[mommy3]

My main hint is to have a small plastic envelope (or some other holder) that you just keep in your purse and whenever you see/find/clip/get a coupon that you might us, put it in there. I actually shop regularly at 3-4 stores, counting Costo, Trader Joe's, our regular grocery store and the natural foods store. Honestly, our list is always pretty similar except when I plan an unsual meal, so I just watch for my regular items and if they are on sale, cool; if I can use a coupon, I've got 'em with me. Typically, everything I cook is fresh, so lots of coupons don't work for me, as they are often for much more commercial items, but still, we probably save about $3-5 per week plus another 20-30 on that week's specials that just happen to be specials. I also have a medium-sized freezer and a decent-size pantry, so I buy extras or large-sizes so we usually have more than what we need for a week or a month, depending upon the item. The coupon game can be a real deal if you eat lots of commercially-prepared foods, but that's not us, so I just try to watch for specials on the brands and foods we eat and use coupons when I'm lucky. susan