How to save big with grocery coupons!

Leaving the grocery store with brand name items that were free? Buying food at prices that were last seen by your grandmother? Is it true? Can it happen? Absolutely!

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Newspaper
• Coupon inserts
• Computer with internet access

1. Purchase your local Sunday newspaper. Buying more than one newspaper, same paper or different paper, can improve your savings even if you are receiving the same coupon inserts in each one.
2. Remove the coupon inserts and clip most of the coupons that are offered, even items that you may or may not regularly buy. At times certain items are sold at a sale price so low that using a coupon for them may make them free. Therefore that bottle of soda that you don't usually purchase because of the price, may be something you will buy if the price is right, so clip that coupon!
3. Store your coupons in a coupon organizer. Coupon organizers are extremely important pertaining to quick access to your coupons. Organizers can assist in saving money because the easier it is for you to find the coupon, the more likely you will be to view it when needed and use it. Organizers can be found almost anywhere. You can find them at grocery stores, in catalogs, office supply stores, and there are even quite a few for sale at ebay. Just before you do your shopping, it is a good idea to go through your entire coupon organizer and check the expiration dates on all your coupons, making sure to remove and throw away any coupons that have already expired. This also makes for a hassle free shopping experience as you don't want to be at the checkout and find out last minute one of your best coupons has expired and that great buy you thought you had isn't so great any longer. Also, having duplicates of the same coupon is not a bad, duplicates can sometimes save more money than you thought!
4. Once your coupons are in your organizer, you can either obtain a sale flyer for your local grocery store from the newspaper, or view a sale flyer online. Sale flyers online can usually be found at your grocery store's website if offered. Some grocery store chains offer online shopping, if this is how you do your groceries, the sale prices will already be displayed as you peruse the virtual aisles in cyber space.
   When viewing a sale flyer, don't ignore item prices that are in smaller print than the large bold print that jumps out at you. Every single item in that sale flyer is important, whether you normally purchase the item or not. Remember, you clipped coupons for items you don't normally buy, if they are listed at an unbelievable sale price and you have a coupon for them, you may be getting a dirt cheap bargain or an item for free. If you have a duplicate coupon for that amazing bargain, you may be looking at a shopper's paradise in terms of saving big bucks whether you pay a penny for the item or it is completely free. Sometimes with a duplicate you can buy two items and they will cost one cent cheaper than the price for one at regular price. It's all in the math, duplicates have a way of working themselves out!
5. If you notice an item you have a coupon for is not on sale the week of your shopping trip, pay close attention to the expiration date on the coupon. How long is it good for? If it will expire a while from now, save it, put it aside for your next shopping trip. The item may be on sale next week, or the week after. Good deal may be awaiting you in the future, so do not disregard a coupon simply because it's not on sale this week. Sometimes at regular price an item may be, say, $2.49 and it goes on sale for $1.99 and you have a coupon for that item that is for $2.00 off. You are looking at a FREE item, your coupon went 1 penny over the sale price. Duplicates come in handy at these times.
6. Shop! Shop! Shop! Go to it and use those coupons. Calculators come in very handy also, no matter what type of math whiz you are, a calculator saves time, and money! Once done, bring your coupons to the check out. Make sure to use your grocery store's shopper's club card that saves extra money, if you haven't already done so, sign up for one at your local grocery store. When handing the cashier your coupons, make sure they are neat and easy for the cashier to scan. They do not have to be in a specific order, however handing your coupons over in a big crumpled ball doesn't go over well and may take more time than you have to kill at the store. Afterwards, check your receipt at the bottom where it will display your savings. You will be highly surprised at how big you can save with coupons. The better you get at it, the more you will save and it will become more fun as time goes on!

Tips & Warnings

• Freebies, or free stuff, websites online sometimes display links to manufacturer's websites that offer coupons. You can obtain coupons either from newspaper inserts, or the internet which will send you the coupons either by mail or offer ones you can print.
• Newspaper inserts offered in newspapers in different areas of the country actually offer different coupons in different areas. In one state the inserts may have coupons for one specific product where in another state they may not. In one state the coupon may be for $0.50 off an item, in another state that same coupon may be for $1.00 off the same item. If possible, try and obtain coupons from different areas.
• Some grocery stores will double coupons regularly, most will not double coupons of $1.00 or more. Sometimes stores will have weekly specials where they will triple the amount of each coupon, these are the best weeks for using those coupons! Phone your grocery store each week and ask if they are tripling coupons that particular week.
• Hold onto the coupons that get printed out at the end of your order along with your receipt. Usually these coupons cannot be doubled or tripled however they can still save you a decent amount of money!
• Some coupons can be found in a few magazines also. Flip through some magazines in your homes to see if any coupons are offered.
• You can purchase coupons at eBay.com from different parts of the country, doing this you will be able to obtain coupons that you do not regularly see offered in your area. This can help you save lots!
• Some grocery stores will not accept internet printed coupons. Contact your local grocery store and ask if they accept internet printed coupons before bothering to print them up.
• Pay attention to the small print on your coupons. Some may actually state "not subject to doubling" meaning your local grocery store cannot double the savings of that particular coupon.