frugal fun | coupon clipping

my coupon destiny... needless to say, many of us are in the same boat today of trying to save money where ever we can. My family and I already live a pretty simple, frugal life, so when we are met with the challenge to cut costs it can be daunting. We don't have cable to cut out. Or nights out at the restaurants. Or vacations. But the one area where we had to find a way to cut was in my love of love, groceries. Yes, we live simply, but we do indulge in quality food at the supermarket. My weekly market trips averaged $300. I needed to nip that in the bud and fast, but I was sad about sacrificing the one true luxury we had. Then I heard of couponmom.com. I definitely recommend checking out this site if you want to reduce your grocery bills. I know average between $50-$100 a week... more than two-thirds less than I used too! Mind you, saving money at the grocery store does involve A LOT of planning, clipping, and math, but in the end, it is so worth it.

Here are some simple tips:

• Plan your weekly meals around the supermarket circular.

• Clip those coupons... religiously! And when you receive a Sunday paper stock full of lots of useful coupons, run out and grab another paper or two to triple your potential savings. Don't forget about printable coupon sites too like coupons.com and smartsource.com.

• Shop at supermarkets that offer double coupon savings. My local Shaw's doubles coupons with value up to 99¢. In fact today, I got three packs of Trident gum for free because I had a 75¢ coupon for each and they doubled the savings to $1.50. Each coupon more than paid for each single pack of gum.

• Stock up on the big sale items. Often supermarkets lure shoppers in with "loss leads". These are sale items that the markets take a loss on in hopes that they'll get your into the store with them and then you'll buy lots of other products too. Max out your potential savings on these loss leads by pairing them up with coupons.