So far in this series on how we only pay $40 per week for our family’s groceries, I’ve shared how I plan a menu based upon what’s on sale and what we have on hand, shop once a week or less, and shop at more than one store (missed the first two parts? Check them out here and here!) Today, I want to tell you about one of the biggest ways we are able to keep our grocery budget so low:

Use coupons.

Many times, people pass coupons off as a waste of time because they only see them as a way to save a quarter on over-priced name brands. I completely disagree. If you know how to use coupons properly, you can save hundreds—maybe even thousands!—of dollars per year on items you need and use.

In addition to being able to buy products for pennies on the dollar by matching coupons with sales, oftentimes, you’ll be able to get items free or almost-free. This is a wonderful way to be able to donate food to the needy—even on a limited budget!

How do you accumulate a nice stash of coupons? Well, there are many different ways to do so:

1) Subscribe to your local newspaper. This is the simplest way to get started couponing–getting it delivered to your door every week! Unless you already get the paper, I suggest not paying more than $2/week for your subscription, otherwise the price of the paper can negate your coupon savings.

2) Ask friends, relatives, and co-workers for their extra papers. Let it be known that you are an avid couponer and will gladly accept any extra coupon inserts from anyone who doesn’t use them. You might be surprised how many you can collect this way. Elderly neighbors seem to be especially eager to save their coupons for others, so be sure to ask them. Also, if you know of anyone who has a newspaper route, this might be another avenue for having access to free coupons. It depends upon the policy of the newspaper company, but sometimes they will allow you to have the extras.

3) Check out your local recycling bin. I’d heard of this method for awhile but never investigated it until a few years ago. Let me tell you, it really works! In fact, I don’t pay for a newspaper subscription because I am able to get so many coupon inserts for free from our local recycle bin!

I hit some very clean newspaper recycling bins on my way home from the store every few weeks and in 15 minutes, I can usually salvage 10-15 coupon inserts!

4) Get coupons at the store. Keep your eyes peeled at the store and pick up any coupons you find on tearpads or in the blinking dispensers. If there are extras, pick up multiple copies of these. A lot of times, this very item will be on an exceptional sale just a few weeks later and you’ll be more than glad you picked up that handful of coupons!

5) Print coupons out online. If your store accepts “printables,” this can be a great source of coupons. You can do a search for “printable coupons” and it will bring up many different coupons. You can also search for a specific item and see if there are any printable coupons. Most of these sites allow you to print two coupons per computer every few weeks. The coupons offered on these sites usually change every month. Go here to see some of the best current printable coupons available.

6) Write and ask for coupons. What are some of your favorite products which you routinely use? Write to the manufacturer, tell them how much you like their product, and politely request that they send you any coupons they have available. It only takes a few minutes to send an email to a company and you’ll likely get some sort of coupons just for asking—often high-value coupons or even coupons for free products!

There are also many other options for obtaining coupons like trading coupons with others online or offline or coupon trading boxes available at some stores or libraries, and other ways. Start actively looking for coupons and you’ll soon find more sources than you can use!

The key to using coupons wisely is knowing when and how to use them. You don’t just buy the paper and cut out all the coupons in it and use them the next time you shop. Instead, I recommend waiting until an item is already reduced by 50% or more and then pairing it with a coupon.

If you’re getting the item for 75% to 90% off the retail price, it’s less expensive than the generic brand, and it’s something you routinely use, then it’s very likely what I could consider a “good deal”.  However, do be careful not to get so excited about how much you’re saving that you forget to take into account how much you are spending. If you saved 90% off your grocery bill, but you spent $60 on items you won’t probably use and don’t need, it really wasn’t that great of savings, was it?

Practice and observation are really the keys to learning what is a good deal for your area. You might find it helpful to keep a price book and track the lowest price you’re able to get on an item over the course of six months or a year. That way, you’ll know the next time when a sale paired with a coupon is truly a good deal.

If you’re just not sure if couponing is really worth your time, go here to see some of my recent grocery shopping trips where I’ve snagged dozens of bargains for pennies on the dollar thanks to coupons.

Want to learn more about significantly cutting your grocery bill by using coupons? Be sure to subscribe to my free email newsletter to get the latest scoop on current deals and freebies and listen to my free podcasts here and here.