It seems like every time you go to the grocery store; everything is a little bit more expensive. I know that I’ve watched as my family’s grocery budget has increased time and again in recent years. One thing that is an absolute staple of my grocery list that seems to get more expensive all the time is coffee. So, if you’re like me and don’t want to spend more money than you must, it’s important that you know a few tips on how to save money on coffee.
Browse Circulars and Ads Locally
One of the easiest ways to save money on coffee is to look around your local area and see which stores offer the best values. Often, stores will run significant discounts on coffee at least one week out of the month on their most popular brands.
So, how can you find these deals? Well, there are a couple of different ways.
First, you can check local newspapers for sale circulars. This will give you an idea of the price range you are going to pay in your local area. It’s best to buy newspapers on Sundays to find all the sale circulars in one place and best of all, you already have coupons in hand which we’ll talk about here in a little bit.
The other way you can find out what’s on sale in your local area is to look up your local retailers online. Many retailers allow you to put in your location on their site and view your local sales ads. Doing this also gives you the ability to price shop quickly to see where the best deals may be in your own hometown.
What to Do If Stores Are Sold Out
If you find a great deal on coffee at one of your local retailers, it’s not uncommon to find that they are sold out of the special before you ever arrive. If this is the case, you have a couple of options:
- Get A Rain Check – Many grocery stores and other retailers can give a rain check on items that are on sale. This allows you to come back later and still get the price that the item was on sale for once it was back in stock. All you must do is go up to the customer service counter and ask whether the retailer has a policy in place for rain checks. Many people forget that retailers offer this service and miss out on great deals.
- Price Match at Another Retailer
– A lot of stores offer some type of price match guarantee for their competitors in their area. Stores like Walmart, for example, will match competitor’s ads in their local area and some Walmart stores will even match prices on Amazon if the item is fulfilled by Amazon and not being sold by a third-party vendor. All you must do is take in the sales paper from the competing store to another store and they will often match prices. The best part about this strategy is that stores who have a price match policy in place will often have large quantities of the products that their competitors have on sale since there is no published sale in the store offering the price match.
Always Look for Coupons
One great way to save money on coffee, as well as many other items you may purchase frequently, is to use coupons. While many people think they can be silly, coupons are a great way to knock a significant chunk out of your coffee and other grocery expenses. Best of all, there are more ways than ever before to find coupons for your local stores and favorite brands.
- Check Local Sunday Newspapers – Remember that Sunday paper we were talking about above to find local sales and circulars in? Well, here’s another great benefit to picking one up. Coupons! Yes, it’s a bit old-school and many of us can remember our mothers and grandmothers clipping coupons from the Sunday paper every week for their grocery shopping. They were really onto something. I know that personally, my family was able to save almost $100 every time we go to the grocery store thanks to my wife clipping coupons. When she first started, I thought she was crazy, but she really was on to something. It only takes 5 minutes to grab your local Sunday paper and start finding coupons for your local area. To be sure next time you’re at the gas station on a Sunday morning to grab one and see what kind of deals are available in your hometown.
- Check Manufacturer Websites – Did you know that many coffee brands offer coupons online that can be printed out and taken to your local grocery store? If not, they’re worth checking out. Many manufacturers offer a loyalty program or newsletter that’s available by just providing your email address. Once you’re signed up, you will often get coupons delivered directly to your inbox once or twice a month. Many of these “loyalty” coupons are for significant discounts that you would never find other places online or in your local Sunday papers. I’ve personally received coupons from some of these programs for free products and big discounts are more than 50% off normal prices. In fact, you can sometimes combine these coupons with local sales and receive coffee for free after everything is said and done. It’s also important to note that many retailers accept both the manufacturer coupon and the store coupon in the same transaction for products. Check with your local retailer’s customer service department to learn what their coupon policy is and if you can combine offers.
- Check Coupon Websites – Thanks to the Internet, there are coupons everywhere! There are some sites that have millions of visitors visited each month that offer nothing more than coupons on your favorite products and offers from your favorite local stores. While there are dozens of these sites available online, 3 of the top ones include:
Use Cashback Apps and Services
A newer service that has appeared in recent years is cashback apps and rebate programs. These types of programs allow you to receive money or gift cards by either scanning your receipt after purchase or adding offers to membership club cards before making a purchase.
Just be careful when looking for some of the services as some may be less than reputable. One great one that I personally use makes getting money back a breeze. The service is called Ibotta and you can check them out here to learn more about the program and how it works.
Compare Local Prices to Online Retailers
Anytime you’re looking at sales and prices in your local area, always take the time to compare them to prices online. Often, if you’re willing to wait just a couple of days, you can save a lot of money by shopping at websites that offer coffee. Be sure to check sites like Amazon, Walmart, Sam’s Club and Costco that offer discount pricing when purchasing bulk items if you can purchase your molds coffee supply in advance.
You can also check the manufacturer’s website for your favorite brands as many of them do offer direct to consumer prices and will often put products on sale with large discounts that you may not be able to find locally.
What Do You Do to Save Money on Coffee?
Above are just a few of the many ways that you can save significant amounts of money on coffee. While the above tips and tricks can help you reduce your grocery bill by a lot, there are certainly a lot more ways to save even more money.
Do you happen to know any additional ways to save money on coffee? If so, we’d love to hear from you! Please leave your thoughts and ideas in the comments area below and as always, we hope that you enjoy another cuppa Joe!
