My coupon binder is legendary.  There are cashiers at the store who refer to me as “the coupon guy” an alternatively cringe or look on in awe when I hand over a stack of coupons that will inevitably result in a savings of no less than 40% on my bill.

That coupon binder gets a lot of attention from fellow shoppers as well and I get lots of questions about it.  Nearly every time I talk to someone about clipping and using coupons I get some form of the same response.

“Oh, I’d do it but it just takes too much time to save a few pennies.”

That’s about the time when I laugh so loud that I snort, recover, and give them my quick Coupon 101 lesson.  I pull my most recent receipt for the store I’m in out of the binder and show them how many pennies I saved and usually further my coupon karma by handing them a few coupons for whatever items I see in their shopping cart.

People are so used to being told how hard it is to save money they don’t bother trying for themselves to use coupons to lower their grocery bill.  With just a little leg work you can consistently save a huge wad of cash at the grocery store and it is easy!

Case in point.:  In the mail today came this great surprise:

A coupon for free Oscar Mayer Turkey Bacon from Kraft Foods First Taste, plus an extra coupon for $1.50 off one package of Turkey Bacon.  This offer wasn’t a fluke and it isn’t something that you have to know the right people to get.  I got this for signing up with Kraft First Taste and you can sign up as well – in minutes – and start getting coupons and free offers for yourself.

I also get free coupons for things I use because I use my customer loyalty card for the stores in which I shop.  Last week without even asking, I received these in the mail (along with other coupons worth more than $20):

I realize that my coupon binder is a bit over the top for most people but it works for me.  Having page after page of sleeves full of organized coupons helps me to spot unadvertised sales and couple them with my  coupon money to get items for next to nothing, and that happens on every trip I make to the store.  Just clipping a couple of coupons each week can save you  a lot of money over the long haul!