How To Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half by Brian

Updated in May 27th post: Following Punny Money's Grand Coupon Experiment.

With Cut Out Hunger's coupon strategy and the Savings Mom Web site, you can regularly save 80%, 90%, even 100% on name brand groceries.

Imagine the grocer owing you money when you check out. It's possible. Read more to learn the 5 easy steps to locating phenomenal grocery deals in your area. And find out how one shopper cashed in with coupons sold on eBAY.


5 Steps to Phenomenal Grocery Deals

1. The savings strategy relies on the Smartsource and Valassis coupon circulars found in the Sunday newspaper. So, spend the one or two dollars it costs every week for the paper, the return on this investment can be in the hundreds. By-the-way, the coupon circulars are not distributed on holiday weekends.

2. DO NOT CUT THE COUPONS OUT YET! Ye warned be. Instead, write the date really big and bold on the front of the circular and file it chronologically.

3. Visit Savings Mom's Web site at www.cutouthunger.com. Click on "Find the Best Grocery Discounts by State." Select your store or region from the drop-down menu, and click "go" to see a detailed list of items, the item's sale price, the coupon you should use, and how much you will save. Don't be surprised if some items are 100% free.

4. On the list of sale items, check off the items you want to shop for. I generally don't buy anything until it's at least 50% off.

5. In the far left hand column of your list, you'll notice a date followed by the letter "S" or "V." The "S" stands for Smartsource and the "V" stands for Valassis. Go to the circular that corresponds with your list item, find the coupon you need, cut it out and go shopping.

The key elelment to this system is matching coupons with weekly sales. That's where Savings Mom's Web site comes in handy--she's done the hard part for you. Now go save!

Two more things to keep in mind. One, give yourself about four weeks of collecting circulars to really start finding deals, but you will probably find some deals right away. Two, do not be brand loyal. For the best savings, experiment with other products, try several brands of the same thing--it adds variety to the pantry and after all, a paper towel is a paper towel.

With the tremendous savings you can find, remember that hunger in America is real and far too prevalent. Since many grocery items are free or nearly free, start a box of items for charity. After about four weeks into this system of savings, you'll probably find that you have more than enough, that's when it's time to start giving. In essence, Savings Mom's system makes it possible for you to save big and give.

How To Have Coupon Fun on eBAY

Log on to your eBAY account and search for coupons. It's fun, it's cheap, it's easy. The bid prices for popular coupons are seldom more than the cost of the Sunday paper and the shipping costs are low.

Not long ago, Gillete's coupon for a free Mach 3 razor could be found in the Sunday circulars as well as on the auction block. The razor was worth somewhere around $8 or $9 and the coupons could be purchased on eBAY for one or two dollars.

A word of caution. If you're going to purchase coupons on eBAY, be sure to bid on specific ones. In other words, don't buy envelopes stuffed with varied coupons. You have no way of knowing where the coupons came from and what the expiration dates are. Buyers should look for specific coupons; like in the Mach 3 razor example above.

And remember to share the wealth. Too many people in America are living in poverty, so grocery deals can be a great way for you to save and to help someone out.

For more information on the Savings Mom (a.k.a. Coupon Mom), Stephanie Nelson, visit her on the Web at www.cutouthunger.com She explains the savings system in detail along with many other special offers that might be of interest to consumers. Amazon.com new & used Greatest Secrets of the Coupon Mom