How to Use Coupons to Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half
Saving money is an almost universal desire and extreme couponers take this concept to extremes. These hardcore coupon users traditionally brag of getting carts full of groceries for a fraction of the retail price, all because of their coupon-using methods. Take advantage of some of their techniques to save big money on your own grocery bill. While you don't have to use every one of their methods, you can apply a few of them to save half the grocery bill on a planned shopping trip.
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Instructions
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Search for and save every coupon you can find. Purchase multiple copies of the Sunday paper each week, as it almost always contains coupon inserts. Look for online coupons and print them out. Shop eBay to find inexpensive coupon bundles to buy. The more coupons you have, the better this system will work. Keep the coupons in file folders or other storage systems to keep them organized.
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Print out copies of the coupon policies in every grocery store in your area. Look for details like limits on coupons, double coupon policies and rules about adding coupons to "Buy One, Get One Free" offers. Don't restrict yourself to only one store. You may end up shopping at three stores in one week, or only one store three weeks in a row, depending on the sales prices available.
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Research the major coupon advice sites. There are many sites dedicated to extreme couponing. These sites alert shoppers of sales coming up and coupons offered online and give advice on coupon combinations that save even more money.
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Sign up for a loyalty card at every store you may possibly shop. If a store has a loyalty program, it often won't offer sales items without the card. This is the first way to lower your grocery bill.
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Read all the store sales flyers before making your shopping list. Make one shopping trip each week specifically for coupon items and nothing else. Cross-check the sales items in each store with the coupons you have available.
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Combine multiple offers to get the best discounts. Find an item listed as "Buy One, Get One Free." This essentially brings the price down to half. Add any store coupons, if the store has given any out in the past month. Add manufacturer's coupons for the items. This may reduce the price to 25 percent or lower, depending on the original price and the value of your coupons.
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Stock up on processed foods and toiletries. These items will be included in the vast majority of your coupons. Use multiple coupons to buy as many of each sale item as you can, then stockpile the inexpensive items to prevent you from having to buy them later at a higher price.
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References
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