Everywhere these days there are signs of the crumbling economy. And while the optimists are forecasting the light at the end of the tunnel the reports as yet do not back their predictions. Right now the economy is affecting us all. What can we do?

Well there are ways to save money that many of us have not taken advantage of in the past. We’ve all heard about the savvy coupon clippers who end up walking out of Albertsons with a cartload full of food, cleaning supplies and other necessities for the cost of mere pennies compared to the regular prices. But how do they do it?

Well it is not nearly as difficult or time consuming as you may imagine. Yes, of course it does take planning. It does take a little bit of time and yes it does take knowing how, what, when and where. That would be how, what, when and where to get coupons, how, what, when and where to shop and just how, what, when and where to really get smart about saving your hard-earned money.

Did you know that you can find Albertsons grocery coupons, coupon games, coupons for specific stores and printable grocery coupons for just about anything you might want online? There are many, many sites devoted to helping you find the coupons that will serve you best. With a computer and a printer you can find the best coupons available anywhere.

Also, there is the old favorite, the Sunday newspaper. Since the Sunday newspaper is usually the one with the most entertainment value, many people enjoy the Sunday edition more than any other, but also the Sunday edition is the one that has the most coupons. If you need an excuse to always get the Sunday paper to enjoy, the coupon savings is your answer. Redplum and Smart Source usually provide the coupons for the paper and while we all enjoy the Sunday paper if by chance you happen to miss it you can always go to redplum.com or smartsource.com and print out what you missed.

One of the keys to saving big while using groceries coupons is to plan your list. Don’t buy something you normally would not purchase just because you have a coupon. While a coupon may be a wonderful incentive to try something new if you are just buying because you have a coupon you will end up spending more than you wanted to.

Also, sometimes a coupon will not end up saving you as much as it would by buying otherwise. For example, if you have a coupon for $1.00 off a name brand item but the store brand is actually selling for 1.25 less, the coupon will actually end up costing you .25 more. Now if you have loyalties to brands you may consider it to be worth it. However, many times the store brands are of equal quality and just as good as the name brand. So consider the reasons why you purchase a certain item, is it because you have a loyalty to a certain brand, or is it because you just want an equivalent product? If the goal is to save money, determine what your priorities are. Either priority is fine but the question is what is it that you want?

You can also take advantage of in-store specials, double coupon days and store coupons. Many times you can combine coupons with other offers or even other coupons and end up making the maximum savings.

With a computer with Internet access, a little planning and some savvy shopping strategies you too, can become successful at using coupons and saving money.

And with the current economy that can help everyone!