Clipping Coupons

I've always loved clipping coupons! When I sit down to read the Sunday paper I hurry through the "news" to get to the ads. I don't clip every coupon, just the coupons for things we normally buy or products that we've wanted to try. I have an envelope I keep in my purse to hold my coupons and I dutiful place the newly cut coupons into the envelope and back into my purse every Sunday. And that's where they sit, safely tucked away, until the next week when I add to the pile. More likely than not, these coupons will meet the recycling bin with expired dates of use before they ever see the bright lights of the grocery store.

Last week I made a real effort to use coupons on my shopping trip. Before I left for the store I went through the coupons pulling out the ones for item we needed. So far so good. I also pulled out some coupons for things we wanted (Ben & Jerry's ice cream) on the condition I'd use them only if the items were already on sale. With coupons and shopping list in hand it was time to hit the store. I'm not going to bore you with the particulars, so let's just say those few extra minutes of sorting through my coupons saved me a a pocketful of cash! Almost everything I bought was on sale and I had a coupon for 1/2 of the items. With them combined I was able to get $56 worth of products for $18! Yeah for sales! Yeah for clipping coupons! But most of all: Yeah for using my clipped coupons on sale items! I could get used to saving that kind of money!

If you have any ideas or tips for clipping and using coupons let me know!