New Jersey mom can feed her family ... for free

Is the cost of food turning your grocery shopping plans into a stressful weekly event?

A New Jersey mom named Cyndi has figured out how to get a whole week's worth of groceries -- for free. 'I got started couponing because in our family we had some layoffs, our grocery bill was huge, and I had to make the cut somewhere,' Cindy explains.

Motivated and creative, she came up with a system that has her going beyond savings so she sometimes even gets money back from the store on purchases. Now, she keeps her budget in check and finds healthy foods for her family at the same time.

She starts by downloading coupons at home and then checks which stores (if any) in her area are offering double coupons.

Next, she writes a strict shopping list. If she finds a coupon on a manufacturer's website, she says she can 'stack' that in addition to a store coupon and get an overage of savings.

'Some stores will even give you cash back,' she said.

One of her other secrets goes against what might seem obvious: if you have a coupon for a specific product, don't think big. 'Buy the smallest package, because you're going to get the best bang for your buck,' Cindy explains.

'Taking the most money off on a smaller package is much better than buying a larger package.' That strategy helps her feed her family for a lot less money.

Do you have any great couponing tricks? Let us know in the comments below.