Five Finger Discounts
Year-long Guide to What’s Cheapest When
The Coupon Queen, Jill Cataldo, of Super-Couponing says that “in addition to the constantly rotating 12-week price cycle at the grocery store, there’s also a year-long cycle in which various products are featured at deeper discounts during certain times.”
She shared a month-by-month guide to all the sale items you should expect to see throughout the year.
Here is that handy guide:
January: Hot cereals, chili, bagged chips and 2-liters of soda. Remember, it’s Super Bowl this month. Much of the year-long promotional cycle for retailers corresponds to key dates and celebrations in the regular seasonal and holiday calendar.
February: Canned Food Month. It’s a great time to stock up on canned fruits and vegetables.
March: National Frozen Food Month. This is the lowest cycle low for frozen foods. This is a wonderful time to stock up, especially if you own a second freezer!
April: Natural and organic. Because Earth Day is held in April, there are many promotions on natural, healthy and organic products.
May: Summer lead-in promotions will bring good prices on anything barbecue- and cookout-related, because Memorial Day is approaching. Look for good prices on condiments, ground meat, burger patties and buns, paper plates and salad dressings.
June: National Dairy Month. This month marks the lowest price points for dairy products in the year-long cycle. While it’s not easy to stock up on milk or ice cream you can at least enjoy lower prices on milk, cheese, yogurt and ice cream in June. Remember to bring those prices down even more by using coupons.
July: Mid-summer promotions feature more of the same items featured in May. Look for more deals on condiments and meat (steaks and pork chops, especially) and deals on charcoal, bug repellant and soda.
August: Breakfast focus. Look for good prices on cereals, frozen waffles and toaster pastries. School supply deals will be in full swing, too.
September: Back to School and National Organic Month. School lunch snacks (pudding cups, fruit snacks, granola bars) will all be on sale. Packaged lunchmeats and cheese will take a price dip here, too, as will many organic products.
October: Frozen Food Festival is the second cycle-low for frozen foods. Note that it’s exactly six months after National Frozen Food Month! Baking season begins here, too, and we’ll see sugar, flour, baking products and cake/cookie mixes on sale.
November: Hot beverages. Tea, coffee and cocoa will all be on sale. Canned soup will also take a nice dip in price. And, of course, anything remotely Thanksgiving-related will be on sale, too: stuffing mixes, cranberry sauce, pie crusts and the like.
December: It’s party platter month! Deals abound on cold cuts, cheeses, crackers, chips, dips and anything related to entertaining. Hams will drop in price, as will potatoes, both regular baking potatoes and sweet potatoes.
I would recommend keeping this list in your coupon organizer. This way, you know which items to look for on any given month and when it’s a good time to stock up on a specific item.
Special thanks to Jill Cataldo for this wonderful list!
Tags: Savings Opportunity