Easy Couponing Without Chasing the Sales

My stockpile is running low, so I've stepped up my couponing recently. I've been purchasing multiple(same item) coupons on ebay for items that we already use. Yesterday I was able to get pasta at Wallyworld for .36 cents a box with 20 ebay coupons. We already shop the discount stores(Dollar General, Save-A-Lot, etc.)for low prices, so these coupons go a long way to saving us money. I keep a grocery price book for comparison, much of which is committed to memory. I'll buy name brand items when they are less expensive than store brands. With the price book I can tell if a coupon will bring me in under the store brand price.

This couponing method saves us money, but is much less time consuming than collecting multiple coupons and matching it with sales at various stores(Extreme Couponing). Rather than an "all or nothing" approach, we have hit a middle ground. I've got a list of name brand items that we purchase, and with this I search out coupon auctions. I'll also search by type of product, like "pasta", to catch other coupons on brands I don't usually purchase, but know are value priced.

For the most part, coupon auction purchases cost less than the value of two or three coupons. Taking the total coupon savings minus the cost of the coupon purchase can result in big savings. I save about five to seven dollars on each purchase. Generally, I purchase 15-20 same item coupons at a time. If the expiration date allows me time, I will try to wait for a sale, and do a bit of price matching. However, I don't feel like I must price match and chase the best deal because the coupons I purchase are for items we already use, and I know they are already value priced at my discount stores. This halfway Extreme Couponing approach takes a lot of pressure off couponing.