Coupons save consumers hundreds of dollars a year. Smart shoppers take the time to look for, cut out, file, and use coupons on a regular basis. You may be surprised how much money you can save in the long run.

Coupons are easy to use when organized efficiently. Coupons should be put into groups such as cereals, fruit, pizzas, paper goods, pet food, baby needs, and anything else that you need frequently. With this strategy, you can easily plan to save money each time you make your grocery list. Simple rules for smart shopping:

1. Always check the prices of similar brands. Another brand may be less expensive even with the coupon. Don't buy the brand-name item just to use the coupon.

2. If your retailer doubles the face value of your coupons on a certain day, plan to do your major shopping on that day.

3. Always shop with a list and the appropriate coupons based upon what your family uses the most.

4. When filing your coupons, put those with the earliest expiration dates in front so you won't forget about them.

5. You can really save if you combine the SALE with the coupons!

How to store your coupons:

You can organize your coupons in an orderly manner for half the cost of an off-the-shelf organizer. Simply buy a 3 - 4 inch three ringed binder and about a dozen plastic baseball card sheets. You can put tabs on the sheets to identify different categories of coupons.

Seek out your coupons online and you're sure to save time. NO more are the days when you had to scour the newspaper, search for usable coupons, clip each one individually, and then sort them so that they could be easily found. No sireee. We live in a digital world. Using coupons can be as simple as typing in a code upon checkout at your favorite online retailer. This is known as a "coupon code" or a "promotional code".

You'll quickly be on your way to becoming the smartest shopper in your neighborhood.