With TV shows such as TLC’s “Extreme Couponing”, stores may have caught on and it is now hard to leave with carts of groceries for little or no money (not that most people could, but there must be a reason why the fad has seemed to die down and are not even airing episodes any longer). That does not mean you cannot still save money at the store. Time equals money, and those that save the most amounts of money do allocate a lot of their time in planning for the savings, so it will take a little bit of work on your part for maximum cost savings.
Clip Coupons Physically and Digitally
The Sunday paper is still a great way to have access to a large amount of coupons, just make sure the weekly savings outweighs the cost of having the paper delivered (especially if you do not even read the actual newspaper). Printable coupons are continuing to be very popular to get off of manufacturers websites, Facebook, and websites such as coupons.com. If you have a loyalty card at places such as Kroger, then you can take advantage of eCoupons, which you can load onto your card from their website and the savings will be taken off at the register. Staying organized can be the tricky part, but the enjoyment will hopefully come when you see the bill reduce.
Say Goodbye to Impulse Buying
When planning out the meals for the week it is important to plan according to which items you have coupons for, and not shopping with your stomach. The maximum savings will especially come when you shop with the coupon items are on sale. Unfortunately that will mean changing the way your grocery lists will consist of, sometimes not getting your favorite brand of a product, and paying more attention to weekly ads.
Now it does not make the most financial sense to not at least try and seek out and use coupons, it does take a lot of work. For some people, it is just too much. Whether some feel it is not worth the time to save a few dollars, some may go on streaks where they are dedicated and then fall off much like a diet, or others just plain burn out, couponing may not be for everyone, but if you can stick to it, there is plenty of money to be saved.