tips on getting the best deal

Weekly Ads (aka circulars) are an easy way to find extra deals for use on those coupons you're clipping. I usually clip all the coupons I can find. I get them from the paper, junk mail, and internet. If you have a particular item you know you're going to need, trying googling it to see if the company offers a coupon for it. A lot of times that will involve signing up for a newsletter (which will give you more savings in the future and a heads up on specials). You can always get a free email address specifically for signing up for these things (hotmail, yahoo, gmail, etc). I never know when a deal will come up at the store as the same item on the coupon so I just save all the coupons that I can find. Pairing a clipped coupon with a weekly sale item will get you an even bigger discount (and sometimes even money back). You may even find MORE coupons in the weekly ad. Weekly ads usually come in your Sunday paper (sometimes daily paper) or you can also pick them up at the store you're shopping at. You can even sometimes look them up from the company website. However, if you're like me, you'll want to preplan your trip. Gasoline ain't cheap, ya know? Check out this site for an easier way to preplan your shopping trips when you need an instant look at what's on sale. Buy "x for x" sales (ex. 3 for $5) when possible even if you don't need more than one. That will save you money on the one you do need and save you from buying that many more in the near future when they might not be on sale anymore. Pay attention to "free gift card with purchase", mail in rebates, and/or receipt rewards for even bigger savings. Those will help pay for things on your next shopping trip - and could even keep the savings going if you continue to purchase reward products with those rewards.