One way of saving money with coupons is to pickup

your local newspaper in order to get the weekly

coupons insert. This really isn't news to anyone,

but it's probably the most widely used method of

gathering up coupons. Once you figure in the

price of the newspaper, compared to how much

money you can save... it's worth doing it. You can

also ask friends and family that get the

newspaper if they use the coupons. If they don't,

they are usually more than willing to give them

away since the coupons will typically be thrown

away anyways.

One drawback to getting the newspaper is that you

never know what coupons will be in it, and if

they're for the items you will use. I've picked

up a newspaper a number of times, and there were

only a few coupons I could really use. So getting

the newspaper sometimes can be a "hit/miss"

situation.

The newspaper is not the only way you can obtain

coupons. There are a few Websites out there (

centsoff.com and thecouponclippers.com) where you

can order the coupons you want and will actually

use when you go shopping. I know the concept

seems strange and you're probably thinking, "Why

should I order coupons when I can get them free?"

Technically, if you purchase the newspaper for

the coupons they are not free. Ordering coupons

and paying a small service can still save you

money in the long run. Let's take a look at how

the savings add up.

For example, let's say you spent $10.00 and

ordered 25 coupons all with a face value under $1.

00. If you use all the coupons, that's an

automatic discount savings of $25.00. Now you

have to subtract what you spent when you ordered

the coupons, which is the $10.00. The total

savings is now $15.00, which is pretty good.

Looking at from this perspective, you really got

your money back in grocery savings that you would

have normally spent anyways.

The above example is a pretty good savings, but

it gets better. Because you ordered coupons all

under $1.00 face value, many grocery stores will

double coupons up to $1.00! Using the above

example, this brings your savings up to $50.00

that's a substantial savings!

Here are a few tips you can use when ordering

coupons:

** Order only what coupons you are going to use.

Some sites will allow you to order up to 50

coupons at one time with flat rate service fee.

50 coupons is a lot and you may or may not end up

using them all. If you have a friend that also

uses coupons, maybe you could split the coupons

and costs between the two of you.

** Choose coupons with a $1.00 face value or

less. Many stores double coupons and you can

double your savings.

** Some sites charge a handling fee per coupon on

top of other fees; do the math to see how much

you will be saving before placing your order.

** Check expiration dates. The farther off the

expiration date is gives you more time to use it.

** Watch for sales! You can save even more money

if the product you have a coupon for goes on sale.

Here's a quick example. I had a coupon for 55

cents off dry cereal. The cereal was on sale for $

1.67, the store doubled the coupon and I only

paid 57 cents for a name brand box of cereal!

** Check more than one store for sales. If you

live where more than one grocery store is in

close proximity, you can plan your shopping list

to buy specific items at different stores using

your coupons.

Using these tips, a little planning and ordering

your coupons wisely, you can save up anywhere

from 50 on your monthly grocery bill.