Editor’s note: One in a series.

Muskogee accountant Judy Hoffman holds in her hands some keys to cutting one-fourth, one-third, sometimes more than half off her grocery bill.

She clips coupons out of her Sunday paper and several other sources, sorts them into plastic bags, then tucks them in an envelope each time she goes shopping.

A coupon-clipper since the 1970s, Hoffman said it doesn’t take long to find the savings.

“Every Sunday, I get the Muskogee and Tulsa papers, and I spend 15 to 20 minutes clipping the coupons and getting them organized,” she said, adding that she also takes advantage of in-store coupons.

She also watches advertisements for store specials or double-coupon promotions so she could save even more money.

Before her latest shopping excursion Friday afternoon at Homeland, 2410 Chandler Road, she presented a yard-long grocery receipt from a previous trip showing how she cut her grocery bill from more than $170 to $121.

“I saved almost one-third,” she said.

Hoffman said she organizes her coupons, then writes a shopping list based on what coupons she has.

Of course, items such as milk or produce rarely have coupons, she said. “So I look for specials.”

She said she usually has coupons for half the items on her regular shopping list.

Hoffman said she arranges coupons based on the layout of the store, then follows that route to avoid distractions.

“At Homeland, I start at the right front corner,” she said.

Once she gets an item, “I put the coupon here under my purse handle to keep it separate from the others,” she said.