During tough times, when nearly everyone is looking for ways to save money, clipping coupons can make a bigg difference. But many people don’t use coupons.

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Why don’t we use coupons more?

Some people think the only products you can get coupons for are junk. Others feel like they would just buy things they really didn’t need. It takes too much time to find the right coupons. Or it’s just too much of a hassle.

There’s also a stigma associated with coupons – some people feel that only “cheap” people or people who don’t have money use coupons.

But they’re wrong! In fact, Thomas J. Stanley, in his wonderful book The Millionaire Mind, showed that many millionaires use coupons.

Many people may think the savings from coupons are negligible, but they can really add up if you know what you’re doing. It’s just like making more money, only you don’t have to pay taxes on what you save!

Combined discounts save bigg money!

Crissy Thompson has a husband and three kids. Her grocery bill used to be as much as $250 a week. Now she spends as little as $10 a week to feed her family. It seems like she is particularly adept at combining discounts.

For example, she loves “buy 1, get 1 free” deals combined with coupons. The story gives the example of some cereal that cost $3.79, but the second box was free.

Crissy had two $3 coupons for this brand of cereal. That’s another thing we learned from reading this article – one coupon per purchase doesn’t mean “transaction”; it means “item”.

So she paid $3.79 for two boxes of cereal. She was able to use $6 worth of coupons. In essence, she got paid $2.21 to buy that cereal!

Shop for free!

She likes CVS because they have a rewards program called Extra Care Bucks. Extra Care Bucks can be used on your next purchase.

The story highlights a couple of items she got for free – some deodorant ($4.99 less $4.99 Extra Care Bucks = $0 net) and a toothbrush ($3.99 less $3.99 Extra Care Bucks equals $0 net). Combine that with some manufacturer’s coupons and you could get paid to shop!

Don’t wait for your money

Crissy also demonstrated her financial prowess because she wasn’t willing to wait for her money. Since the Extra Care Bucks have to be used on your next purchase, Crissy makes multiple purchases in the same trip! Then she can use her rewards immediately.

Crissy’s 2 cents worth

At Target, you can print out coupons from their web site and use manufacturers’ coupons – 2 coupons, 1 product! That helped Crissy with the transaction of which she is most proud …

She walked out Target’s door with $380 worth of merchandise.

Her grand total out-of-pocket cost … 2 cents!

Like any endeavor in which you wish to succeed bigg, it takes research and some work. However, shopping like Crissy is like putting money in the bank!

Sites to help you save

CouponCrissy       
Crissy’s new web site

Hot Coupon World   
Crissy’s favorite coupon site

GottaDeal       
Another of Crissy’s favorites

CoolSavings   
Coupons and more for just about everything, including the kitchen sink!

MyCoupons   
Helps you find the best place to shop while using coupons from their site

SmartSource        
Focus on groceries. Find online coupons as well as online circulars for your local stores.

Valpak           
Primarily coupons for services and restaurants.

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