Couponing for Free Groceries

Couponing for free groceries is simple, easy and doesn't take much time for anyone to do that wants to save money and perhaps eat good for free.  It has been demonstrated on TV by many on how to use coupons, how to use multiple coupons on products called stacking and various tips for couponers have been discussed and taught by many recently.  Shows such as "The Extreme Couponer" and "Couponing 101" have found success through teaching the basics to the world.

We all know that coupons regularly are included in our Sunday newspapers as well as whichever day the grocery store ads come out each week.  These inserts and store ads with coupons in them are great and convenient for everyone to clip and use.  The problem with this is that the stores know in advance which coupons are being printed and released to the general public in the newspapers.  It is to their advantage to keep those items at regular price or even to raise the price by a few cents when the ads and coupons first are released.  That is when most people try using their coupons, as soon as they get them.  WRONG!!

I can't say it enough.  Do not use your coupons the first week they come out in the paper, the stores are expecting you to and are doing their part to make sure that they still come out ahead instead of you.  Save those coupons for a few weeks.  Most coupons are good for at least a month if not 6 months or a year.  If you hold onto those coupons and use them when the store is actually having the product on sale, you will maximize your savings.  If your store has a double or triple coupon day, use them then to really maximize the benefits.

Besides newspaper sales inserts, grocery ads and Sunday inserts, there are several other great places to get some high savings coupons which will really help cut the grocery bill or get your groceries for free.  The internet has become a great source for this.  Many sites online provide coupons to print out at home, while others offer ones which can be loaded directly onto your shopper's rewards cards for various stores.  I personally shop at Kroger most of the time and load these savings onto my card weekly.  That way, even if my husband is who goes to the store, the coupons are available for his use on our store card.  (Most men don't want to take coupons with them, but like the savings - loading reward cards is a great way for them to have the coupons with them and not have to be carrying them along!) 

Besides the sites like Cellfire.com, Coupons.com, etc., there are also sites which offer opportunities to try products for free in exchange for writing a review of the product or for sharing coupons for the product with others.  There are many great sites which do this.  But mostly, the actual brand manufacturer's often offer coupons on their web sites for their brands.  Many will mail booklets of their brand's products coupons to you or will allow you to print them at home for use.  Proctor and Gamble is a great site for this.  I sign up every couple of months with their website and they mail me a booklet of current coupons for their various products.

Trying products out in exchange for writing a review is a great way to score big in the grocery store.  I recently agreed to host a party of my peers for product sampling and to distribute coupons to everyone at the party for a company wanting people to try their new organic, all natural meat line.

As you can see from the receipt above, I went to the store and purchased over $38 in meat and a bottle of ranch dressing for dip for chicken nuggets and it cost me $0.00 - that is ZERO my friends.  This is just an example of what one can do if they want to.

Kroger sends me coupons in the mail each month.  They are ones that are picked for me according to the merchandise I normally purchase in their stores.  At first I wasn't sure if I liked that my shopper's reward card allowed them to monitor my purchases in this manner.  However, after over a year of their mailing me coupon packets monthly, I find I have saved enough money that I know I don't care if they monitor what I buy as long as it helps to save me money in their store, at their pharmacy, at the gas pump or any other way!

I often will log on and go to manufacturer's websites before going to the store to see if they have a coupon available for something I intend to purchase.  Coffee, dog food, laundry detergent, dish soap, toilet paper, cat food, cleaning supplies, etc., are all products that most manufacturers do keep coupons online for their consumers to benefit from.  Food items vary all the time according to what new flavors, products, line of product, or whatever is new and being promoted at the time.  Some food items have coupons available for them ALL the Time!  For instance, Yoplait yogurt most always has coupons available, Hot Pockets and Lean Pockets are two more products that are usually always available.  You just have to take the few minutes to check, clip-print-or load, and save money.

 

Eat for free this week!  Check those ads against your grocery list and search out those coupon savings that are available for use.  You could be very pleasantly surprised!  After a year of paying attention, clipping and printing and uploading, see how much money you have saved.  A friend of mine recently took a vacation for a week on what she had saved from couponing in the past year.  Maybe you can finance that trip, that new laptop or phone, or a trip to the movies by just watching what you spend where and how much of what you spend is from using coupons or using actual money.

Good luck and enjoy!

Just Me Granny D