Want to increase your grocery savings? Then get started with couponing! Or, if you’re already using them, bump it up a notch, by checking out a new site or two. I admit to not being a pro, at all, with this whole coupon thing. But I have been increasing the amount that we save, every month, for the last year. Those coupons for .25 to .50 cents off really do add up. When you combine that with some of my smart online shopping strategies like using Ebates for free cash back, and my 15 Awesome Ways to Shop for Free – and add in a tip or two from my most popular post of all time: 10 Ways to Earn Money from Home – you can really do great things to boost your budget. These are all things I used myself when I lost my job unexpectedly a few years ago – while being a full time student, with a month-old baby, and no unemployment benefits. Yikes to the max, right? But using these money saving tips saved us, seriously.

Use Grocery Store Programs

So, for now, I’ve been relying on clipping and printing TONS of coupons {that’s my actual pile, in the photo above}, loading digital coupons directly to my loyalty cards, and using the price match guarantee at Walmart, to maximize our savings. I love that I can bring the coupons from other local stores, and Walmart will honor them! It saves me time from running around town, but I still get the best deals. Also, the new Safeway digital coupons are amazing {be sure to load the app too, if you shop there a lot} – and you get the added bonus of earning up to $1 a gallon off on gas too.

Where do you get so many coupons?

This is one of the biggest questions that I get asked! There are tons of different ways to get coupons… {See my post about signing up for newsletters and mailing lists for some ideas: How to Get Free Stuff {Part 2}} I get most of mine either directly from companies, clipped from my Sunday paper, printed online, or loaded directly onto my loyalty cards. I’ve also been using a really cool site called AFullCup.com – you can swap and trade coupons, search for coupons by store, or use the forms to ask questions, learn other couponer’s best tips, share your match ups, and more. Really helpful!

Coupon Resources to Check Out:

Use these sites to print off coupons that you’re family is going to use anyway. Hand ’em over to the checker at the grocery store. Watch those savings add up. See, easy peasy, right? Then, next time, print more. Now you’ve gotten started. People think it’s a ton of work… But how much time does it take to print out a hand full of coupons? Yes, you’re not saving like you see on tv reality shows, but you ARE saving. And every little bit helps out! So get started with coupons today!

Inbox Dollars is a site where you can earn money for tons of different activities: shopping, surveys, offers…. But you also get PAID for printing and redeeming coupons from their site. For every coupon you print and redeem, you’ll not only save at the store, but Inbox Dollars will credit your account a bonus .10 cents. Awesomesauce, right? And there are tons of other ways you can earn, too. You can see an example of my earnings here: Does Inbox Dollars Really Work?

Swagbucks was one of the very first sites I ever started using to earn free stuff online – and still use it today. I usually redeem my points for Amazon gift cards, which I can then use to buy must-haves like toilet paper, detergent, diapers, etc. When you use the Subscribe & Save option on Amazon for those types of essentials you save big. And just like with Inbox Dollars, you can print coupons here too, and earn rewards for every coupon you redeem!

I’m sure you’ve heard of Coupons.com before! They have a really great selection of family-friendly product coupons, and have a really extensive list of brand name coupons that are updated regularly.

Grocery Coupon Outlet – This is another site for printing out coupons for your favorite brands. Great selection, and very easy to navigate.

RedPlum brings you coupons in your Sunday paper, so I’m sure most of you are familiar with this one too. I use a lot of their printables each week too, to get multiple copies of a good coupon I find in the paper.

Savings Star brings more of the super cool, and super helpful, digital coupons! Some stores will even stack these on top of your printed coupons. Just register a basic account, then add on all of your store reward cards so you can load them full of savings. Then – you can save on your grocery bill even if you forget to clip coupons that week!

Free Coupon Alerts is always updating with the latest coupons available online. They cover Printable Coupons, E-coupons and much more. Never miss a coupon again – sign up today.

Ladies… Start your Scissors!!

You can bookmark this page, so you can come back often to find new coupons… Most sites update around once a week or so. Clip a few to get started, get hooked on the savings, and come back again to print tons more! If you have a great couponing site, feel free to share it in the comments, I love hearing from you guys!