Saving Money With Coupons

I've been a big fan of saving money for a long time. I've always been really good at finding the best deals at the grocery store, buying some of my kids clothes the at the end of season sales, and just smart shopping in general.

The best thing that happened to me was venturing online. When Ben was just a baby I found a few sites online that focused mainly on saving money, and couponing. Shortly after finding those sites I went to my local dollar store, bought myself a little folder and started saving coupons.

The response I got from hubby was 'coupons are for poor people.' Well, he learned quite quickly that he was way wrong. In no time I was saving an average of $40 per grocery trip - that's $80/month. All by using coupons and shopping the sales. Hubby was smiling.

When I first started couponing, it took time. I had to find the coupons, be it in store or online. I had to keep them organized (cause I'm like that) and when our weekly sales flyers arrived, I would spend an hour scouring them for the best sales, and matching up coupons with those sales. Quickly I learned that there are a few tricks to effective couponing.

• When you see a coupon on the store shelf that is a for a product that you buy all the time, take as many as you will use until the expiry date.
  
• Don't buy a product that you don't usually use just because you have a coupon, unless it is something you wanted to try. In that case, just buy one.
• Plan your shopping trips, take the time to go through the flyers and pull your coupons that you plan to use in that trip. Put them to the front of your folder so you can find them easily. This eliminates the " I know I have a coupon for that " time that can get wasted.
• Know your prices. That way when you see something on sale, you know if it's really a good deal.

Another way to save money is to shop online. There are sites online that list coupon codes for products. This can seriously reduce the amount spent on products that you would otherwise be paying full price for. This works really well for Holiday Shopping, because you know ahead of time the things you will need. For Christmas it's bigger gifts, toys, ect...Valentine's Day it's flowers and chocolate. Find sites that work well for you and bookmark them. That way when you know you've got some shopping to do, all your resources are at your fingertips.

Ben starts school this coming September, and I am already looking for deals on supplies, clothes, and all the gear he will need for school. That's my last tip for today - shop ahead. Sometimes you can get the best deals 6 months before you're actually going to need the product.


Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this post are mine, and I couldn't live without my coupons. But I do have to let you know that this post is sponsored.