They come once a week in the Sunday paper.  Most people don’t cut coupons but they are a great way to save money on the family grocery bill.  Take a look at them.  They could be for something that you purchase often.

The purpose of coupons is to get consumers to buy the latest products.  Most coupons are for items we all use:  cereal, laundry detergent, toilet paper, and the like.  Many people mistakenly equate coupon use with being poor or needy so they don’t use them.  Using coupons never caused anyone to die of embarrassment.  Besides, it’s always a good thing to save money, right?

Clip coupons for items that you need.  Even if you don’t have to buy that item right away, most coupons are good for several months.  Organize the coupons in a billfold.  Filing them according to category keeps them where you can lay your hands on them easily when it’s time to purchase the items.  A billfold fits in a purse or back pocket so you don’t have to carry anything extra in your hand.

Coupons save even more money when used in conjunction with store sales.  Most grocery stores nowadays have discount cards that save shoppers extra bucks.  The cards are free, just requiring a sign up form be filled out.  Each week store circulars highlight that week’s savings.  A coupon worth $.50 combined with a store savings of $1.00 equals an extra fifty cents saved.

Don’t buy items just because you have a coupon.  Depending on the grocery store where you shop, some buys aren’t even a bargain with the coupon.  Do yourself a favor and hold onto the coupon until you can get a better deal at another store. 

Try the generic version of foods and other items instead of the brand name.  In most cases, the generic contains the same ingredients but without the fancy label and the two dollar markup.  There are a lot of grocery stores that double and triple coupons up to $1.00.  Waiting until those days to shop with your coupons can make those name brands more affordable.  For items that you want but don’t have to have, this is the best time to try them out without spending a lot of cash. 

Some coupons have offers for free items if you buy the required amount of another at the regular price.  I have seen this done with milk and eggs.  A gallon of milk was free with the purchase of two dozen eggs.  At the price milk is today, that could be a good deal for big families.  Don’t throw away these coupons because you don’t need the eggs.  Someone you know might benefit from this so go ahead and buy them and pass them on to a friend or family member who could use them.

Coupons aren’t just in the newspaper anymore either.  Online sites like Coupons.com ask users a few questions and offer coupons based on their answers.  New coupons can be chosen and printed off each week for the trip to the grocery store.  Note that some coupons are not subject to doubling however, so be careful to read the fine print.