Savings Saturday - Coupons

Each Saturday I bring another way you can save money.  Today I want to talk about coupons.  There are a lot of people out there using coupons.  Some use them wisely, others...well...  It is easy to get frustrated with coupons and I want to give you a couple of tips.

1. Don't sit and read and clip every coupon.  Just print them and put them in a pile.  Also just take the ones you get from the newspaper, date them and put them in you closet.
2. You can constantly check websites like Coupons.com and also Sunday Coupon Preview for the best deals.  Follow the Coupons.com link and bookmark the site.  Check back, put in your zip code and print away.  Trust me you will save a ton.
3. Use websites like GrocerySmarts.com.  Instead of just going to the store and trying to figure out what you have coupons for.  Go to GrocerySmarts.com and pick your favorite store.  Once there, it will have a customizable shopping list of the items that are ON SALE!  Plus it will tell you what coupons are available.  Go to your box of dated newspaper coupons and printed coupons and start saving.
4. Only buy what is on your list.  If you go the store and get five awesome coupon deals don't blow your savings by buying five things that are not on sale.  Save the money!  Those things you wanted will go on sale next week and you will get coupons for them.  This is where most people mess up.  Stay focused and only buy what is on sale!
5. Buy in bulk!  If you can print more than one coupon or get more than one from the paper (try getting more than one Sunday paper if possible) DO IT!  You can put that in food storage and stock up.  Imagine having 20 box of cereal in your pantry that you only paid $4 for.  It can happen, but you need to stay focused.
6. Your first few weeks at this will drive you nuts, but after a month or so you will have a ton of food in your pantry.  You can start building recipes just off of what is in the pantry and not what is at the store.  You are going to the store simply to restock.

Finally, share with others.  Work with other people to have success with this.  Make sure your companion knows what you are doing and why.  Maybe you have them print the coupons or go with you.  But be a team on this.

Again, check out coupons.com for great deals and coupon codes.

Would love to hear your coupon success tips!