Today’s post is a quickie – but a good lesson nonetheless. Let’s talk about where I buy all the things that I buy. I’d also like to preface this by telling you that it is a guideline and there are exceptions to every rule. Once you learn your store’s prices and sale cycles, you’ll know where the best deals are. The following information is true for me most of the time.

What to buy at:

  • The Grocery Store – Food 
  • The Discount Store (Target/Walmart) – Toiletries/personal care items, feminine products, paper goods (napkins, paper towels, toilet paper, paper plates/utensils), household and laundry cleaning items, cosmetics
I fully attribute the way I shop to my mother. She never, ever bought paper products at the grocery store. She always had two lists – one for Publix or Winn Dixie (the grocery stores where I grew up) and one for Kmart/Walmart (there wasn’t a Target when I was growing up – at least not in my neck of the woods). 
Now, remember how I said there are exceptions? Well, here’s where I tell you that I occasionally break my own rules. But the only reason I’m allowed to do that is because I know what a good sale price is on the things I buy most. 
For example, I usually buy my Olay body wash at Target because the regular price there is around $5.84 per bottle for the big bottle. With a dollar off coupon, I can get that down to about $4.84. Not bad – but it’ll do. I want to pay less than $5. But, every three months or so my grocery store Wegmans runs a really nice sale on Olay body wash. The regular price there is $6.99 a bottle which is insane, but when they run the sale I can get it for $4.99. If I have dollar off coupons (which I generally do) that makes each bottle $3.99! I’ve even done as well as $2.99 per bottle. That’s way better than I can do at Target. They just don’t run that kind of sale.
I do the same with The Hubs’ hair gel and deodorant. Again, Wegmans runs fantastic sales that beat the pants off of Target’s every day price on these items and I can generally get them for less than a dollar. When I do, I stock up until the next great sale comes along!
(By the way, if you use Olay like we do – check your local paper at the beginning of each month for the P&G Brand Saver coupon insert. There’s almost always Olay coupons inside.) 
Next week we’ll get into saving a specific stores and I’ll highlight a few more things I know that I can get a killer deal on at specific places. For now, remember my “rules” above about what to buy where and the next time you’re in your grocery store swing through the personal care section and compare their sale prices to Walmart or Target’s regular prices. You might be surprised! If you’re savvy about pricing, you can save a ton without ever needing to clip a coupon!
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