Every time I check the Sunday store flyers and coupon inserts I look for new product introductions. I love finding new items because for a couponer it’s a windfall.

New products are always heavily couponed. Samples are often available in the supermarket or in the mail. The items are generally on sale. All these provide great savings for the smart shopper.

For example, Birds Eye recently came out with a new frozen vegetable meal. The item was promoted with ads and of course coupons. Birds Eye was also on sale locally. I bought a couple of bags with my coupons and liked the frozen mixture. More coupons were issued, so I bought enough to fill my freezer; all at substantial discounts.

Being alert is the name of the game. The more aware you are of manufacturer’s techniques and supermarket strategies the more you can use your own inventiveness to save money. Let me know some of your ideas too.

Over the years I have heard this request many times: Eliminate Coupons—Reduce Prices. It will never happen.

Manufacturers have an advertising budget that is used in many different ways. Television and radio commercials, newspaper advertisements and other promotions that include coupon distribution are all part of getting their product out there.

Television gives the product instant recognition as do radio and newspapers. But commercials are expensive, and that adds to the cost of the product. But, a coupon, although part of the advertising budget provides the shopper with a savings, the only money-saving form of media out there. Match that coupon to a store sale and you have a double savings.

For the manufacturer a coupon is a way to get you to try a product, and to keep you using that product. Savvy consumers take advantage of these discounts. After all you can’t take TV commercial to the supermarket and ask for a 20% discount. You can take coupons and get a 20-50% reduction each and every time you shop.

The idea might be to eliminate all forms of advertising; that would surely reduce prices. But with 50,000 to 75,000 products in the average market manufacturers use whatever tools available to get you to buy their product. It’s all part of our competitive system which is not likely to change.

I always have more coupons than I can use. Sharing and helping others is a great way to maximize coupon use. Here’s my system.

Discount drug chains generally offer trail sizes. As a matter of fact my local CVS has ½ an aisle devoted to these small packages. It’s a real bonus. Many coupons do not list a specific size of the product. I use my coupons against these $.99 brands. In the case of the $1 coupons, the items are free. My supermarket that doubles coupon value displays trial sizes too, particularly in the health and beauty aid section. With a $.50 or $.75 coupon doubled, I can walk away with quite a lot of free or nearly free stuff. I stock up as much as possible and save them for future use

When my sons participate in the Midnight Run, the distribution of blankets, sandwiches and toiletries to the needy, I can supply most of the toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, razors, shaving crème, shampoo and bandages for the event.

I also donate my extra deals to the local Senior center. I not only supply the products, but I drop off extra coupons to share. You can start an exchange at your local center and encourage the group to bring in their unused coupons too. It’s a engaging activity and money-saving for those on a limited budget.

Helping others this way is a benefit of being a coupon person. I feel I’m sharing a bit of my savings with others and their appreciation is heartfelt. If you have an opportunity to help, give it a shot.

Refund Offers will net you the best savings but require you to mail away your proofs of purchase to receive your refund. And you can save in 3 different ways.

• A return of a free product coupon
• Cash back on the purchase
• Great premiums or gifts

In a typical year, I get back about $2500 in cash, in addition to the free product coupons and gifts. I place all my refunds into an interest bearing back account, and any expenses associated with my refund offers come out of this account. So my hobby is certainly money-saving and fun.

Some of the premiums include: T-Shirts, free movie tickets, stuffed toys, great kitchen-related items, insulated lunch bags, a Crockpot, the Energizer Bunny about 2’ tall, matchbox cars, lovely tote bags, wonderful child’s books, cookbooks, children’s items that served as a diversion when my kids came to me with bumps; more unique gadgets than I can list here.

The free product coupons are just about on every item. Most packaged goods, pet foods, cereals, paper goods all offer refunds in the form of a coupon. Among those that I like the best are the tie-in promotions offering a coupon on another product. For example, Wishbone’s refund on its salad dressing nets $2 back on the purchase of produce, Dole Pineapple wants you to make Hawaiian Chicken, that refund is $2 on your meat order. But the packaged goods are great too. I got a coupon for a free Cheer, the cost of the product around $15.

Refunding is worth the time, postage money, and effort. For more information, great offers, go to www.refundlebundle.com and start saving too.

You can watch the video here: Coupon Queen Visits Fresno - $174.29 for only $6.76

Early Monday morning, April 27, we headed over to one of the nicest supermarkets I’ve ever seen and were greeted by a charming manager, Rick Ripada. The store was perfectly arranged for my coupon shopping trip, and we soon met up with Shannon Handy the reporter KFSN. She accompanied us along the way, and we found lots of great bargains and tips.

One of the best was the number of Specially Marked Packages in the aisles. Many packages offered money-off, refunds, or extra product. Keep that in mind when shopping too. The supermarket can be a wealth of savings. Sue

Just recently I did a shopping in Pittsburgh and bought $200 worth of the groceries for only $20! See me in action: Grocery Coupon Shopping.

I have wonderful memories of Pittsburgh. About 18 years ago when our sons were still young they often traveled with us. I was doing a shopping trip for a local Pittsburgh station, and they offered us tickets to a baseball game at Three River Stadium. Two of our sons, Mark and Michael are big sport fans, so we thought this was a great perk for them. As it turned out, the day was perfect, blue skies, comfortable temperatures and the Pittsburgh team was giving out free back packs. What could be better.

As we sat through the game, I admired the view. It was spectacular. I don’t actually remember who won or lost, but imprinted in my memory is a delightful day for all of us at Three River Stadium. Sue