Many things in life that are “Free” are overlooked or ignored. As people of habit we tend to do the same things over and over again. We shop at the same stores. We buy the same products. We shop out of need rather than planning. We are in a rush and shop without taking advantage of bargains and sales.

At the grocery store we shop for what is in our heads or on the shopping list after work, and then go home and prepare dinner. We ignore the free weekly sales brochure at the entrance of the store. We buy the same brand name of soup without comparing prices of soups in the same area. We buy bread and mayonnaise for sandwiches that will go with the soup.

So what did you miss? You missed a lot of savings that would provide you with EXTRA MONEY for shopping for Christmas gifts. If you would have picked up the weekly sales brochure at the entrance, you might have seen that Campbell's Chucky Soup was on sale….Buy 2 Get 3 Free. So instead of buying your regular brand of soup at approximately the same price with no sale you could have SAVED MONEY.

You also may have found that instead of the loaf of bread that you normally purchase which was not on sale, you could have purchased a Brownberry 100% Wheat Bread and got ONE FREE (this also is a healthy made bread). As for the Mayonnaise, you could have just grabbed any jar including Hellman's. You overlooked the fact that one of the jars of Hellman's offered for the same price included "FREE 33% More mayonnaise" …10 ounces for free.

Hopefully when you shop you carry the store's loyalty card that not only provides you with additional savings on other products throughout the store, but provides savings to you and your wallet on every visit. There was also a page of grocery breakfast items that were on sale and adding another $1.00 off each product when you bought any five of these named products for an additional savings of $5.00.

On Mondays, Dominicks/Safeway offers a rotisserie chicken for $5.00 and on Friday a pizza with one additional topping for $6.99 (you can even call and order it in advance, and have it ready when you arrive). This means more savings each time you shop with your loyalty card and that saved money can keep you shopping for your last minute Christmas gifts.

If you really took advantage of the sales on the soup, the bread, and the breakfast items by buying in bulk, you saved money not only this trip but also on your future grocery trips. On a recent trip to Dominicks/Safeway I took advantage of these sales, and filled my cupboard with 10 cans of soup (6 free) and 4 loaves of bread for my freezer and 5 breakfast items that included juice, sausages, coffee. Before swiping my loyalty card at the cash register, the total was $53.01. After swiping the card, the total was $19.62 which represented a savings of 63%. Dollar wise the savings amounted to $33.39.

Remember the Christmas gifts for your kids or last minute Christmas gifts needed to be purchased. This savings of $33.39 might make the difference for you and your loved ones. Feel free to take advantage of one of my many tips on how to save money this Christmas Shopping Season, and enjoy a good hot cup of coffee with toast and sausages for breakfast, and soup and a sandwich for lunch knowing that you got everyone on your list a personalized Christmas gift.