Buying Your Favorite Foods Doesn't Have to Break the Bank Food is mighty expensive these days, and snack food especially can rac
k up quite a bill. But I've discovered a fun and easy way to lessen the "bite" of the high cost of groceries: coupons! Chances are, your family already gathers a few coupons here and there, from the circulars in the Sunday paper and places like that. But I'm here to tell you the Internet can save you tons of money when it comes to coupons. The trick is knowing where to look. Here's how I learned to be a savvy Internet coupon grabber. First, I thought about the foods I love to eat. Then I entered one of them in the Google search engine to see if any coupons were available, like this: "Van's waffles coupon." What popped up was a few general coupon sites on which I found coupons for a number of other brands I use, but not Van's. So I went to the Van's company website and scanned the main menu. There it was—a link for coupons. Van's makes healthy, allergy-free waffles that cost around $3.00 a box, so I was very happy to print out a "75 cents off" coupon! If you're lucky, you might find a coupon site you can join or visit that will allow you to print out coupons for lots of the brands and products you purchase. But even if you don't find one, just visit all the company websites for the brands you like, and see if they offer printable coupons. If they don't, here's another "trick": e-mail the company and tell them in glowing terms how much you love their product. More than half the time, in my experience, they will write you back and offer to send you a small stack of coupons to show their appreciation. Try it! It works! Before you know it, you'll be saving yourself and your family oodles of money at the checkout stand. Just don't forget to bring along the coupons!
