You may be wondering why anyone would want to write, let alone read, about couponing for groceries. In my experience, there are many reasons. Here are just a few:
You'll stretch your budget dollars.
Obvious, I know. But if you think about it, a minimum 5-10% saving on your grocery bill can really add up. Say you spend $100 a week on food; that translates into a savings of over $5-$10/week, $20-40/month, $240-$480/year, and so on. That's the equivalent of getting free Internet access and perhaps a free weekly paper from which to clip coupons...
You'll be better equipped to plan your shopping trips.
If you clip weekly coupons, you're more likely to check store ads, see which items you have coupons for that are already on sale, and save twice! This will motivate you to create a menu each week, as well as a grocery list, thereby keeping you on budget. If you have a family, there's no extra time for daily trips to the store. Moreover, you'll do less impulse buying this way!
You can often purchase name brands for less than the generic brands.
Don't get me wrong; I often use generic brands, but for some items, a generic can't compare-I will only use my trusted brand. For example, I don't believe that most generic laundry detergents can compete with my favorite brand. Suppose, hypothetically, that my grocery store has my brand on sale for $5.49 (regularly $6.49) and the store brand is $4.99. If I use a manufacturer's $1.00 off coupon for my brand, I've paid $4.49 for the brand I trust-and saved $.50 over the GENERIC brand.
To not coupon is to throw money away.
If you're a consumer, you can always save money. Conversely, if you make so much money that you lose money during the time you clip coupons, pay one of your children a dollar or two to do it for you... You'll still come out ahead!
So, where do you find worthwhile coupons? The Sunday supplements are chock-full of them! I figure that the $5 or $6 a month that we invest in the weekly paper is saved EVERY week (sometimes twice over) by couponing. Try the Internet as well. The following sites might be useful:
http://www.ecoupons.com/cgi/all_home Tons of local and online coupons and rebates.
http://www.mycoupons.com/ Free coupons for everything-sent right to your e-mail box!
Some helpful tips:
Clip only coupons for what you would normally buy.
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