I am a busy mother of seven who never thought coupons were worth the effort. Saving 35 cents on one item isn't worth the time it takes to cut it out. But what if you could save $40 to $140 every time you go to the store?

Would that be worth it?

I was skeptical about the whole coupon craze until someone dared me to try it.

Last week I bought 10 candy bars, three tubes of toothpaste, two bag of chips, eight razors, eight Fuze drinks, four bottles of shampoo, two bottles of hair spray, three boxes of cereal and two energy drinks - $114.01 worth of grocery items - for only $13.75.

I’m not kidding.

Coupons and price matching really can save your family hundreds of dollars a month and it doesn't take much time to do it.

You just have to get organized and stick to a system. It's not worth doing if you're only going to do it once. You have to commit to the system for a few months. It takes a little while to get enough coupons to make it work. Start this Sunday.

My easy system consists of four steps:

Step 1

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Get 4-6 copies of the Sunday paper and cut out the coupons. Put them in a binder (in plastic sheets for baseball cards). Get your kids involved to help with the cutting and you can have it done in 15 minutes. Divide your binder into sections that correspond with the aisles at the grocery store like frozen, dairy, snacks, etc.

Step 2

When you are ready to shop, go online and check what’s on sale in your local stores. I prefer www.savvyshopperdeals.com, but there are many other sites that track local sales and coupons for you.

This information is entered in database form. You can search for items on sale for 50 percent or more. This gives you a great list to start with. Then plan your meals for the week around what's on sale. Use the database program to make a grocery list and print it out. This step takes only about 20 minutes.

Step 3

Next match the items on sale this week with your coupons and get your list ready to go. SavvyShopperDeals shows online which coupons match with each sale item. Get those coupons from your binder and paperclip them to your list. This step takes about 15 minutes. Now you’re ready to go shopping.

Step 4

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I always shop at Walmart because they price match the sale prices in every other store! I don’t love the long lines, but to save hundreds of dollars a week it’s worth it.

As I put each item in my cart, I write the matched price and the store on each item with a sharpie. I put the coupons in a stack ready for the register.

When I'm ready to check out I explain my system to the checker and watch closely to see each price is correct. The best part is handing them my huge stack of coupons and watching the total go down and down.

I'm hooked.

I won’t shop any other way. I am building our family food storage for pennies on the dollar and I am having a blast getting free stuff every week.

Here are a couple tips: Personal care items like soap, shampoo, deodorant and hair color and cleaning products like laundry soap, dishwasher soap and cleaning supplies are on sale somewhere every week. Never pay full price for those items again.

Never pay more than 25 cents for a tube of toothpaste and those expensive razors and refill blades can be found for free almost every week, if you have the right coupons.

If you save your coupons and wait for a good sale you can stock up on cold cereal for 50 cents a box and fruit snacks for only 75 cents a box.

If you are nervous about trying this, don’t be. The people at Walmart are helpful and kind. They know how the system works and are more than happy to help you.

You are going to love it.

Kimberly Sayer Giles is the founder and president of LDS Life Coaching and www.claritypointcoaching.com and is a popular speaker and life coach who resides in Bountiful, Utah. She is also a mother of seven children who loves saving money.

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