Cutting Down and Save on Monthly Grocery Bills with Coupons

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), food gets more expensive each year with a 2.5% increase in prices. Naturally, saving on groceries is a top priority for consumers.

Today, it is possible to cut down your monthly grocery bill dramatically by using coupons, which can shave down the price on basic grocery items such as meats and fresh produce to staples like bread or eggs. You can learn how to save money with coupons.

Superstores such as Walmart and other, smaller grocery stores are all offering coupon specials. So, why should you continue to pay full price when you can get your food at huge discounts?

Start Collecting Coupons

Remember, the more coupons you have, the more savings you can get. For many parents, reading the paper is already part of the Sunday morning routine. Start collecting those coupon inserts for discounts on a wide range of consumer products. To get more coupons for your collection, check more than one newspaper to save with coupons.

For the ambitious coupon clipper, try asking co-workers or friends for coupon inserts that they don’t plan on using. For a simpler route, make sure to regularly check Internet resources, for example, coupon sites like ebates.com for the latest coupons and online rebate deals.

Get Organized & Save With Coupons

As with any collection, you want to keep everything in order. Coupons have expiration dates and you will most likely forget to use them before they expire if you leave them in a pile inside a drawer. Coupon experts use protective binders to store and organize coupons in order to keep track of which deals expire first so they don’t miss out.

Keeping coupons in a handy binder also makes it easy to bring them with you when you shop for groceries. You’ll always be ready for any surprise offers at the store. There are a number of ways to organize your coupons, such as by expiration date or by category. Choose whatever works best for you.

Match Coupon Deals to Store Sales

When using coupons, one of the best strategies to get the biggest savings is to pair them with a store sale. Take Walmart coupons from Ebates.com, for example. You could save from not only the coupon but any in-store deal on top of that.

Now, if you happen to have two coupons or if you’re lucky to catch a store’s double coupon deal which gives double the discount on your coupon, you can get the item free. If you can match coupons to store deals every week, you will see incredible savings on your monthly grocery bills and could even earn cash back. 

Addressing Coupon Concerns

1. Coupons are not just for surplus products.

For those new to using coupons, you might get discouraged by some complaints about how coupons are mostly for processed food. While there are often discounts on processed food, there are plenty of other quality products with applicable coupons.

There are tons of coupons for healthy options from major superstores or specialty health food stores. Some of the most common ones include coupons for dairy products like milk and yogurt, frozen vegetables, cereal, oatmeal products, coffee and tea, pasta, tomato sauces, and tuna. An example of a common offer gets you free fresh fruit when you buy a box of cereal. Sometimes, you just have to pay attention to the deals.

2. Collecting coupons doesn’t have to be a lot of work.

Another concern about using coupons is how much time it requires to find, collect and organize them. How much time does it really take? For one parent, couponing is not time consuming at all, taking less than an hour every week to organize coupons (15 minutes) and pair them with store sales (30 minutes).

If you’re new to the world of couponing, it’s understandable that you would take more time just looking for coupons. This is why you should take advantage of coupon websites where you can quickly search for deals by store, brand, or product. Coupon Sherpa, for example, offers grocery coupons as well as brand coupons for Tide, Pampers and more. Some sites already match coupons with store sales, so you can save both your time and your money.

3. Buy only what you need.

While there are coupon deals for single items, most offers require you to buy in bulk. Some frown at this because they don’t have a lot of free space at home. If that’s the case, just remember to buy only what you’ll actually use.

Don’t be compelled to shop excessively just to take advantage of a good deal. Remember to buy items that you use regularly. The products won’t be in your pantry for too long and you won’t run into any storage issues. This also prevents food waste, which is the last thing you want when you’re trying to figure out how to save money with coupons.

It is possible to cut down your monthly grocery bill dramatically by using coupons, which can shave down the price on basic grocery items such as meats and fresh produce to staples like bread or eggs. You can learn how to save money with coupons.

What about you? Do you know how to save money with coupons? What tips or tricks did I miss?