Do you know what the true cost is of not using coupons when grocery shopping? Is the time it takes to cut and organize the coupons not worth the effort to you? What about other savings, are you missing out because you do not have a strategy or are just in too much of a rush to get in and get out.

Each year, billions of dollars in coupons and other savings are totally missed by millions of shoppers due to not taking time to plan their weekly or shopping trips. I am going to show you a few ways to save 10 to 30 percent each time you visit the store.

There are a number of ways that you can get huge discounts; here are a few examples;

" Look, for all buy one and get one free items, this is a 50 percent discount. In money terms, if the item is $2.50 then you have just made $2.50.

" Look for store discounts that can be combined with coupons. This is a real winner; you can save 30 percent each time using this method. " Check the unit cost for the items you are buying, you could be saving 10 percent by just switching to a larger quantity.

" Try different products, many times new products are introduced into the store and are offered at a deeply discounted price in order to stimulate sales. You can save 20 percent by trying out new products.

" Look on the bottom and top shelves for product. Typically, the most expensive items are at eye level. You can easily save 10 percent using this technique.

" Look for manufacturer coupons in the store; ask the manager if he has any that have not been put out yet. If you cannot locate any coupons in the store, you can write the manufacturers and ask for coupons. The manufacturers will be happy to give you some coupons just so you can use their products.

As for using coupons, and other promotions, to be very effective you have to be organized. Organization includes planning your trip, the coupons you will take with you and the products you plan to buy. Try not get caught up by the colorful product displays and big signs that do not result in big savings. Stick to your game plan and you will come out ahead.

Another effective way to get the most out of coupons is to have coupon swap parties. Have some friends over for tea, coffee, and have everyone trade coupons. Have some fun with it by playing some coupon swapping games. One game makes everyone take one of their most valuable coupons and one of their worse coupons and then have one person pick a coupon blindfolded, then the other person gets to do the same thing. The winner is the person who picks the best coupon and has the other person pick their worse coupon. Do this a few times and see who ends up with the most valuable set of coupons.