A lot of people say that they do not use coupons or shop sales because they just don’t have the time to bother. While it is true that there is some time and effort involved, the money saved can be worth the time.

So, in my effort to promote this awesome money-saving technique, I decided to share my awesome buys of the week.

First, a couple of tips.

• Know the coupon policies of the stores you shop. Do they double, or even triple coupons?
• Only clip coupons for things that you buy normally, unless you can combine them with a sale to get the item for free or nearly free.
• Don’t buy things just because you have a coupon. If you spend money you don’t need to, you are not saving.

My great buys this week came from Price Chopper. They double coupons up to and including $1.00 and they offer 6 double coupons (up to 99 cents) in their circular in the Sunday Paper.

SpaghettiOs (which I never buy, but Big E loves them) were on sale 2/$1. I clipped a coupon for 40-cents off 2, which I tripled. Final cost: 2 cans free

Hood Simply Smart milk (half-gallon) was on sale for 2/$6.00. I bought one for $3.00, but had a $1 off coupon, which was doubled. Final cost: $1.00

Garelick Farms chocolate milk (half-gallon) was regular priced $3.29, but I had a $1 off coupon that was doubled. Final price: $1.29

Barber Foods broccoli and cheese stuffed chicken breast (2 pack) was on sale for $3.00, minus $1 coupon was doubled. Final cost: $1.00

Note: That is something that I would not normally buy, but I could not make two plain chicken breasts for $1, let alone stuffed. I thought it would be a good thing to have on hand for a night that I can’t cook, or something.

Flintstones vitamins on sale for $5.98, minus $1 coupon doubled. Final cost: $3.98

I also got a couple of good deals on things that I did not have coupons for.

Bread (for the kids, who do not like homemade bread for sandwiches): 2 loaves/$1.98
Cheddar cheese: 8 oz block $1.99

All told, my savings was $15.48, and I paid $12.43 (total bill, $27.91).  And $1.19 of that was spent on an item that was not on sale. Though, admittedly this store tends to be higher-priced than my regular store.

Updated to add: I wanted to add that I like to clip coupons for things that I would like, but do not usually buy, and keep them separate to use if those items ever go on sale and I can get them for free or nearly free.

Sometimes getting something special can help ease those occasional feelings of going without that, if not dealt with, can derail your financial discipline.