Know your Prices

An important key to saving money and helping your budget stretch as far as possible (with or without using coupons!) is to KNOW YOUR PRICES!

This can be as simple as taking a notebook and keeping notes of prices for a few weeks or months until you get an idea of what the best sale prices are. After a while you will start to notice a pattern in most sale cycles, which will enable you to stock up at the best price and not have to pay full price when you need it.

Start small so you don't overwhelm yourself. Pick a few things that you spend the most money on and watch the prices on those for a while. You can check online sale ads, newspaper circulars, and when you're in the stores themselves.And remember for cleaning supplies, paper supplies, etc., Wal-Mart does not always have the best price on stuff! Don't forget stores like K-Mart, Dollar General or Family Dollar, check their sales, too! If you are going to be where there is a Target, check their sales to see if there is anything you can get at a good price. Target is another store that offers store coupons that can be combined with manufacturer coupons for great deals!

After you get an idea of the sales cycles and how long between most of them, you can stock up on enough items to last until the next sales cycle. Now you may have to get creative in finding a way to store some stuff, but that doesn't mean your house needs to look like you're running your own grocery store! If you do find yourself getting overstocked, find a way to give some of it away. Know a family who is going through a hard time? Surprise them with a bag of groceries! Don't want to embarrass them? Put the food on their porch and let them find it. Know of a food bank or church that collects food? Take them a bag of stuff. Know of a homeless shelter or a battered women's shelter? Call them and see what items they can use.

Happy Cruising with Coupons!