Planning Coupon Use on Every Day Items Can Save You Money and Time

The recession is still impacting most Americans in their pocket book. We look for sales items and buy generic to save a few cents at the grocery store. Many of us don not clip coupons anymore because we have store chain cards that we swipe to get the sale price at the store. Ten for ten sales are great if you really are looking to keep and use ten jars of pickles. Still to save more money we need to get back in the habit of clipping coupons. The Sunday paper is the place most folks start ,but those of us who work and well find every thing online , finding and printing coupons online is these easiest approach.

In the day in age when we fill our prescriptions and make our hair appointments online it makes sense to find online sites that offer coupons for things that we buy at the store weekly. These are not just coupons for groceries but health and beauty, pet supplies , and children's items.

The trick to get the most out of your coupons is in the planning. Get the local ad for the grocery stores you shop most at . If you only shop one store now would be the time to get the store card and check the sale ad at a near by competitors store as well.

Using at least two ad circulars plan your meals for the week. Use the meat and other items on sale to decide what you are going fix for dinner for the rest of the week. Coupons really save you money when you are buying things on sale. Check the dog food and laundry soap to make sure your shopping list includes all your house hold needs. Plan to stick to the list and avoid impulse buying

If you are sold on using only one kind of laundry soap or your cat will only eat a certain brand of cat food.

Look for a coupon online specifically for that brand. The site of the company that manufactures the product you use will be the best place for you to start. Many times you can join a mailing list and receive coupons on a regular basis from the manufacturer of your favorite brand.

The only items you should not be trying to use coupons on are store generic brands that are still cheaper than the name brand even with the coupon. If you find a store brand acceptable and consistently inexpensive then plan to stick to that store brand.

Once you have studied a particular store circular you will notice that certain brands go on sale every two to four weeks in that store. You can learn when your favorite brand is going to be on sale of a certain product and shop that store accordingly. If it is a product that goes on sale every six weeks stock up when it is on sale or check the neighboring store to see when it goes on sale there. It does not make sense to run to multiple stores every week ,but if the store has something on sale that you have a coupon for it is worth the drive down the road.

Read coupons before you try to use them . There are many different kinds of coupons. The best one's are manufacturer coupons as they do not expire as quickly as some store coupons and can be used at all the stores that carry the product. Still it pays to see if your store has days of the week when they double the value of the manufacturers coupons. Then you can buy brands that are not on sale and still save a lot of money. Check store policies about the doubling of coupons on sale items. Not all stores permit you to basically more than double the discount. Most stores will double coupons up to a dollar.

It is also a good idea to send off for free samples when you can. I collect all kinds of samples in a box and when a house guest comes and forgot their shampoo then have I something to give them. Pet food samples are great for when you have run out dog food during a winter storm and do not want to run to the store. Sample sizes are perfect for travel as well. The best part of samples is they will give you usually a fairly good coupon for the product that you got the sample for should you decide you would like to purchase .

If you do not want to use samples yourself consider sending off for them for others. My mom gets all kinds of laundry soaps and softener samples that she gives to the college age grand kids to have at the dorm. They actually really appreciate the laundry soap when they are down to their last pennies at the end of the month.

http://www.anycoupons.com/index.html?deal=5110000001 coupons and coupon codes at major online stores

http://thegrocerygame.com/coupons/ explains why most Newspaper coupons are better.

http://thegrocerygame.com/con_Teris_Coupon_Center.cfm talks about adding coupons to your store savings card and using coupon clipping services.