By Lacy Walpert.
Testing and perfecting recipes take trial and error. And that means a lot of ingredients, which adds up at check-out. But if you are willing to spend a few minutes every week preparing, you can save big while stocking up.
1. Get Online! The Sunday paper isn’t the only place to find coupons. You can print them online from several sites, like coupons.com. But don’t ignore the papers all together. Sometimes local papers, like the Gazette, offer high dollar coupons you can’t find anywhere else.
2. Ask for what you can’t find. If you can’t find a coupon for your favorite organic milk, email the company. Most businesses would love to send you coupons for brand loyalty.
3. Manufacturer coupons work for multiple products. (Not always, but often) A good example is cereal. Even though there is a picture of Cheerios on your General Mills coupon, it will usually work for any other GM cereal. This is often the case for many other brands like Oscar Meyer, Campbell’s, and Kashi, and Progresso.
4. Find out your store’s policy. Many groceries will double coupons up to 99 cents. But some will even double up to $2 every once in awhile.
5. Stock up on stock and other staples. I am not suggesting you become an extreme hoarder. But if it is super double coupon week, and you have a lot of paper towel or soup coupons, load up! You’ll be happy to avoid those last minute trips to the store and paying full price.
6. Check the circulars. You’ll find them online or in the newspapers. Seeing the sales helps you set aside, in advance, the coupons you’ll use. (This also helps you avoid the eye rolls in the check-out line.)
7. Combine Coupons. Most stores offer their own coupons/ discounts that you can load onto your loyalty card. You can stack manufacturer coupons on top of your store savings and pay next to nothing for some products.
8. Keep your eyes peeled. In store coupon containers can give you easy savings.
9. Coupon Karma. If you pass an item that you clipped a coupon for, but don’t plan on buying, leave your coupon for the next customer. Coupon Karma will come back to reward you.
