How to save money using coupons

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By pfincome
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Balancing the family budget can be very difficult at times, especially in a shaky economy. Anyone who wants to save money on groceries while helping their bottom line should consider using coupons. Printable grocery coupons can save a huge amount of money every week if you follow several key steps.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Newspaper Subscription
Computer
Printer

Step 1

Hold onto your coupons until they expire to double or triple your savings. Anytime grocery stores offer triple coupons, you can get incredible deals. Most of the time, they limit your purchases to 20 coupons up to .99 cents. Coupons that redeem for .50 or .75 cents come in very handy when using them on triple coupon deals. A .75 cents coupon turns into $2.25 off. You can typically get a lot free products just from redeeming these coupons. Double coupons are also nice and are more frequently offered by grocers.
Step 2

Combine your manufacturer's coupons with other store coupons. Often times grocers will have their own coupons that can be combined with printable online coupons from the manufacturer. This is an opportunity to increase your savings. Throw in a triple coupon offer and you will probably actually make money off your transaction.
Step 3

Subscribe to coupon resources through email and the internet. You can find many name brand coupons by signing up on manufacturer’s websites. Several companies will offer coupons on their site from time to time. There are also several websites and blogs that are dedicated to posting the best deals of the week per store and what coupons to use.
Step 4

Shop at the national pharmacy chains to get extra savings. As noted in Step #3, combining store coupons with manufacturer coupons can provide excellent savings. Several of the national pharmacy chains tend to extend these types of offers with rebates and rewards. The CVS Extra Card Bucks program is a good example. Planned correctly, there are many times you can walk away with a lot of goods and $0 out of your pocket by shopping at these stores.
Step 5

Be patient when collecting and using coupons. One of the most important points to learn about using coupons is to be patient! At times you may want to run out and redeem a coupon that you get in the Sunday paper. Typically, if you wait a week or two, that item will be on sale somewhere, which will increase your savings. It is extremely important to be patient and flexible when using coupons. You may also need to purchase a different brand of an item in order to maximize your savings.
Step 6

Joining and forming coupon clubs will help you locate desired coupons. Look into forming a coupon club at work or in your neighborhood. Many times, people only need certain types of coupons and throw the rest away. For example, families without young children will never use diaper coupons. You can typically trade coupons you don’t use with friends and family for other coupons that you want that they don’t use.
Step 7

Sign-up for your local newspaper subscription to get the weekly manufacturer's coupons. The majority of the coupons used come from the Sunday newspaper. For a few dollars per month, you can probably subscribe to your local weekend newspaper package. Your coupon savings you get from purchasing the Sunday paper will outweigh the cost of the paper.
Step 8

Be creative when using coupons and locating coupons. If you don’t want to pay for your Sunday paper to get coupons, then ask friends, family, or neighbors if you can have theirs. Many people throw them away every week. You may also consider asking your local library or businesses if you can have the coupons from their papers if they don’t use them.

Comments

andre7514 said

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on 11/13/2008 You offered a wealth of information, I think I will subscribe to the coupon resources and also use CVS to my advantage. Thanks 5 stars!!!