Monday 12/07/09: Use redplum.com

Another online source of coupons is Redplum.com. They don't have as many grocery coupons as Smartsource, but they do have several categories of coupons, like restaurants and style.

Saturday 12/5/09: Use smartsource.com

You know about coupons you get in the paper, coupons you get in the mail, coupons you get in your email, but did you know you can also access coupons online? Smartsource.com is one that lets you print coupons (which personally I like better because 1) the store will still double it and 2) I don't have to remember what they are, as opposed to ones loaded electronically to my card). Yesterday I saw they had one that was $5 off a $25 purchase at Riteaid, which I really could have used two days earlier... oh well! Also I was able to print one for a package of coffee filters I was headed to the store to buy anyway, so with the coupon and the sale on them, I was able to save about 65% on that. Lots of stuff out there, just gotta look!

Friday 12/4/09: Like blizzards? Join the fan club.

As part of living healthy after being obese as a teenager, I cannot have ice cream in my house. But I'm not willing to give up ice cream forever. I know it's more expensive, but if I have ice cream, it's by getting it out somewhere. That way it has to be a special occasion as opposed to a pint of Ben & Jerry's calling my name every day in the freezer. So it only made sense for me to join Dairy Queen's Blizzard Fan Club (sign up on the bottom of the page). Once a month I get a coupon in my email to buy one, get one free of the blizzard of the month (the pumpkin one was to die for). One for me, one for my husband, $3.32. And the coupon rule is to be used only once so I get ice cream once a month, at a pretty good price, without overindulging! Everyone wins.

Friday, 11/13/09: sign up for special offers

Are you one of those people who always clicks "decline" "no, thanks" "skip this" on websites asking for your email and/or mailing address. So was I. Not anymore. If you regularly use a particular kind of item, check out the company's (companies') website(s) to see if they have a "club" for savings offers--most do. Huggies, for example, typically puts coupons up to $1.50 off of diapers periodically in the newspaper insert. In their mailings, however, their coupons are often $3 off one package. That's how I got the great deal on Huggies I talked about earlier this week. You just won't get coupons with that high a value in the paper. Pampers also has a club and they sent me coupons just a couple of days ago. This morning I checked my email to discover a coupon for $5 in Borders Bucks in my email (and unlike Barnes & Noble, the Borders Rewards program is free). Even Kellogg's has an e-newsletter for promotions and special offers.
Think about where you shop and what you spend money on, and start surfing!