We have all seen coupons while we are looking through the morning paper, but have you noticed how many other places there are to find coupons?

One good place to start is in your mailbox. There are companies who pay to put their coupons in with a large group of other coupons that are mailed to everyone's home within a certain radius.

Be sure to take the time to look at these groups of coupons. Often, they are not just for major retailers in your area. Mom-and-Pop stores, car dealerships and small restaurants are often contributors to these bulk coupon mailings.

Another great place to find coupons is at the grocery store. The next time you are grocery shopping, you will probably see coupon holders on the shelves that offer discounts for products in the vicinity of where you're shopping.

Also, grocery store receipts often come with coupons attached to them or on the back of them. So, be sure to check your receipts for grocery store coupons.

Schools often have fundraisers that involve selling coupons for local businesses. There may be an entire volume of coupons or individual coupon cards with pull-off stickers that reveal different amounts of savings.

Generally, it only takes one or two purchases to make up for the cost of the coupons. So, while you're saving money, you're also giving money back to a child's school.

Another place to find coupons is on eBay. Food companies generally sell specific coupons in specific areas depending on how much of their product is sold in those areas. For example, if macaroni and cheese sells well in the southeast but not in the northeast, macaroni and cheese companies will place coupons in newspapers and circulars in the southeast and not the northeast.

So, what eBayers have done is figure out which coupons are wanted in which area of the country. In the aforementioned example, people in the northeast would clip macaroni and cheese coupons and sell them in groups to people in the southeast.

The person purchasing the coupons from the eBayer pays for the shipping and receives, for example, 10 macaroni and cheese coupons, which are good at any retailer selling that particular brand.

eBay is not the only web site that sells coupons in this way. There are other coupon club web sites that people can join to either buy or sell groups of coupons.

Of course, once you have located coupons, you do have to use them. Many people become frustrated because they never seem to have their coupons when they need them.

One solution to this problem is to carry coupons in your car. If you usually go out to eat in one of the family's vehicles, then put restaurant coupons in that car rather than the one you drive on a regular basis.

It also might help to create a database of coupons that you have. Then, if you know you are going to the dry cleaners, or other such service location, you can check to see if you have a coupon for that business. If you do not have a coupon for that particular business, you can always check your supply of coupons to see if you have a coupon for a different supplier in the same service area.

In addition, you can purchase coupon organizers that you can carry into the grocery store. That way, you can compare prices on items for which you have coupons and buy the best deal.

Of course, using coupons does require flexibility. If you are brand loyal, you may need to change your thinking in order to use coupons to save money. Rather than always buying one specific brand, it is best to be willing to purchase other brands corresponding with your coupons.

Coupons are an overlooked resource that saves consumers thousands of dollars each year. If you take the time to find, organize and use coupons, you can save a good deal of money for other, more important, things.