.at your favourite supermarkets!
~ Maggie J.