Save Money - It's Easier Than You Think



Save Money - It's Easier Than You Think. How you ask?

It is really very simple --become a savvy shopper.

If you follow the simple steps I am about to outline below; you and your family can save from hundreds to thousands of dollars a year.

Think about what you can do with that extra money.

In this article we will focus on one method that my wife and I have personally implemented in our household.

It takes a little work but requires lots of commitment.

Here is what we have started doing to save money -- we have educated ourselves about using manufacturers and store coupons to drastically cut our grocery bills.

Here is a photo of our grocery coupon binder --(we started with a small binder - but quickly outgrew it. In the past we would go shopping-- use one or two discount coupons, and come home thinking we saved money.

Boy were we wrong!

1. One of the secrets is to apply those discount coupons when the items you want are on sale -- especially when you "buy one -get one free."

NOTE -- Not just store brands -- but popular nationally known brands.





2. Another important step is have a written shopping list when you are going shopping. photo of printed store shopping list.

This is a critical step so that you buy only what you need and only those items for which you have discount coupons.

Get to know the major stores within your area and compare the prices they charge for the items that you normally purchase.

You need to be an informed consumer if your goal is to save money.

Below is a photo of one of our binder's coupon pages (we use baseball card plastic holders) --which we purchased at Target.

For instance, in our area there are three major stores that we purchase from: Walmart, Winn-Dixie, and Publix.

On certain grocery items there can be a $2-3 dollar(or more) difference in price.

So you need to know what the store's pricing policy is -- in order to know if you are (really) saving money when they have a sale.


3. Another important step is to have your coupons organized with your shopping list when you go to the store.

- This is all part of being prepared -- it will make the shopping experience a lot more fun.

Remember that the more prepared and more knowledgeable you are ----- the more you will save money.

It's your money -- you earned it -- don't throw it away.

Nationally known products we purchased at greatly discounted prices.


DON'T REINVENT THE WHEEL

Learn from others - model what they do --save money.

That's what we have done. One of the best web site on saving money by using grocery coupons is Couponmom.com

This is the main web site that my wife and I use, and we follow Stephanie's advice on setting up our coupon book.

Go to couponmom.com ---read the tutorials --watch the videos and voila! you'll be on your way to saving money.

When items are on sale we stock-up and save money


Here is something else we learned.

In the past we would go to one store and do all our grocery shopping for the week -- We no longer do that.

Now we shop at all three stores -- but we only buy items on which we save money. [remember your written shopping list]

Note-- Before going to the stores we do our homework by going online and seeing what each store has on sale.

At first it may seem like a lot of work -- but believe me the savings add up.

Annnnd -once you understand the basic concepts -- it gets easier and a lot more fun.


Remember What I said at the beginning of this article?

I said -- It takes a little work but requires lots of commitment.

1. The little work involved is reading and understanding what Stephanie(couponmom.com)teaches you, and doing your research online for more grocery coupons.

2. The commitment part involves researching the pricing policies of the stores where you shop -- and preparing yourself weekly - before you go shopping.

By the way, my wife and I come home laughing from our shopping trips -- happy that we save money.

**One final suggestion --Take your time when doing your shopping -so that you can compare prices & insure you are getting a good deal.**





I have also created a spreadsheet to track the monthly savings--

Money Saved Using Coupons -2011

DATE-- STORE-- Old Price-- $-PAID-- $-SAVED

**[old price = price paid + coupon savings]

I suggest you create one so the you can actually track what money you save.

I hope that this article has informed, inspired and motivated you to take action and keep more of your money.

We would love to hear from you with your comments, suggestions, and tips -- tell your story




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