shoppingonabudget

In my quest to save money on groceries, I am always learning something new. Just the other day, I learned that Smart Source has a website. That website can be found at SmartSource.com.

Smart Source is actually the name that appears on the many of the Sunday newspaper coupon inserts. There are a wide range of coupons available for printing. As for today (7-13-2008), there were coupons for Totino’s Rolls Snacks, Duncan Hines desserts, yogurt, hot dogs, and more.

As a side note, the online coupon website EverydaySaver.com has a number of great coupons listed today. They include cereal, yogurt, spaghetti sauce, and more!

As a reminder, to help cut down on the cost of printer ink and computer paper, only print coupons that you will use.

Do you use grocery coupons? Whether you get your grocery coupons online or from a weekend newspaper insert, there are likely some coupons that you don’t need or don’t end up using (even though you intended to). Instead of just throwing these coupons away, why don’t you share them with those that you know? In fact, you can start your own coupon exchange.

As for how you can start a coupon exchange, it is very easy. Talk to a few close friends or family members. Ask if anyone is interested in trading coupons that they don’t use.

Although it is easiest if you start a coupon exchange with those that you know and personally see, coupon exchanges can also be done online as well. You can find a message board and see if anyone is interested in doing a coupon exchange. With that said, be cautious of who you choose, as you do have to give out your mailing address.

If you are looking for the ultimate way to save money on groceries with the use of coupons, you may turn to eBay. On eBay, you can find a number of grocery coupons available for sale. Technically, you are paying for the time needed to clip, sort, and send them.

As neat as it is to be able to buy coupons on eBay, is it really worth it? Honestly, it depends.

One of the many downsides to buying coupons on eBay is the fact that you don’t always know what you are buying. Most sell coupons in large groups, such as 25 or more. It is common for a seller to be general, like by saying food coupons, health and beauty coupons, and so forth. With that said, this is just like buying the newspaper, as you buy coupons that you don’t need.

If you already have an eBay account, it may be worth the time to buy grocery coupons online. If you don’t have an account, you can still easily set one up. To find coupons, perform an eBay search.

When buying coupons on eBay, look for expiration dates. Most sellers will give you a generalized idea of when the coupons expire. Also, look for fair shipping. Coupons are easy and cheap to mail out, so avoid high shipping fees.

If you are looking to save money on groceries, namely meat, I recommend checking out Wal-Mart. They have bags of frozen chicken breasts for $6.97 (at least that is the price at my store). The brand is Great Value.

In that bag, you tend get around 6 pieces of chicken, which are a pretty decent size. Since it does vary, you can feel the bag to determine how much chicken is inside.

What I like about the frozen chicken from Wal-Mart is the bag that it comes in. You can reseal it. Since the chicken is already frozen, you can simply grab what you need out of the bag and close it back up. Personally, I really dislike having to cut up the large size packages of chicken that you buy at the grocery store.

Unfortunately, this product isn’t sold at all Wal-Marts. I think it depends on their size. If your Wal-Mart has a frozen food section, they should have this type of chicken available for sale.

Of course, remember to price compare. Your local grocery store may have a great sale on chicken.

I’ll admit that the title of this blog post sounds ironic. After all, water that comes from the tap is basically free, but not everyone likes drinking it. Personally, I cannot stand drinking our tap water. If you are the same, there are a number of ways that you can save money on water.

#1 – Look for Good, But Inexpensive Brands

Personally, I like the Nestle Pure Life bottled water. It is a little less than $4 for a 24 pack at Wal-Mart.

#2 – Try Crystal Light

Since bottled water can get expensive, especially overtime, and there are concerns about the environment, I try to mix up bottled water with tap water, but I flavor our water. I do so with Crystal Light. They have a number of great flavors and only 5 calories. Wal-Mart and many other stores have their own brands of Crystal Light.

If you do buy bottled water, be sure to recycle!

Although I don’t actively seek out sales that involve mail-in rebates, I will take advantage of them when I need the product in question. Personally, I find a straight up sale to be the best way to save money.

On a personal note, we recently bought a used van. The air conditioning wasn’t working, so we went to AutoZone today and bought AC booster spray. About four hours later, all needed paperwork was in the mail. Why the rush? Because I would forget to send it in and that would stink. After all, $10 is $10.

I will never forget when I forgot to send in for a $20 rebate for a Microsoft software program even though it was three years ago!

If you buy an item that comes with a mail-in rebate, you are encouraged to get the needed paperwork (which often includes your receipt and the barcode) sent out right away. This reduces your chances of forgetting about it and essentially losing money.

In a previous post, I outlined the importance of watching all fresh produce at the checkout. This is because there is always the potential for error when the code must be entered in by hand. However, that is not the only produce shopping tip that can help you save money on groceries.

It is also important to watch what you buy. I am constantly buying too much fresh produce. Thankfully, this is a habit that I have started to change. It really bothers me to throw away tomatoes, cucumbers, and lettuce when they start to go bad. Instead, I only purchase a reasonable amount. If we need something more for dinner later down the road, my partner will make a quick stop on the way home from work.

I have personally never tried the produce saving containers or bags that are currently available for sale, even though I should. Those that I know do recommend them. They may be worth the try if they are able to extend the freshness of your fruits and vegetables.

Online coupons are nice, but you must have a working printer. Even still, it is important to remember that not all retailers accept online coupons. The coupons that you get from the Sunday newspaper are nice, but they can end up costing you up to $1.75. As an alternative, you may be looking for free grocery coupons by mail.

One of the best ways to find free grocery coupons by mail is online. Yes, it does sound ironic, but you need to find a way to order these coupons. As for who you should target, visit the online websites of your favorite product manufacturers. Although many manufacturers will give you access to printable coupons, many also give you the option to have the coupons mailed to your home. Although these coupons will not arrive overnight, they are still free and they do arrive by mail.

In my last post, I stated that you can find free product samples online, either by visiting free sample websites or by directly visiting the websites of product manufacturers. As nice as this is to know, you may be wondering why you should request them.

For starters, they are free.

Next, they allow you to try a product before buying it. In my last post, I mentioned that my favorite website for free samples is Dove.com. I never would buy Dove shampoo and conditioner because I thought it was too expensive. I did request a free sample (which I made last for about five days) and loved the results. I now pay for the full sized product, although I only buy it when it is on sale or with a coupon.

With free product samples, if you don’t like the product in question, it isn’t a big deal, as you didn’t spend any money.

Once again, it is important to point out that free samples are free to us, but not to those distributing them. For that reason, only request free samples for products that you honestly want to try or know you will use.

If you are looking to save money on your purchases, including food, health and beauty products, and pet food, you will want to try looking for free product samples. Free product samples are easy to find online. It is not uncommon for some manufacturers to offer them for a limited time.

What you will find will vary, but it is usually easy to find free samples for health and beauty products, such as shampoo, conditioner, and makeup. There are, however, a wide range of other samples available for the taking.

As for how you can find these samples, free sample websites can be found with a standard internet search. You can also visit the websites of product manufacturers. My favorite to visit for free samples is Dove.com.

As an important note, free product samples are great to receive, but it is important to remember that companies do spend money to make and send them out. That is why you should only request free samples that you honestly need or want to try.