A lot of people stumble upon my blog, and can't quite figure out how I save so much money. Everyone has seen coupons before - but somehow, we can never figure out exactly how they save money. I know for me, it took years before I learned the secrets. So here, in a nutshell, is the secret:Coupon Queens don't shop like normal people.                                                                                                               Normal shoppers go to the store with a list of things they need and then try to match coupons to those items. Normal coupon shoppers wander up and down the aisles and spend hours trying to find the right coupon to go with the right item. In the end, you discover that generic is often cheaper, and the hours you spent using coupons saved you less than $15. Doesn't exactly seem like it is worth the effort, huh?But that's not how a Coupon Queen shops. We go into the store armed with a list of things we know are on sale and coupons for those items. Much of the time those items are free. I don't shop for items I need. Wait, did I say that? I can see the confused looks on your faces.... I was confused at first too. I don't shop for what I need. I shop for what's free.Now, how do I make that work? When exactly do I shop for what my family needs?I do it every week, or during the big sales. I just shop in advance for what I need. Meaning, I don't shop for cereal when my family needs it. I shop for cereal when it is on sale. If I find my family's favorite cereal on sale for $.50 a box, I'm going to buy enough to last until the next time it's on sale - even if it isn't on my shopping list this week. By doing this on every item we use, I never pay full price. In fact, I tend to save at least 75 percent on every item we buy - groceries, health and beauty, cat food, household products and more! This strategy is called "stockpiling." It's stocking up when items are on sale, instead of waiting until I need them and running the risk of paying full price. Then when I need something, instead of heading to the store, I head to my stockpile. I go "shopping" in my stockpile one to two times a week for the items I need in my kitchen pantry. Stockpiling has a snowball effect. I stockpile toothpaste the first week, deodorant the second week, cereal and bread the third week, soups and shampoos the fourth week, toilet paper and chips the fifth week and baking supplies the sixth week - can you see how it snowballs into a stockpile? It takes a few months to get a healthy stockpile built, but once its built, my list of items I "need" each week is extremely small - like fewer than four to five things a week. In fact, most weeks my list is at zero. Building a stockpile goes faster than you think....I know many who've done it in less than three months!Now, how do I know what to stockpile? First, I sat down and made a monthly menu and master shopping list. From there I started a pricebook, so that I could track the prices of the items I buy every day. Now, when items come on sale, I match them with my pricebook and my master shopping list to see if they're items I want to stock up on. Is it something I'll use? If not, I'll pass on it. Is it at the lowest price according to my pricebook? If not, I'll pass it by and wait for a better sale.Coupons are like poker cards to me. You don't play them all right away. I hold onto them, and use them at exactly the right moment.Shopping is the same. I don't run out the door and buy everything I need in one setting. I wait and get things when they are at the lowest price possible. Patience, strategy, and a little bit of cleverness lead to me feeding my family for as little money as I possible.Join me....it doesn't take long to learn. Anyone can do it! You can come to one of my upcoming classes, or simply browse the site and try some of the great deals!