I have a friend who does amazing things with coupons and sales. She turned me onto this and it is such a rush when you get to the register and watch your total drop. I save an average of 30% per store, and that doesn't include my freebies, gas discounts or free samples. I think my biggest save to date was $91.00 at King Soopers. The clerk said she had never seen anyone save that much in a single transaction. Thanks very much for your article. Couponing is fairly time consuming but it is completely rewarding, and much less fattening than a chocolate addiction. LOL :)

Hi. I've been trying to get coupons for a year now and haven't been able to because they simply won't print. Do you have any suggestions or good websites that will work? I see all these great experiences of how people save with their coupons and I want to be one of them too. I don't mind clipping for hours and don't mind the people starring at me at the store meanwhile I save on everything and get to splurge on vacations...even though I always try to get those discounted also! Please get back to me with any information you can. Thank you!!

Nalgalin,

One of the easiest ways to get coupons for free, in my opinion, is to stop by your local Starbucks or other coffee shop on Sundays and raid the recycling bin. The local Sunday paper here includes coupon circulars mosts weeks (the Proctor and Gamble monthly insert here is definitely a keeper for household products, and Red Plum has a coupon insert almost every Sunday) and it costs $2.00 where I live ($1.00 at the Dollar Tree), but I'm always surprised by how many Starbucks customers buy the Sunday paper to read and then toss the paper with the coupon inserts into the recycling bin. I've often wondered how much money could be saved if Starbucks donated the coupons in its recycling bins to people on public assistance, etc.

Also, the Dollar Tree here sells Sunday papers with coupon inserts. Mind you, some folks take the coupon inserts and leave the papers, but that's just bad karma if you ask me.

Good luck!

Aspire sez:

"One of the easiest ways to get coupons for free, in my opinion, is to stop by your local Starbucks or other coffee shop on Sundays and raid the recycling bin."

This is a joke, right? Oh, you happend to be there getting your $4 coffee drink.

"I've often wondered how much money could be saved if Starbucks donated the coupons in its recycling bins to people on public assistance, etc."

This is a joke, right? I'm sure that's what people on public assistance want, a bag of old newspaper that they gotta sort through.

"some folks take the coupon inserts and leave the papers"

That's so they don't have to rummage through the garbage.

This is shit I did in college when it was fun to get stuff for free even if it smelled like it came out of the dumpster, which in fact, it did.

C'mon, IAspire, buy only the stuff you need and you won't need to give anything away. But, whatever moves ya...