Printable grocery coupons

Here are some ways we save bucks:

When the junk mail comes- don't just throw it away.  Look through it first.  In our neighborhood, there are usually pizza coupons, as well as coupons to local eateries we like.

Buy the Sunday paper-  Our City paper (The Union Tribune) has an option where at the local 7-11 you can get 2 Sunday papers for $2.20.  We go down the street each Sunday and buy a set.  It only takes an hour or so each week to go through the paper and clip the coupons you will use.

I like to go through the circulars first and see what's on sale and what we might need and then clip coupons.  Many times retailers (such as Walgreens, CVS and Target) will actively mark down or put items on sale that have corresponding coupons in the paper. I save the coupons I won't use and once a month or so, I get together with other local couponing friends and we swap.  I also belong to an online community (http://www.hotcouponworld.com) and trade coupons with other couponers all over the world!

Stores like Walgreens and CVS have instant rebates that print out at the time of purchase.  Walgreens calls them Register rewards (RR) and CVS calls them Extra Care Bucks (ECB).  They are like gift certificates that you can use on your next purchase.

Remember to sign up for the store club (CVS has one, as do most grocery stores).  They are free to join and they help you save more money!

Once I have checked sales and clipped my coupons, I make my list and head off to the store with my coupons paper clipped to my list.

I like to shop on Sundays- That is the day that mass merchandisers (target, etc) and Drug Stores (Walgreens, etc) sales start.  Most Grocery sales start on Weds. and run until the next Tuesday night.  If you shop the first few days of a sale, you will likely get everything on your list.

I only buy what is on my list.  I only buy what we will use. If a sale is really good, I will buy extra.  This only applies to canned foods or foods that can be stored safely without fear of a upcoming expiration date.

Many times there will be a coupon for an item I want, but even with the coupon, the item is out of my price range.  I'll save the coupon, and usually within the next coming weeks, the item goes on sale!  Walgreens allows you to stack coupons: Their circulars contain coupons which you can use with manufcaturers coupons for extra savings.

Example:  Dawn dish soap $.99 with the walgreens circular coupon, plus there was a .50 coupon in the Sunday paper a few weeks ago.  That means you get a bottle of Dawn Dish Soap for .49!  If you buy multiple papers or trade coupons with friends, you can enjoy that price up to the limit on the store coupon (usually 3) that you have corresponding manufcaturers coupons for.

Stockpiling- This concept is not new.  Buying items that are on sale at a very low price to use at a later date.  With couponing, this is very easy, especially when you buy multiple papers or trade coupons with friends.

A few weeks ago At Walgreens, they had garnier fructis shampoos and conditioners marked down on sale for $2.00.  In their monthly coupons book (the Super Saving Catalog), There was a coupon for $1.00 off.  You can pick up as many of those coupon books in the store as you want. There also was a coupon in the paper for $1.00 off.  Combine the two, and they were FREE!!

Last month there was a store coupon for hand soap, with a coupon from the paper, the hand soap was .10!

These great deals are usually found with HBA (home bath accessories- stuff like shampoo, razors, soap), but if you shop at a store that doubles coupons, you'd be suprised at the things you get for free (or just really cheap!).

Here is an example from a shopping trip a few months ago:

There there was a bunch of stuff that was on sale and I had a coupon for. The result was items that were insanely cheap.

Pasta sauce .59/package
Low Carb Tortillas $.79/package
Sausage $1/package
Salad dressing .49/jar
salad in a bag .79/bag
Curves Cereal $2.09/box
100 snack pack $1.00/box
large bags of shredded cheese $3/each (usually $8/each!)

So, really, I cannot recommend using coupons enough.