When the price of everything is rising, comparative shopping plus using a little common sense can add up to big savings in the long run. We live in a small town that has no grocery store. Thus grocery shopping requires a bit of strategy. The more we save in the supermarket and cutting the cost of gasoline by shopping only once or twice a month gives us a little more money to put in our savings each month.

Spending time searching the Internet for local grocery stores is time well spent. The sights will inform you of the sales and if the stores will double coupons. By saving the sights on your favorites option the site can be called up with a simple click of your mouse each week to view their sales ad. Many offer e-mail notices to keep you informed also.

Use coupons for items you normally purchase. These are available online, in the newspapers or many times you can find them at the company website advertised on the product. If you are a name brand follower check out the other brands available for the same product. You may find using the coupon may save you money for a product of equal quality. It doesn't mean you have to give up your brand forever just a chance to save money when you don't have the coupon savings for the item you need now.

Many stores offer certain days they honor coupons to double your savings. Become familiar with the stores coupon practices and take advantage of them. Usually this is a weekday and they will double coupons up to one dollar.

Consider buying store brand products. Many of these products have the same quality in taste as the name brand at a greater savings. Even if you only save 20-30 cents each item it adds up at the register.

Get to know the stores you shop at. Compare the cost of things you purchase often. While you may save on meats at one store the cost of toiletries may cost you more in the long run. Dollar stores may offer the same toiletries for less although this isn't always the case. That's why comparison-shopping is a good idea.

Stock up on sale items. Normally the things you buy often are the things you run out of the most frequently. By stocking up you save money by having the product on hand and not having to make an extra trip to the store to buy it.

Many stores are honoring the competition's coupons and ads. But just because store "A" has spaghetti sauce on sale, store "B" may not have that exact brand or size of the product advertised. So plan ahead to find out what your store carries

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