How I saved $92.89 last week. With the rising cost of gas and personal dwindling savings, I have found it even more imperative to find ways to cut cost and save. In reassessing my financial state, I noticed that one of my greatest expenses was in the area of grocery. A hundred dollars a week in groceries can easily add up to over $500 a month! Yes, this is one of those necessary expenses we have that tend to reach deep into our pockets and leave behind only a few pieces of chump change after all is said and done.



So what is the solution since everyone needs to eat and groceries need to be bought? I have found that what worked well in the past still works well today. You guessed it, GROCERY COUPONS! I used to clip coupons at one point but took a hiatus because I stopped receiving the Sunday newspaper which housed the coupons. Recently, I have started printing free coupons and clipping them again and am carefully watching my savings grow. Let me give you a concrete example of a grocery receipt that I had recently:

Total Cost $140.65

Balance $47.76

Total number is items sold = 29

VERIFIED TOTAL SAVINGS $92.89

My purchases at Ralphs Grocery store totaled $140.65. I used free printable coupons and regular coupons which saved me a total of $48. However, I ended up only paying $47.76 with a verified total savings of $92.89.

How did I do that?

I saved more than the coupon value because of double coupons. Double coupons are coupons that are scanned twice to save the customer double the amount. For example, if the grocery coupon was good for $1.00 off, you would end up saving $2.00 because of double coupons, imagine if you had printed a coupon that was $2.00 off! This is an automatic savings feature at the grocery store. But note that not all grocery stores are the same!

As of today, in my area, only Ralphs doubles all their coupons automatically. It used to be that both Ralphs and Vons doubled their coupons but Vons Grocery Store had discontinued their program. Couple the double coupon savings at Ralphs with their Ralphs Club program (a program with free membership that allows additional savings) and you can save up to triple the coupon amount.

Using this method, I ended up paying

* $1.00 for laundry detergents

* $4.50 for jumbo size Pull-up diapers

* $5.00 for jumbo size Huggies & Pamper diapers

* $1.00 for a large container of baby wipes

* $0.00 (free) for a 64 oz bottle of Juicy Juice

and so forth.

What is the work involved in clipping coupons, free printable coupons and using them to their maximum capacity?

* First, print your free printable coupons.

* Second, check the grocery advertisements that are mailed out each week. Look for items on sale and use the coupon then.

* Third, make sure you use the coupons at Ralphs Grocery Store (or any other grocery stores with double coupon offer) if they are having sales on the item in which you have the coupon. Sometimes other grocery store (which does not have the double coupon program) may have an item on sale that Ralphs does not. In this case, using the grocery coupons at the other grocery stores may end up giving you a greater savings.

Furthermore, you can save even more when you purchase your groceries with a credit card that give 5% or 6% cash back (please refer to my credit card article). If you pay $100 in groceries with a cash back credit card, you can get $5 or $6 cash back.

Since doing all these steps, I have found that my grocery costs have dropped down to a third or half of what it used to cost. I am able to save money as well as buy more quantity and higher quality foods for my family because of this and I get to try new foods that I would not otherwise buy!

For those with children on a low income budget, consider government assisted programs such as WIC. WIC stands for Women, Infants, and Children. This program helps families with children to buy the necessary foods without cost. For more information, go to the WIC Program