Such a Deal

I love the stores which offer coupons and specials, and it's even better when the store lets you COMBINE them! For instance, one of the reasons I love and shop at Kohl's is because they allow you to do just that. I truly don't know how they make any money, but that's not my concern. 
When you shop, you might consider looking for sales to begin with, because you need not spend more than you have to for an item. When you have the store credit card, they send you emails with offers, like percentages off merchandise.  Also, when you look at their website, there are often coupons you can use for a dollar amount off your purchase.  And, of course, Kohl's offers their famous "Kohl's CASH" when you spend a certain amount, such as $10 for every $50 spent.  Other stores are starting to take notice and offer this as well now. Stores also often offer free shipping online when a certain amount is purchased.  So you just have to know what to look for when shopping.

We had recently done some holiday shopping at Kohl's and had spent a little and saved a whole lot.  So we received the Kohl's cash to spend for our next purchase.  On Christmas Day, I received an email from Kohl's saying they were offering and extra 20% off any purchases that day, but that the offer ended at midnight.  So I went to the website to browse, and my husband suggested we buy a new vacuum.  While I was on the website, I saw a coupon for an extra $10 off any purchase over $30.
So we found a great $219.99 vacuum on sale for $159.99. Then by using my Kohl's cash, the $10 coupon and the extra 20% off, plus the FREE shipping, we saved a total of $174.95, and our grand total for a brand new vacuum cleaner was only $69.11!

Same Products, Better Prices

When I first met my husband, he bought EVERYTHING at the grocery store.  I know a lot of people do that to save time, which is exactly why stores offer sundries of various kinds, only at inflated prices.  But it doesn't take too much effort to find the same products at reduced prices, especially with the variety of larger, more warehouse type stores available now. 
Depending on what you need, some items can even found CHEAPER at the dollar type stores.  Of course, you may still want to purchase certain kinds of brand name items for a little extra, such as shampoos, pet foods, canned items, etc. but for some things, why would you want to pay more?
Especially around the holidays, you can find cards, tinsel, ornaments and all kinds of things for $1 that might cost you $2-3 at another store.  You should look closely at the item or the wrapper just to see if you're getting what appears to be similar, since often an item might be half the size as at another store.  Or the quality might indeed be a lot better at another store. But if you know what to watch for, you can get some items for less money, and those savings add up!