Saving money

1. Combine coupons with sales to get greater savings. Ask your friends/neighbors/family members for their coupons if they do not use them so you have more coupons to use to stockpile up on good deals.

2. Don't buy something "just because you have a coupon". Is it something you'll use?

3. Have your coupons organized and ready before you get to the checkout lane, that way you aren't holding up the lane looking through your purse or organizer for that 75 cent off of frozen pizza treats you put in there 3 weeks ago. It makes the trip more pleasent for you, the cashier and the customers behind you.

4. Find a coupon friend to trade coupons with, maybe they have a cat and you have a dog. Trade them the cat food coupons for the dog food coupons, etc.

5. Know the stores coupon policy...do they double coupons, how many will they double of one coupon at a time, do they take coupons printed off the internet? If you don't know find a manager and ask them.

6. Read the coupons carefully and make sure that the brand you get is on the coupon, if it is the right size (some coupons are for certain sizes or larger), and if it is expired or not. (If a coupon expires on May 31st, it is still good on May 31..will be expired on June 1st)

7. Make sure you get your store club/loyalty card scanned if you need to scan them to double/triple coupons. If you forget you can go to the customer service desk and get the difference.

8. Always be on the lookout for coupons in unexpected places. Magazines, websites, tear pads near the items, "blinkie" machines, etc. Look around pharmacy counters, I have found coupons there for medicines and vitamins.

9. Combine coupons with rebates to get the items for free or even make money back with the rebate. Some stores you can "stack" a manufacturer's coupons with a store coupon for even greater savings.

10. Use coupon list services like couponmom.com or the grocery game to help you plan your shopping trip and get the best deals. These websites hunt down the deals and match up coupons for you. You just get your lists, clip you coupons and go!

If someone came to my house and opened up my kitchen pantry, it might look like a small store to them. When I catch something I use on sale and I add coupon savings on top of it I try to stockpile enough to last me until the next time this item will go on sale. A few weeks ago hot dogs were on sale for $1/ pack. I also had a few coupons for this brand of hot dogs for $1/2 packs. So I would be paying 50 cents a pack for name brand hot dogs. I ended up buying 8 packages of hot dogs for $4 total. These hot dogs would usually be around $2.30 each.....so I saved a little over $14! Instead of going out and paying full price for hot dogs I can just go to my freezer and grab a pack when I need one!

With technology so many more things are available....the last year has welcomed a new addition of paperless coupons. The new site shortcuts.com lets you download coupons onto your store card. These coupons can be only used at that store for only one of the particular item you clicked the coupon for (unless otherwise specified on the coupon you clicked).
Right now Shortcuts.com can only be used with store cards from Krogers, Ralph's, Gerbes, QFC, Hilanders, Smith's, Bakers, King Soopers, CityMarket, Pay Less supermarket, JayC, Dillons, Owens and Fry's. You register on the site and register your store card on the site. Once you are registered you can download up to 50 coupons onto your card. There are coupons on there on everything from baby diapers to frozen vegatables. To get even better savings you can use regular paper coupons along with these coupons on the card! These coupons do not double like other coupons if your store doubles coupons. When you buy the product at the store and use your card the coupon automatically comes off your bill.
If you go to the Krogers website (kroger.com) you can register your card there and click and load coupons right onto your card. Another site is cellfire.com. You don't have to sign up for the text messages, but you can still download coupons onto your store cards.
This is a great way to save some more money.....sometimes I forgot that I had a shortcuts coupon on my card for a certain product and get a nice surprise at the checkout when it rings up.

Besides using coupons there are other great ways to save money.

1. Check out your local library, instead of buying new books borrow them. Some libraries have DVDs, CDs and videos you can check out...they might not be the newest release movie, but you can introduce some classic movies to your children. Many libraries have fun summer activities for kids also.

2. Make weekly menus. It helps to know what you need at the grocery store before you go and cuts down on extra trips to the store during the week to get things you need for dinner. It also helps cut down on going out to eat because you couldn't figure out what you needed for dinner. Here's a link to one of my favorite sites to help you with planning a menu.

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/menuplanning.htm

3. Stock up on some extra school supplies when they go on clearance after the new school year starts. It's great to have some extra at home when junior comes to stating he needs more pencils, or his ruler broke...instead of having to go out and buy one at full price, you can just grab one that you got cheap.

4. Brown bag it! Bring your lunches to work and send lunches to school with your kids. Find some great tips on my lens on "brown bagging"
http://www.squidoo.com/brownbag

5. Check out local resale shops, consignment shops, Goodwill, or garage sales for clothes. I have found some nice clothes at my local Salvation Army store, for only a dollar each piece. I found a nice skort for my dgtr at a local Goodwill that still had the original tags on it!

6. Change out your old lightbulbs to the energy-saving CFL (compact fluorescent lightbulbs). They use about 75% less energy, last 10 times longer and can save you $30 or more in electricity cost over each bulbs lifetime!

7. Buy green peppers, onions and other vegatables when they are in season and on sale. Wash them, chop them and freeze them(some veggies you need to blanche before freezing). When you are cooking in the off-season you have some right in reach in your freezer. Better yet...grow your own it if you can!

8. Free-cycle! Freecycling is a great way to find items that others are just giving away..you just go and pick it up. You can also have someone come and pick up something that you don't use anymore. Check out www.freecycle.org and find a group near you!

9. Research things online before you buy them. You might find a better deal or that the item has a bad reputation for problems. I like to go to online sites like amazon.com and read the reviews before buying something.

10. Bring your own coffee from home instead of stopping at a coffee shop. What you pay for one weeks worth of Starbucks will buy you a bag of fresh ground coffee and more!

11. Ask for rainchecks.....don't you just hate it when you get to the store and the shelf was empty of the sale item you were going to get! As longs as it is not specified in the sales ad you can request a rain check, and even how many you want of the item. You either have to go to the customer service desk to obtain one or get one from the cashier before you leave.

12. Read! Read! Read! Spend sometime at couponing messageboards....such as the couponmom forum or terismessageboard.com (it's associated with the Grocery Game). There are great tips from other members and they can answer any questions you might have. Plus they also understand your excitement of finding a great deal when your friends and family just give you a strange look after you tell them!