Until recently, I agreed with those who think that using coupons is just too much trouble to be worthwhile.

That all changed, though, when I started actually paying attention to food costs and what could be saved.

Here are some examples:

There were samples of Electrasol Gelpacs with my new dishwasher, and I was “hooked” on their ease of use and the way they cleaned.

But they were expensive… about 27 cents for each dishwasher load, more than I really wanted to pay!

After I started saving coupons, I went shopping one day with a handful of 2-for-1 coupons, only to find that they were already on sale for about half price, and they gave me back the full price for my “free” box.
.

I was already dizzy from trying to figure out my savings, when I opened the boxes (yes, they let me use my whole handful of coupons), and found that each box had another 2 for 1 coupon in it.

Another example: Del-Monte has a product that’s particularly good for RVers…

They package fruit in a 20 oz plastic jar with a re-closable lid. It fits nicely in the door tray of my refrigerator, and keeps the food well.

It costs about $2.00 at regular price.

On the day of my first "shopping with coupons" test run, there was a $1 coupon in the Sunday coupon insert, plus another $1.00 from Kroger (they won’t let you combine same kind coupons, but will combine coupons from different sources)… so my $2.00 jar of fruit was free.

And... you guessed it! There was another $1.00 coupon on the jar! 

After than, I started REALLY paying attention, and found tips that I will share with you here a little later.

In the meantime, give some thought to what you can save in time -- and sometimes in money -- by buying your groceries on line.

That's what I do now, and not only do I save money by buying everything on sale, but the time I save by shopping on line instead of going to the grocery store is even more valuable.

In future days, I'll share with you which of the following stores I've actually tried, and how it has worked out for me.

.