tips for clipping coupons

1. Stick to coupons for things you really use. Trying another brand is fine. Buying something you know you won't or shouldn't eat is a waste.
Americans tend to throw out about 27 percent of consumable food, according to the most recent numbers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. While this includes grocery stores and restaurants, the family refrigerator is also a culprit. One quick way to slice into your food bill is to buy only what you need.
2. Pick a couple of favorite coupon sites and hit them regularly. Issuers offer "10 times the coupons available on manufacturers' Web sites," says Stephanie Nelson, who runs CouponMom.com.
Be sure to hit them early in the month, because sometimes manufacturers instruct the issuers to cap the number of coupons they distribute, says Steven Boal, CEO and founder of Coupons.com. Get there early and you get first pick. And don't be afraid to check back several times a week to see if any new coupons are added. "New offers come in and out almost every day," Boal says.
3. Target the manufacturer sites of your favorite brands. It takes a little more time than just visiting several coupon issuers. But this is a great way to find coupons for the products that you regularly use.
And if you're willing to provide your e-mail and/or snail mail addresses, you can often receive additional coupons, Nelson says.
4. Layer coupons with store specials and sales. "Combine every possible savings opportunity," says Nelson, whose site summarizes weekly specials in the local grocery stores. "That's strategic shopping," she says. And it helps to know which stores sell various items at the cheapest base price.
It's also a good idea to find out if any of your favorite stores will match their competitors' offers.
5. Visit store sites. "A lot of people don't realize that all supermarkets have Web sites," says Lisa Lee Freeman, editor in chief of ShopSmart magazine. Shoppers can use these sites to find out about weekly specials, as well as store coupons.

Read more: 8 tips for online coupon clipping http://www.bankrate.com/finance/personal-finance/8-tips-for-online-coupon-clipping-1.aspx#ixzz1TFtocrn1

Coupon Tips

Get organized

Store coupons in color-coded envelopes, a portable file with dividers, a tabbed binder, or a photo album.

Collect a lot

Nab every coupon that you might use; don't limit yourself to those for products you need now. Look in the usual spots—the Sunday paper, coupon packs sent in the mail—but also check manufacturer websites and giant coupon sites including Coupons.com, CoolSavings.com, and GrocerySmarts.com. And see the box below for where coupons lurk in stores.

Stack coupons

Stacking, a top strategy of coupon enthusiasts, means redeeming at least two coupons—one from the manufacturer and one from the store—on a single purchase. Manufacturers and grocery stores don't necessarily offer coupons for the same items at the same time. The trick is to hold onto manufacturer coupons until your store offers coupons for the same product.

Be smart online

Set up a separate e-mail account for couponing. You have to register at most sites before you can print out coupons, and once you do you'll be bombarded with spam. Be selective about which online coupons you print, or you'll spend too much on ink and paper. Because manufacturers can discontinue online coupons at any time, print them close to when you intend to use them.

Look beyond the supermarket

In 2009 about 1.2 billion coupons—a third of all redeemed—were for nonfood products such as paper goods, cleaning supplies, and personal-care items. You can often find deals on those products at big discount stores, drugstores, and even dollar stores, most of which accept coupons. Many drugstore chains distribute their own coupons, which you can stack with manufacturer coupons. CVS has a strong coupon program tied to its loyalty card. Target distributes its own coupons.

Get coupons for favorite brands

Use Facebook or Twitter to sign up with a favorite brand and receive coupons and offers not available elsewhere. Here's another way to find coupons for specific brands: Do an Internet search for the brand name and "coupons" or "discount coupons." When you find a good deal on a favorite, stock up.

Stay on track

Don't use the cash you've saved to splurge on unnecessary extras. Instead, put it in a jar. Watching the savings grow can motivate you to keep clipping.

the grocery game.com

A friend of my mine told me about this site.  It is called the grocery game.com.  It tells you all about great deals at stores that you can choose in your own area.  It is about 8 bucks or so a month to belong to it, but it tells where the deals are and when to shop for them.  You can't get much better than that if you are trying to save money and get the best deals. 

Coupon Stats

General Facts about Coupons

Coupon clippers have taken over the checkout lines in record numbers...with record savings. But if you still think most coupon users have blue hair, you're way off. With mobile and internet coupons gaining even more popularity discounted prices are a hot hobby across all ages and incomes, especially folks in their 20s and 30s. If you've been hiding your frugal habits, it's time to let your lean lifestyle shine! Just how much of an influence do coupons have on the population at large? Check out the latest stats on coupon usage trends below.

1. 88.2 million consumers (47% of Internet users) plan on using online coupons in 2011
2. 92.5 million adult Internet users will use online coupons in 2012
3. 96.8 million adult Internet users will use online coupons in 2013
4. Every hour spent couponing in 2011 is worth an estimated $100
5. The average savings per coupon used was $1.44 in 2010
6. 74% of consumers search multiple coupon sources each week
7. 25% spend up to an hour shopping for the best online discount deals
8. 47% of respondents use more local deals and coupons than in 2010
9. Moms are roughly twice as likely to search for coupons online as other categories of women
10. 52% of coupon users spend more than 15 minutes per week searching for coupons
11. 25% of coupon users spend between 30 minutes and 60 minutes searching for coupons per week
12. $485 billion worth of coupons were distributed in 2010
13. 332 billion coupons were distributed in 2010, the most ever recorded in the U.S.
14. Consumers saved $3.7 billion using coupons in 2010
15. Distribution in 2010 exceeded 2009 by 6.8%, or 21 billion coupons
16. 87.7% of paper coupons were distributed in 2010 via newspaper inserts, for an increase of 19 billion coupons
17. Digital offers increased by 37% in 2010
18. The face value of coupons in 2010 increased 6.6%, to an average of $1.46 per coupon
19. 74% of coupons in 2010 required the purchase of one item and 26% the purchase of two or more items
20. The average coupon expired in 10.1 weeks in 2010, 10 days shorter than in 2009
21. Overall coupon redemption grew 3.1%, to 3.3 billion, in 2010
22. 78.3% of consumers reported using coupons regularly in 2010, up 14.7% from pre-recession levels
23. Consumer coupon use in 2010 added up to $3.7 billion in savings, an increase of $200 million over 2009

Coupons are cool

In the last few months I have started using free printable grocery coupons and I am just amazed at all of the money that I WAS throwing away.  I have saved about $100 in the last two months and now I will never shop without them again!