Going green pays off

Before I start the complicated process of showing you how to stack coupons, how to deal with overage and other coupon-related matters, I thought I’d take a breather and show you another way to save money every week.

You have seen reusable shopping bags at every grocery store I am sure. These reusable shopping bags promote “going green,” reducing waste and saving the environment. But, one benefit you might not have thought of is that most stores offer discounts when you use these bags compared to the, I like to call them, rip-before-you-can-get-them-into-the-car bags.

I had no idea that stores offered discounts every time you used these bags. I started using them just because I got tired of my bags falling apart every shopping trip before I could get my groceries into my house (and I’ve received masses of the reusable bags for free). When I went to use them at the stores, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Fred Meyer offered a discount of 5 cents per reusable shopping bag that was used for your trip. Carrs offers a similar discount and when I went to Target last I found out that they are now offering a 5 cents discount if you use reusable shopping bags too. Target’s, though, is just a flat 5 cents per shopping trip not per shopping bag, my cashier told me, so you won’t save as much.

Over time these bags will literally pay for themselves if you buy them, but if you can wait, don’t go running off to spend $5 on reusable bags. Personal websites offer these bags as prizes on a regular basis, because they are cheap giveaways. A bonus to this too, is that not a lot of people enter the giveaways for free reusable shopping bags, so your chances of winning are pretty good.

If you are willing to wait until Earth Day to get the majority of your bags, masses of websites give away these bags to promote Earth Day. I received one bag from Target alone just by shopping there on Earth Week this year.

If you do decide to purchase bags, I would suggest doing it through Wal-Mart. They are almost half the price of the other stores and thus the bags will pay for themselves within six trips to the store.

Always remind your cashier of your refund (a lot of them just plain forget). To remember to bring your shopping bags with you, I’d suggest just keeping them in your car. After you have unloaded your groceries just stick the grocery bags in your car where you will see them and remember to grab them. I actually keep them tied to my diaper bag, so I literally never leave home without them.

Erika Buswell runs a blog dedicated to coupons and deals in Alaska (http://alaskanbargainhunter.blogspot.com) and lives in Palmer with her husband and two children.