With the launch of the new show “Extreme Couponing” on TLC, more and more people are now interested in saving money and getting freebies using coupons. With proper planning and a little bit of time invested you can not only get tons of freebies by using coupons, you can actually make money sometimes.

First things first. You will need somewhere to store all of your coupons. I use a binder with notebook dividers but you can use a binder, coupon box, folder, etc. Next clip as many coupons as you can and organize them by expiration date. After you have all of your coupons organized, grab your local supermarket’s weekly circular and compare the upcoming sales with your clipped coupons. When you see an item that is highly discounted, you can combine the store’s sale with your coupons and get some items for free.

For example, if the local store has deodorant on sale for $1.00 and you have a coupon for .50 off of that deodorant, you can use that coupon (provided the store doubles coupons), and get the deodorant for free. Many local grocery stores double coupons. You want to check with the stores that you frequent on their individual coupon policies.

Recently I went to CVS and purchased some GE Light Bulbs. The light bulbs were normally $2.99. I had coupons for $2 off of the specific energy saver light bulbs. As a result, I had to pay .99 for each light bulb however, CVS also offered a $1 Extra Buck rebate back on that same light bulb so in the end, the light bulb was free. Another example, is that Kroger has an upcoming sale for Ragu Pasta sauce which is going to be 10 for $10. In this example, you don’t have to get 10 however each Ragu will be $1. I have 5 coupons for .50 off Ragu that will double to a $1 so I will get 5 Ragu Pasta sauces for free!

In addition to checking your local grocery store circular, many websites also offer coupon matchups. A coupon matchup means that the site matches up local sales with coupons recently sent out. Websites like The Krazy Coupon Lady and We Use Coupons will help you match your coupons up with sales from stores like Albertsons, Target, Kroger, Walmart and more!

They will also give you tons of great sites to download coupons from like RedPlum.com and Coupons.com.

As a side note, I finally finished my coupon binder. I have posted pictures in the Freebies Forum.