Casual couponing tips

Go to local sites that pick the best weekly deals at supermarkets and link to printable coupons: Rocha's Pocket Your Dollars (www.pocketyourdollars.com), Weber's Coupons in Our Hands (www.couponsinourhands.com) and Gunter's Minnesota Coupon Adventure (minnesotacoupon adventure.blogspot.com) and Coupon Mom (www.couponmom.com). They also like www.hotcouponworld.com as a quick hit.

Start a price list with five of your most commonly purchased items at the supermarket. Keep track of sale prices, wait for the item to go on sale and/or use a coupon with it, too. Add more items if time allows. Many items in supermarket ads are featured but not on sale. This tip helps you know if it's a truly good price.

Go directly to the website of your favorite products and register for coupons. Examples: Pillsbury.com, BettyCrocker.com, Target.com and GeneralMills.com.

Go to Rocha's and Gunter's sites for "healthy food printables," which are coupons for natural and organic brands. For others, go to sites of your favorite brands such as www.simplyorganicfoods.com or www.muirglen.com. Also look for co-op and organics coupons in the Blue Sky Guide.

Buy an item on sale with a store coupon and a manufacturer's coupon for maximum savings.

Shop Rainbow's double coupon days on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Cub Foods accepts manufacturers' coupons up to 90 days past the expiration date.

Avoid spam-filled, time-wasting sites such as Coolsavings.com.

Save the entire coupon insert from Sunday's papers. Coupon websites like Pocket Your Dollars refer to the date that a coupon appeared in the Smartsource, Red Plum or Procter & Gamble inserts. The sites tell you when an item is on sale and which insert has a coupon. Write the date of the Sunday that the insert appeared on the cover.

Buy items that rarely go on sale at Aldi, including produce and meat.

Search for coupons online using the name of the item and "printables." Example: Tide printables. You might have to register or become a Facebook fan first.

Know your sale and coupon cycles. Most are about three months apart. Buy accordingly. An exception to the rule is a seasonal item. Canned soup coupons are rare in the summer.