Coupon Mom - Part 1

I have the Coupon Mom book and thought I would share some of her insights with you guys. I've never read the book and never used her website, but I feel like it might help some of you, so I'm going to basically just go through the book here over the next couple of weeks.

Chapter 1: So you want to be a coupon expert

• Know your grocery prices - Know the prices of the items you buy, the prices of acceptable alternative brands or items, and which of your items have the biggest impact on your grocery bill (like meat or cereal).
• Know your store's savings programs
• Know your coupons - Know where to find the coupons for the items you like, when to use them, and how to maximize their value. 
• Plan before you shop - Use the store's weekly sale ad to plan your shopping list. You must know how to read the grocery ads to determine if a "sale" item is really a good price or not.
• Be flexible with store brands and store choices - You need to be open to shopping at more than one store. You must be willing to try comparable brands of products based on which brand of an item is at a lower price each week.
• Plan your meals around store specials
• Stick to your grocery list and resist impulse purchases
• Don't give in to your kids' demands
• Go to the store once a week - Plan one or two big shopping trips per week if it's convenient. This will save you major time and money overall.
• Try store brands

 It is far more important to buy healthy food as an investment in your family's well-being than it is to eat unhealthy food because it is low-priced.

Stocking Up:
By stocking up on your key items at the lowest prices (these are the things you buy ALL the time - for me these are items like rice, pasta, fruit cocktail, etc.) you will never have to pay full price again.

Determine the quantity of your key items that you use in a 6-week to 3-month time period. Buy that supply when they are at a rock bottom price. Most likely another coupon will come out for these items within 3 months.