We are all faced with a rising cost of living (Hello! Can you say “gas prices”?) without the benefit of rising paychecks.  One of the first places you can successfully cut your household budget is in the area of grocery, hygiene, and household products.

You can save amazing amounts of money by using coupons, but you will not see results overnight.  The key to successful couponing is being persistent and giving your efforts a chance to come to fruition. Here are six tips to help you achieve your grocery budget cuts!

1) Start slow. It takes a while to get the hang of using coupons. It will take you four weeks or so to accumulate a nice stash of coupons from the Sunday paper to work with. Don’t expect to waltz in the grocery store and get $100 worth of groceries for $20 on the day after you decided to become a coupon queen.

2) Set measurable goals. Eight to ten weeks is probably a realistic goal for most beginning couponers.

3) Spend a reasonable amount of time on couponing.  Before you start, decide how much time you can give to your money-saving efforts. When you are first getting started, give yourself two hours a week to work on couponing. After you get the hang of it, shoot for one hour a week.

4) Don’t clip every coupon.  Just print and clip the ones for products you normally buy (or want to start buying) or for ones you know are on sale that week.

5) Divide and conquer. There are two big areas you can save in the retail market: grocery stores and drug stores. Pick one store at a time and become an expert at that store, then move on to another and learn their system.

6) Be committed to every dollar you save. There’s no need to get upset if you save a dollar or two less than you’d hope, but do be passionate about saving every dollar that you can.  Don’t pass up clipping a coupon, saying, “Oh, it’s only a dollar.” Designate a purpose for that dollar and then go out and save it!

Get started with these steps and be persistent. You’ll reach your grocery budget goals in no time and never look back!

Head on over to the forum to discuss your coupon savings ideas!

Jenny Rapson is a thirtyish stay-at-home mom of a preschool boy and a toddler girl. She’s been married to her high school sweetheart Bobby (who really loves it when she writes about him) for eight years, and is addicted to Jesus, coupon shopping, and blogging. She blogs about the things her kids do to her as well as her couponing adventures (with her cousin and co-blogger Emily Berry) at Mommin’ It Up!

Photo source, source and source