How To Save Money on Your Grocery Bill

A few people have asked me about the "super couponing" that I do, so I thought I'd throw up an article to talk about it.

Most people know about coupons.  The reason most people don't save much money with coupons is because they don't use them properly.  To get the most bang out of your coupons, you have to totally rethink the way you grocery shop.

I used to make a list of what I needed, go to the store, and pick the cheapest item of the things I needed. I rarely used coupons, because it seemed like the store brands are usually cheaper, and the things I had coupons for were not on sale. Also, it seemed like the items I had coupons for were not the items I usually bought for my family.

Boy was I wrong!

If you look at the ads, and match up the sales with your coupons, you will see that there will be several items that are free or pennies on the dollar. Those are the items that you want to stock up on.

To really reap the benefits that coupons have to offer, you need to change your way of shopping. You cannot buy just what you need, you need to buy what is a good deal for that week. Then you buy anywhere from 4 - several dozen of whatever that thing is - depending on how often you use it. Sales have cycles and usually things tend to go on sale every 3 - 6 months.    Then, when you need something you already have a stockpile - you just go to it and get what you need. It takes several months to get your stockpile piled up. During this time, you are taking the extra money you are saving by combining coupons with sales, and using that money to stockpile what is a good deal each week. You may need to try new things, and change the way you eat slightly to utilize the items you have coupons for. Then, after your stockpile is stocked, you will see a huge savings in your grocery bill! You should pay approx one half to one quarter of what you used to pay, depending on how much time you put into this.

After about 3 months, you find you are only "cherry picking" - which is only buying what is a good deal.

Remember -- I don't wait until I need something to buy it. I match the sales with the coupons and buy the items that are reduced in price between 75% -100%. Then, when I need it, I already have it.

Obviously, you need more than one coupon to do this.  I will write up an article giving you ideas on how you can procure coupons without having to pay for dozens of newspapers.

I'm not sure if I really explained this well.

Let me know if you have questions. I know many of you are coupon queens too. If you have ideas, offer them too!