I found this site today that lists stores that double coupons by state.

Find out your store’s restrictions. Many only double coupons that are for UP TO $1.00 off (so you can get up to $2.00 off).  Happy couponing!

These money saving tips might sound backwards at first, but that what we Renaissance Lifers do…we work less and make more. We commit to not committing. We’re always looking for more and chasing a goal, so these tips suit us…

1. Go To More Stores, More Often

I know the feeling. You just got paid and almost all of the check went to bills and house payments. So you’ve decided you’re going to ground yourself. You won’t go shopping at all unless you run out of something. Bad idea.

If you try to keep yourself from shopping, you’re going to slowly run low on essentials, then give in one day and go on a spree, spending way too much all in one trip. Instead, go to more stores, more often.

Try this: When your local store ads come to you in the mail or the paper, look through them and start a list.  Keep a separate column for each individual store. Below the store name, write down which products are on sale that you are interested in, size restrictions if applicable, and the price. Also note what day the sale ends.

You might notice when you move to the next store ad, the same product is sometimes on sale somewhere else for even less!  So cross it off from that other store.

After you’ve gone through all the store ads, go through your coupons to see if you can save even more. If you find a coupon, mark it on your list so you don’t forget to use it at the store.  Then at your leisure, visit the stores in order of sale-ending day and purchase ONLY WHAT IS ON YOUR LIST and other items that you have coupons for.

2. Don’t Buy Products You Need

If you run out for one of those “quick trips,” ”just to get a couple things,” you’re going to spend way more money than you need to, even if you DO only get a couple things (and you probably wont succeed at that, either). 

Make yourself a promise: You will either ONLY buy items that are on sale, or, if you’re a beginner at watching your dimes, you will at the very least always use ONE coupon per visit. I promise you, if you start with that goal, the number of coupons you use at each visit will increase, as will your savings.

Spend a couple weeks learning store ads and coupons. You might feel overwhelmed at first, but after just a few weeks you’ll start to learn what the GOOD prices are for your personal choice items.

3. Spend More Money On Things You Don’t Need

In other words, STOCKPILE. Buy more of what is on sale–even if you don’t need it at this time–so that you don’t shoot yourself in the foot by having to buy it when it’s not on sale.

I just bought four tubs of butter the other day. They were on sale, of course.  I knew I’d be buying four someday anyway, so why not buy them all on sale rather than waiting until I run out and having to buy it at its highest price just so I can cook one day! Now I have purchased four for future use at a sale price, rather than one on sale now (yay!) and three in the future not on sale (boo).

I also bought four cases of pop because they were 4/$12.  It wasn’t the best price at $3.00 a case, but it was the only sale on pop I knew of at any of my local stores and it’s better than the usual $3.50 or $4.00 a case.  Of course, the very next day a store ad arrived in my mailbox boasting 5/$11 at another store! You can bet I’m going to go buy those too and stockpile even more. When you stop to think that you can pay $2.20 for 12 cans of pop or you can spend $1.20 on just one 20 ounce bottle during a road trip, the choice is pretty clear.

4. Don’t Buy Items Because They Are On Sale.

Sales are a good way to try something new to make sure you like it, but they are also good at trapping you into buying something you wouldn’t have even wanted but bought “just because” it was on sale! If you spend one day shopping when you don’t really need a lot, buying only things you’ll one day need, you’re going to feel SO GOOD seeing that “Today You Saved…” total on the bottom of your receipt.  So stick to what you need or what you always buy whether its on sale or not.

Buy often….buy more of it…pay less…feel better.

I’m pretty much snowed in today. Fortunately I was able to find all the coupons from today’s Sunday paper on eBay for $2 including shipping.  I will gladly pay an extra 50 cents to not have to try to shovel my way out of here today.

The reason I went on there in the first place was because I was on a mission to find one certain coupon. Two different stores had cool discounts going on recently that you can combine with coupons.  If you keep your eyes open, these deals really pay off. 

For example: Right now there is a $4 off coupon for a certain razor, AND CVS and Walgreens had their own specials on those products, so you could get the razor for free and event MAKE money with a rebate from Walgreens. Right now CVS is offering a $6 coupon to CVS when you buy this razor. That means the razor is free when you combine with the coupon!  This is good through 3/15/08.

You need to have a CVS extra card for this–do it!  I had this card for years before I understood it, and it’s easy.  Certain products spit out a coupon at you when you buy them. The coupon is for $$$ off at CVS, not like those other stores that give you a coupon for some product you “might like” since you got a similar one.  It’s easy to shop at CVS and get $5 off your next CVS trip. Worth it, especially when you come with manufacturers coupons in hand!

Of course all my local CVS’s were out of the razor so I had to get a rain check. But that turned out to be a good thing, because I originally had a $2 off coupon before the $4 off coupon was circulated.  I imagine the people out scooping up those razors at such a steal are the same people who are selling them on eBay. I searched for the coupon there and found many of the real deals.  Some of them were the same price as if I were to go out myself and buy. Some of them would be considered “on sale” if you do the math.

Combining coupons and sales is really the key to saving. I know many people feel they don’t have time to clip coupons for 50 cents off this and 10 cents off that, but the little ones really add up, especially if you have a store that doubles coupons like Giant Eagle. And the large coupons can often be combined with sales to get items for well over %50 off, sometimes, free, and sometimes you MAKE money.  Imagine if you found one or two rebates per week. In a few weeks you’d be getting $1-$10 checks coming to your mailbox every week!

Here are some of my favorite coupon resources:
http://www.thecouponclippers.com (best for stockpiling; you get multiples of the same coupon)
http://www.coupons.com (easy to use, fast and free, print yourself)
http://www.mygrocerydeals.com/  (this is free, and it is kind of similar to http://www.thegrocerygame.com which I only recommend using for about a month or so if you are a newbie and want to figure out how this all works. After that, cancel and do it on your own for free.)

Ohio links:
North East Ohio Couponers
Joe the Coupon Guy (he actually holds classes!)

If you know other good (preferrably free) resources please comment!

Related Post: Stores that double coupons by state