Coupon Tips and Resources

TIPS:

• Match up coupons with sales to maximize savings
• Read your coupons - the picture on it doesn't always match
• Know your store's coupon and pricing policies - some stores have BOGO items that ring up at half price so you don't HAVE to buy 2...others ring up at full price and one gets zeroed out automatically
• Keep your coupons handy or you won't use them
• If you have coupons for FREE items that you don't need or won't use, pick it up anyway and donate it to your church or a local food bank
• Buying in bulk is not always cheaper - calculate your unit price with the coupon savings to get the best deal
• Price match (again, know your store policy)
• Google is your friend - search for product rebates you'll be surprised at what's out there
• Stash your rebate money in a savings account
• If you really want to see how quickly the coupon savings adds up - keep a simple spreadsheet (or track in a notebook) nothing fancy - store name, how much you spent, how much you saved - add up the saved column every so ofter (or set the spreadsheet up to keep a running tally for you). Once a month look at your savings total and move that amount of money from your checking to your savings...I promise you can pay for next year's vacation / Christmas / etc with it if you put a little effort into it!

RESOURCES:

These are just a few resources that I use frequently...there are hundreds if not thousands of thrifty websites out there

• Coupon Mom
• Hot Coupon World
• The Grocery Game
• All You Magazine (Walmart)
• Retail Me Not
• Coupon Bug 
• Coupon Cabin 
• Smart Source 
• Val Pak 
• Cool Savings 
• Red Plum 
• Southern Savers 
• Thrifty Fun 
• Tightwad 
• Living on a Dime 
• Restaurant.com  (don't forget to google search for a coupon code to get up to 80% off)

I never buy anything online without either a coupon / discount code or going thru another website that will either get me points or a rebate for my purchase. Ok, that's not true...sometimes neither exists for what i'm buying or where I have to buy it from...in which case I just suck it up. Chances are it's cheaper to get it online than if I bought it locally so i'm still saving some money anyway.