While I am a big cheerleader when it comes to the use of coupons, it’s important to remember that they are not the end all answer to saving money. Some of the biggest ways to save money is to check your sales circular.

Every single week, I faithfully check my sales circulars. I know what days various grocery stores’ sales circulars come out. I typically get the circulars in the mail or in my local newspaper. For those circulars I don’t get delivered to me, I know that I can pull up their circulars online.

I find that sometimes if I check the circulars, there are bigger savings than just using coupons. I also have discovered certain stores seem to have rotating sales on various products. I know that every few weeks the stores will have the same product on sale.

A perfect example of this happened this week. When checking out the circular for one of my favorite grocery stores, I discovered they were having outstanding sales on barbecue sauce. They were selling barbecue sauce for 49 cents a container. I typically cannot find barbecue sauce for cheaper than $1 a bottle. Because of the store’s great deal, I was able to purchase 10 jars of sauce that will last me several weeks. Even with coupons, I couldn’t find as great of a deal as I did by simply checking out the circular.

I would encourage you to stay on top of prices. Simply knowing what your favorite stores have on sale can save you a bundle.

Do you have tips on saving money? E-mail them to localnews2005@yahoo.com.