How I Grocery Shop - Coupons

I am a coupon shopper. I clip them out of the Sunday paper inserts, rip them out of magazines, pull them from the little machines in the store aisles, and print them off the internet. I am pretty hard core with a ridiculous organization system that I'll explain at a later date, but I got started pretty simply.

Here are some tips if you're new to coupons:

• Start small. Only clip or print coupons for items you usually buy. There's no need to overwhelm yourself with a huge stack of coupons you won't use.
• Organize your coupons in some way that makes sense to you. You can pick up a "coupon organizer" at the dollar store or just tuck a few small, labeled envelopes into your purse. A few good categories might be dairy/refrigerated, frozen, dry goods, baby, and other. This will allow you to lay hands on an appropriate coupon quickly.
• Check out the grocery ads to see if some of those things you buy regularly are on sale - then see if you have a coupon make the sale price even better. You will save time shopping if you plan ahead at home.
• Remember that a coupon does not necessarily equal a good price. Often a generic brand is still cheaper than the brand name even with a coupon.

Here are some deals I got recently with coupons. What you see pictured cost only $3.16. Some items were on sale, some were on store clearance, and I purchased each with a coupon that doubled. Albertson's occasionally puts double coupons in their mailers and I happened to be in Portland where Safeway also put a double coupon in their ad.



Katie