Score the Best Grocery Coupons

Your food bill is most likely in your budget's top three spending areas (next to housing and transportation), so it makes sense that if you're looking to save money, you'll look there first. Spending 15-30 minutes a week to find coupons can save big bucks. Get to know store prices, and then use coupons to lower the price even more. The trend has moved online to make it even easier to save, and we've gathered the top cost-saving sites for your couponing pleasure.

Coupons.com
The Taj Mahal of couponing sites, Coupons.com boasts volume, top-shelf brands, and easy navigation. You can refine searches by brand, so locating coupons for specific products is easy. Try comparing with similar free sites like SmartSource.com, PPGazette.com, and CoolSavings.com. You'll need to register for these sites and download a "Coupon Printer," however the extra effort is well worth the quantity of coupons available these sites offer.

RedPlum.com
If you're a coupon-newbie, start here. The selection isn't as vast as sites like Coupons.com, but it won us over with its "My Saved Coupons" area and easy-to-navigate "Store Specials" tab. All the coupons you select go into a "My Saved Coupons" area. When you're ready, you can review and print all at one time. (Do be warned: each coupon prints on one sheet of paper.) The "Store Specials" tab provides links to local grocers' weekly specials so savvy shoppers can find the best deals without multiple trips.

TheCouponClippers.com
Old school meets new with this coupon-clipping service, offering more than one million national-brand coupons. Choose your desired coupons and for a fee of the total savings (usually 5-15%), the offers will be delivered to your doorstep.

CouponCabin.com
This site is devoted to finding online coupon codes (Example: 15% off your entire online order. Special code: FREE.). However, employees are constantly scouring sites to find codes and when they run across special offers on manufacturers' web sites, they post them too. You'll find links to the latest offers from General Mills, Land O Lakes, Nestle, Progresso, and more.

CouponMom.com
This web site is not for the faint of heart. Owner Stephanie Nelson created a system for getting the best bang for your buck in the "The Grocery Coupon Database". You'll find a virtual warehouse of all coupons found in Sunday newspaper circulars, including the name, value, expiration date, and percent saved, so clippers can find which stores carry the best sales. CouponMom.com is chock-full of tips for savvy shoppers. We suggest starting with her e-book, Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half.