Money saving tip -- No. 1

I always have been a fairly frugal shopper. I kept an eye on the sales, and often made my purchasing choices based on price.

But a few things led me to a resolution to start using coupons and do more research into the best deals out there on the things we need for the family.

In September I went from a family of four to a family of nine. Add to that the economy that has everyone thinking about the way they spend their money, and I had my motivation.

I've learned a few things since I started this mission on Feb. 1. And periodically, I'll share what I learn with tips here.

Tip No. 1: I'm finding a lot of high value coupons and free deals online. But before you can get them, you often have to sign up and give the manufacturer an email address. I quickly learned it would be best if I:

Created a separate email address solely for these offers.

That way, my regular email address won't get swamped with unsolicited emails from the manufacturers.

You can sign up for a free email through google here.

Or sign up for a free email through yahoo here.