Call it nostalgia, therapeutic or call it a way of life…I LOVE looking at sales fliers every week to grab the deals at the supermarket and feel like a money-saving queen how about you?
Ok, so it all started when I was a little girl and we were growing up on section 8 and on and off food stamps (when they were actual stamps not cards). I would wait for the “circulars” to come in the mail and I would challenge myself to create a budget of food we could afford on my dad’s SSI and my mom’s minimum wage job. It became a skill that I would hone over the next few years and get REALLLLLYYYY good at; side note, I also LOVED watching vintage Supermarket Sweep on TV and playing along because I got REALLY good a knowing my prices for ALL.THE.THINGS. in the grocery store or “supamawket” like we said back home in NY.
Fast forward to being a young teen after my dad died and I took these skills to help my now solo widow mom to create a VERY VERY CHEAP grocery list and go to the supermarket EVERY Friday like CLOCKWORK! I was on the hunt for them “good deals”. Now I know they are called “loss leaders” and they can be used to our advantage when shopping on a tight budget. A loss leader is a pricing strategy where a product is sold at a price below its market cost to stimulate other sales of more profitable goods or services. However, I consistently challenged myself to go in for the loss leaders, no frills and store brands and stick to the budget. Did we always eat healthy? HECK NO! Did we survive? YES! Did I learn massive skills that I still use to this day? HECK YES! Honestly, I couldn’t be more grateful for that experience…
YES, I still shop the sales. I now use the FLIPP APP for all of my “circulars” but I still love to get them in the mail and feel them for that piece of my past that brings me some strange form of comfort. It reminds me of the struggle but also of the victory of feeling like a conquerer over my situation and our money. I made a new #youtube video where I take you along the journey in the store and hope to make this a regular “PAUPER PRINCESS” or “EXTREME CHEAPSKATE GROCERY SHOPPING” series. Let me know which name you prefer and for now you can check out the video on youtube now!
P.S. – If you live near an @alberstons or @safeway be sure to get in on the .25 @honeynutcheerios deal by end of day tomorrow! MY BOYS LOVE that stuff! LOL