CVS – The Research & Writings of ALISON D. GILBERT

INTRODUCTION: OUR WEEKLY SAVVY SHOPPING SAVINGS ROUTINE

Being seniors enhances our opportunities for savvy shopping savings. As a senior, if you like travelling locally by car to go shopping, these suggestions should be appealing. The following examples are where we shop. But these days, I suspect that many suburban areas would have these or similar ways to take advantage of saving shopping savings.

savvy savings shopper — Long Island Cares, Inc. *The Harry Chapin Food Bank* is a major supplier of free food to those in need on Long Island

Tuesday

This is the Long Island Cares, Inc. ‘Veterans only’ food pantry day. We start our food shopping here in Freeport, LI then head over to Gala Fresh Farms where it is 10% off for seniors.

savvy shopper savings — Our local Gala Fresh Farms is in Baldwin, Long Island

Wednesday

Compare is another terrific supermarket that has a lot of Latino foods to cater to the demographics of the immediate neighborhood. The prices are good and I love the variety of foods. Seniors get 10% off today.

savvy shopping savings — Our local Compare Foods Direct is in Freeport, Long Island

Thursday

Target offers 5% off everyday with their credit or debit card. Since we are in the neighborhood on Thursdays, this is the day to go here. Staples is also right nearby so this is a good day to go here too. We get 5% off with their credit card everyday.

Everyday

There are many other local savvy shopping savings opportunities everyday. Besides Target, here are a few of them:
• CVS offers 30 to 40% off on a regular basis. This is one of the few stores that I pay attention to coupons. It really pays off. They email me and send me postcards to notify me of sales. It makes it very easy to shop and save here.
• Staples offers us 5% off with every purchase made with our Staples credit card.
• Wild by Nature offers 10% off to seniors. If I shop here often enough, I get another quarterly coupon.
• Michaels Stores, Art Supplies, Crafts and Framing has coupons every week. We actually get notification of them by email. Even though this store is not on our regular shopping route, my husband likes to take a short trip to Michaels for his week art supply needs.

We will either include these everyday savings stores into our shopping routine near their location(s) or make a fun trip on another day or the weekend. In the case of CVS, there are five stores in the areas where we do our other shopping. Therefore, we have the luxury of going to any one of them no matter where else we need to shop.

CONCLUSION: CONVENIENCE BUT CONFLICT AS WELL

I like to shop local and am a supporter of small local shops. But our financial circumstances require that we save money and shop frugally. It is very difficult to find a balance between the two systems, supporting small local businesses and shopping where we can get savvy shopping savings.

With the exception of Long Island Cares, Inc. which is a food bank that supports us, it seems that our finances dictate our choices. But they do not dictate our values. In addition, the direction that business has gone in makes it difficult to shop primarily at small local stores. So it would seem that practicing savvy shopper savings is in direct conflict with shopping small local stores. Or is it? Has anyone found their situation to be otherwise? Here’s what’s been in the media about this issue.