Here are some great tips from people who are already enjoying the frugal life.

*Eat out less.  This includes the trip to the doughnut shop in the morning, a run through the drive thru for lunch and takeout for dinner.  You’d be surprised at how much you spend per month on coffee, lunch and dinner establishments.  You might think that forking over $2.50 for a coffee a day isn’t that much, but per month that adds up to about $50.00.  Buying a decent travel mug and getting your java fix at home is a heck of a lot cheaper.

*If you and the family are going to dine out choose an affordable restaurant.  Plan ahead and check out sites like Restaurant.com where you can save up to 80% off on restaurant gift certificates or check Groupon for daily deals on restaurants in your city.  Call your local restaurants and find out if they offer a night where kids eat free.  At certain times during the year, popular restaurants will offer an appetizer, two dinners and a dessert for $25.

*Use coupons!  There is an entire world of coupons to be had with online coupons, grocery coupons and clipping coupons.  You’d be surprised how much money you can save using coupons.  If this is foreign ground for you click here for Coupons Made Easy.  It won’t be long until you’re a pro.

*Pack your lunch!  Buying a $6 salad or sandwich everyday may not seem like much, but per month your forking out about $120.  Whether it’s leftover dinner or a sandwich and a few healthy snacks, you’ll save a ton of cash by taking a few extra minutes to pack your own lunch.

*Stay away from convenience stores.  The prices for popular items like bottled water, soda, bags of chips and snack cakes is highway robbery.  Pack your own so you’re not tempted to stop when you get a sudden snack attack.

*Eliminate the bells and whistles.  Check your monthly bills like cable and cell phones.  Do you have extras that you don’t need?  Is it really necessary to have 956 cable channels?  Are you going over your minutes or allotted amount of text messages?  Most of the time we just pay a bill without looking at what we’re paying for.  Bad habit to get into.  Start looking and getting rid of services you don’t need.

*Exercise for less or even free.  Okay, so you’re paying $75 a month for a gym membership.  If you’re only going a few times a month you should probably think about dropping this monthly charge.  If you motivated to exercise, but getting to the gym is almost impossible, invest in a piece of gym equipment for your home like a treadmill or elliptical machine.  You can find a great one for under $500.  On the other end of the stick, getting exercise doesn’t have to cost you a penny.  Finding a route to power walk or run is free.  A lot of towns and cities have tracks that are free to the public.  If you’ve got a bike collecting dust, take it out and start riding.

*Enjoy the things that you already have.  You’d be amazed at the world of treasures you can find in your dresser drawers, the attic, in cupboards, closets and the garage.  Let’s face it, we like to buy things, use them for a little bit and then store them away only to buy newer things.  Most of us are guilty of this.  If you’ve got a special event coming up and you’re instantly motivated to buy a new dress, check your closet first.  More than likely you’ve got 5 other dresses in there that have only been worn once.  The same goes for toys, decor, arts and craft supplies, etc.  My rule of thumb is shop at home first.

*If you absolutely need something new (printer, freezer chest, dorm fridge, etc…) check for used items first.  Reach out to friends and family members and ask if they’ve got one laying around that they aren’t using and ask if they are interested in selling.  More often than not they’ll be happy just to get rid of it and hand it over for nothing.  In the past few months I’ve needed a small space heater and a dorm sized fridge.  Buying new would have cost me between $125-$150.  I asked around and ended up getting a really great energy saver space heater for free and a dorm sized fridge for $15.

*Take advantage of your local library.  Instead of buying books and DVDs, borrow them from the library.  I love going to the library.  It’s economical for me because I never read a book twice so buying books is a waste of money.  I’ve saved money, too, on borrowing DVDs and magazines from the library.  I don’t have to pay to rent it or for a yearly subscription fee.

*Opt for second hand on kids clothes.  Kids grow fast and spending a few hundred dollars per season on new clothes puts a strain on the wallet.  Reach out to friends and family for second hand clothing or shop gently used clothing stores.  I’ve seen almost brand new jeans for $2 and jackets for around $5.

*Walk.  How many times do you use the car for a trip to the corner store or the school that’s only a mile away?  Let’s face it…we’re a lazy society.  We will let our car run 10 minutes to heat it up just to drive to the corner store a mile down the road for a newspaper.  Huge waste of gas.  Try walking.  You’ll burn calories and get in some of that free exercise.

*Cancel a subscription…or two…or three.  With the endless amount of information online do you really need 10 magazine subscriptions.  If you’ve been reading your news online and using the newspaper to line the cat litter box, it might be time to cancel that subscription too.  No time to watch movies?  Than why are you still paying for a monthly movie rental service?

*Save energy.  There are simple steps that you can take to lower your electric bill.  Replace your old single pane windows with energy saving ones.  This is a substantial cost up front, but in the long run you will save.  Use the energy saving compact fluorescent light bulbs.  Not only do they last up to 10 times longer, but they use less energy.  Unplug appliances when not in use.  Change the filters in air conditioners and furnaces to keep them running at their optimum efficiency.  Also, don’t forget to have annual system checkups on your heating and cooling system.  Not only will this keep things running efficiently, but if there is a small problem it can be fixed before it turns into a a costlier issue.

*Enjoy your home.  I always find it amusing when people spend money on buying a home yet they spend as much time away as they can.  They’ll fork out a ton of money on weekend or week long vacations that require them to rent a room or house.  I’m not saying to cancel vacations.  Getting away once in a while is nice and often needed.  I’m just saying to tone it down a bit.  You don’t have to be on the road every weekend or spend every vacation at some luxury resort.  Staycations can be just as fun and cost a lot less.

*Give your dryer a break.  Weather permitting (and if you have a designated area) hang your clothes out to dry.  One of my favorite memories of spending weekends at my Grammy & Grampie’s house were the smell of the sheets.  My Grammy hung her clothes and sheets out to dry.  I do the same thing when I can.  Running the dryer several times a week year round is costly.  If you can hang the laundry out for 6 months out of the year you’ll save a few hundred dollars.

*Cut the cost of your heating bill and turn the heat down in the winter months.  I had this horrible habit (shamefully not too long ago) of jacking the heat up to 75 because I wanted to walk around in a thin pair of lounge pants and tee-shirt.  You can bet that came to a quick halt when I got the $500 heating bill for that month.  Now, I keep the heat at a steady 65 during the day and 62 at night.  My heating bill last winter was about $250 a month.

I hope those tips help on your road to living frugal.  Adjust methods, advice and tips so it fits your life and your families.  What works for me might not work for you.  After a while you might come up with some tips and techniques of your own.  The key is to think, evaluate, compromise and cut back on the stuff you don’t really need.

Got some tips you’d like to share?  I’d love to hear them!

Printable coupons. Online coupons.  Grocery coupons.  Buy 1 get 1 free coupons. Double coupons. Triple coupons.  They are everywhere and we love to use them, but, at times, trying to figure them out, or even finding them, can be a little overwhelming.  I’ve been told by some that they don’t use coupons because it’s too complicated. 

My job for the past 4 years has been finding the best deals and coupons out there so, to me, it’s very easy to navigate through the world of coupons both online and in store. To others, it’s like stepping off the plane in a foreign country where you don’t speak the language.  I’ve learned that we all want to save money and one of the biggest ways to save is to use coupons.  So, let’s roll up our sleeves and tackle some of the confusion together so you can start making the most out of your coupons.

Finding Coupons

In order to use a coupon you must have one.  Where to find them?  If you’re looking for grocery coupons you’ll find a large selection in the Sunday paper, in the grocery store (coupon sharing bins by the registers, catalina coupons that are included with your receipt or on store shelves beside products), online coupon sites that provide printable coupons and magazines.

Some people tend to shrug off the coupons that only offer $.025 or $0.50 off.  What’s the big deal right?  Well, let’s do the math.  You’ve got 10 coupons for $0.50 off and another 10 for $0.25.  That’s $7.50 off your grocery total.  If you were to have the same amount of those coupons every week you’d save $30.00 a month which totals to $360.00 a year on groceries.  Visit a grocery store that doubles your coupons and that’s a savings of $720.00 a year.  A store that triples your coupons and now you’re up to $1,080 a year.  Those $0.25 coupons don’t look so shabby now do they?

Locating online coupons for online purchases is much easier.  You can surf over 3500 stores that DealTaker offers or Google search coupons by store name.  Most online stores have coupons.  The most important thing is to check back every few days because coupons often have a high turnover rate.  One of the great features about DealTaker is that you can sign up to receive coupon alerts from each of your favorite stores. When a new coupon is posted you’ll receive an alert in your inbox.

Another way to receive notifications is to sign up for store email newsletters.  I get hundreds of emails a day and over 50% of them have a coupon code for additional savings.  Also, check the catalogs that you receive in the mail.  Stores like Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, Oriental Trading, Terrys Village and Lands End will have a coupon within the catalog for you to use either instore or online.

Deciphering Coupons

Okay, you’ve got some coupons.  Now what?  The first thing you need to do for any coupon is read the fine print and, with some, there’s lots of it.  Most fine print will tell you coupon exclusions.  With a lot of online coupons clearance and/or outlet items are excluded along with specific merchandise and brands.  One of the most frustrating things is taking the time to shop, making your selections and THEN discovering that your coupon isn’t valid on those items.  The other things to check for are expiration dates, minimum purchase requirements, brand specific coupons and that you’re shopping at the right store.  Don’t laugh…I’ve done that.

Now…the grocery coupons.  Definitely check the expiration date, but also look for minimum purchase requirements.  Some coupons might say $2.00 off the purchase of 2 or more.  Before using your grocery coupons, call a few grocery stores to see if they offer double or triple coupon days.  This is when you can maximize your coupon savings and sometimes get an item for free.  If you have a $1.00 off coupon for a bag of $2.99 frozen french fries and buy them on a triple coupon day…yep, you guessed right.  Those bag of frozen fries are free…and, we love free.

Other things that you need to know before you shop with grocery coupons are limit restrictions.  Some grocery stores might limit how many coupons you can use for your total order or a specific item.  If you’re shopping at a store that offers double or triple coupon days, some stores won’t allow a coupon to be doubled or tripled if it’s more than $1.00 or the doubled savings can’t be greater than $1.00 or more.

The key to getting the best deal with double coupons is to get an amount off that’s closest to the price of the item.  Some stores won’t allow the amount of a coupon to exceed the price of an item.  Keep in mind too that some items are taxable and figure that into your total price as well.  Like online coupons, there are exclusions to doubling or tripling your coupons.  The most common exclusions are coupons for alcohol, cigarettes, lottery tickets, select brand names, clearance items or travel sizes.

If you are going to use an in-store coupon for apparel, shoes, home goods, etc, it’s just as important to read the fine print.  Last month I had a $10.00 off $20.00 coupon for a clothing store.  I shopped for an hour and selected $25.00 worth of clearance items.  I had 3 shirts and 2 skirts.  What a deal!  All that for $15.00.  Wrong!  The fine print specifically stated that the coupon could not be used on clearance items.  I’ve run into this problem at JC Penney too.  I’ve had a killer coupon and chose merchandise that was on the exclusions.

Using A Coupon & Becoming A Pro

Now you know how and where to find them and you’ve figured out how to decipher them.  Now…you need to use them, save, practice and become a pro!  For step by step guidelines on using online coupons click here.  For you die hard coupon clippers, here is some Coupon Clipping 101 advice.

You don’t have to spend a great deal of time finding and clipping coupons.  A half hour to an hour a week is usually enough.  Take advantage of signing up for store email newsletters and and coupon alerts for your favorite stores on DealTaker.  Doing that will save you a ton of time and you won’t miss those really great coupons that are “one day only.”  Old Navy and Aeropostale are famous for killer coupons that are only valid for a day or two.

If you’re clipping coupons, invest in one of those folder type organizers.  Put tabs at the top to categorize coupons.  It’s helpful to have a slot for coupons that are expiring soon.  Don’t hesitate to call stores to ask about their coupon policies.  Making a trip to a store and finding out after you’ve done your shopping that you can’t use half your coupons is a waste of time and money.

Another thing to remember when planning out your shopping trip is that you’re not the only coupon shopper in town.  You’ll probably have to compete with some extreme couponing peeps.  If you are able to, shop early.  If an item isn’t in stock check to see if the store offers rain checks.

Once you get the hang of it, it’s super easy and you’re going to be saving money left and right.  Challenge yourself to save more money each time you go to the grocery store or start a notebook and tally up your savings with purchases you’ve used coupons for.  Add up how much you’ve saved for a month at a time and you’d be surprised what that total is for a year’s time.  It adds up!

The first handwritten coupon was distributed in 1887 by the Coca Cola Company.  It was to market the tonic and coupons for complimentary beverages were sent to potential customers and printed in magazines.  The Coca Cola Company gave soda fountains free syrup to cover the cost of the free drinks.  It was a brilliant way to market the new tonic and between 1894 and 1913 an estimated total of 8,500,000 free drinks had been redeemed.

In 1998 September was officially deemed as National Coupon Month and, to date, coupon distribution and redemption is at it’s highest.  The results from a recent poll are astounding.  96% of you said that you would still use coupons if you won the lottery.  91% of you would give up purchasing a piece of clothing if it wasn’t on sale.  And, 92% of shoppers are most interested in finding deals and coupons for grocery items.  Those numbers are high!  We are a coupon based society and more than ever people are taking coupon clipping very seriously.

The amount of time that people spend clipping coupons varies.  You have those that spend anywhere up to an hour skimming the coupon pages and cutting out a few.  On the other end of the stick you have extreme coupon enthusiasts who devote a great deal of time to this art.  Their stories usually make headlines.  They are the men and women that can walk out of a grocery store with $300 worth of groceries for under $50.

On average, if you can devote 20 minutes to an hour a week clipping coupons, you could save over $1,000 a year.  You don’t have to be a genius to spend less and get more.

*Grocery stores are always moving prices up and down on products.  Get familiar with the pricing on things that you typically buy and when price changes go into effect.  When the price drops then whip out those coupons.

*Invest in a cheap coupon organizer and use it!  Organize coupons by product and date.  Once a week check for expired coupons and pull out the ones that you are going to use that week to keep up front.  Nothing is more aggravating than having to search for a coupon or realizing the one you want to use is expired.

*Make a list and check it twice.  Plan out your meals for a week or two, make a list to accommodate the menu and pull out any coupons that you’ll use to purchase these items.  If you’re on a budget and sticking to the list is a must, leave the rest of your coupons at home to resist impulse purchases.

*Be selective when you receive a coupon to try a new product.  Often times the price on that particular brand is higher than generic or older brands even when you factor in the savings from the coupon.  Bring a calculator and do the math.

*Although it’s the most popular, the Sunday paper isn’t the only place to find coupons.  The internet is also a great source for printable grocery coupons.  Other places to find stashes are coupon machines on grocery store shelves, the checkout area (I spotted 4 shelves of bins filled with coupons the other day.  It’s a coupon sharing program that our local grocery store offers), the strips of coupons that are included with your receipt and on the pages of your favorite magazine.

*If you’re in the mood to haggle, ask for discounts on products that are damaged or close to expiration dates.  It doesn’t hurt to ask.

*If you’ve got the time, send out emails to various companies to let them know how much you love their product.  Most of the time companies are bombarded by emails filled with complaints.  They love to get letters praising their products and they often will send you an envelope stuffed with coupons for future purchases.  I’ve done this a few times and it’s been a success.

*Clipping coupons can become tiresome.  When these moments hit make it into a game.  Keep track of how much you saved with coupons the week before and try to exceed that.  Make it a challenge to be one of those that walk out of the grocery store paying only $50 for $300 worth of groceries.  With enough practice it’s possible!

Well, we heard you, DealTakers! We are proud to announce that DealTaker.com now has a printable Grocery Coupons page! From here you’ll be able to search among a huge collection of grocery coupons. Just find and check the ones you want, then print them up from the convenience of home!

Best of all it’s free.

Now you can save even more money with DealTaker than you did before!

So Friday, after work, I went to Target with my coupons in hand and was able to buy all this stuff pictured below for only $5.44. With the Target sales that were going on along with manufacturer coupons and Target coupons, I was able to save $9.00. I could have spent a total of $14.44 if I hadn’t been seeking out the coupons. That’s a savings of 62% folks! The feeling you get at the register as you watch your total price go down after all your coupons is addicting. I am becoming a coupon crazed person, I love this stuff.

Try it for yourself! Happy Shopping!