Super-Couponing Tips: Tales from the front - Couponers share successes

I love sharing coupon tips I receive from readers. Here are some more stories about saving in the grocery aisles.

On combining deals:

"I had to share my great story of getting gourmet frozen pizzas at a bargain! I remembered a column you wrote about a frozen food deal at your store and combining that with another sale. My store had a similar sale, offering $5 off instantly if you bought $15 worth of frozen pizzas. The pizzas were on sale for $5. I bought three and got $5 off, saving $10. I used a dollar coupon on each, which brought the price to $7 for three. Then I was surprised to see three $1.25 Catalina coupons print out at the register, one for each pizza! I went back to do it again and noticed the tags about the Catalina sale. Getting $3.75 back brought the cost of my three pizzas to just $3.25. The funniest thing was the store's brand of pizza was on sale for $2 each and here I got the gourmet kind for about $1.08 each. This is fun!"

"One week there was a $3 coupon for fabric softener sheets in the newspaper. I knew this was a good coupon because the product is usually $3.99. Then the store had a special offering a $3 Catalina coupon at checkout if you bought two boxes. I had two $3 coupons and I was glad I waited to use them. I paid $1.98 for two boxes of the fabric softener sheets and got a $3 Catalina for my next trip. So really, I made $1.02 on the deal and got paid to take home free fabric softener sheets! Before I use any coupons I try to see if there are other deals running that will make it the best time to use them."

On acquiring more coupons:

"I have learned that the more coupons you have, the more you can stock up, because you have two or three or more of the same coupon. I now get two copies of our paper delivered every week. That way, when a good sale comes, I have two of the same coupon instead of one. Sometimes I go buy more papers when the coupons are really good."

"You can usually print two of the same coupon from each computer, even if they share the same printer or Internet connection. On my lunch hour at work, my boss lets us print coupons from the office computers, too, so I am able to really stock up. Using eight $1 coupons I printed, I got eight boxes of spaghetti free when it was on sale for $1.

"Our community has a free Spanish newspaper that has coupon inserts. I have learned to look for it when it comes out and pick up a few from the newspaper box."

"I like to print coupons at the library. Our library gives us 25 free printouts from its printers each month. It's a great way to get more free coupons while I'm waiting for my kids to pick out books."

"Ask your library what they do with the coupons that come in the newspapers they get, because the library gets several different newspapers. Some libraries will set up a coupon trading spot or just give them to you if you ask."

On saving big:

"It has been a year since we started Super-Couponing with your methods. I am proud to share that we saved more than $4,700 last year with coupons. I'm floored, floored, floored. Everyone should be doing this. My husband knew we were doing really well because we had more money in the checking account each month but I am just amazed. Now that I know what I'm doing, my goal is to save $5,000 next year.

"Your column has changed the way I think about shopping for everything!'

Jill Cataldo, a coupon workshop instructor, writer and mother of three, never passes up a good deal. E-mail your own couponing victories and

questions to jill@ctwfeatures.com.