With gas prices soaring, spending a little time on the internet before you head out to shop can save you real time - and some real money.

These web-friendly shopping tips come from CNN's Gerri Willis, the personal finance editor for CNN Business News.

Her first tip is simple. Get online and set up online bill pay. You can even set up automatic payments for recurring bills, like utilities. Not only will that save you from any late payments, you'll also save yourself a 42-cent stamp on every bill you pay online instead of through the mail.

The internet also has plenty of places to find coupons and deals before you head out to the grocery store.

Coolsavings.com allows you to pick out specific grocery items on its site, then print out the coupon for use in the store.

Sign up for thegrocerygame.com and it'll email you weekly lists of the lowest-priced items at grocery stores, plus some coupons. This one will cost you $10 a month after a $1 trial period of 30 days.

But you can find deals on more than groceries. You'll also find an end to driving from mall to mall looking for clothes your size that are on sale.

Sound good? Then check out shopittome.com. You go to the site and set up a profile indicating the brands you like, your sizes, and how often you'd like to hear about sales. The site then scours the internet to find deals on clothing in your size of the brands you choose, helping you stretch your dollar without ever leaving home.

Do you have a stretching your dollar tip you'd like to share? Click below on "comment" and let your fellow readers in on your secret.

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