Category: Shopping

It’s a rare family that’s not on a food budget.  The family food shopper searches for any way possible to cut back on the amount of money spent on food.  One of those is using coupons. 

Conservatively speaking, there are millions of coupons circulating every day that could cut your food budget by 30 to 50% – even more if you’re willing to turn couponing into a passion. 

Even the casual coupon clipper can become quite successful overnight and with more work and dedication become a super saver shopper.  You have to be patient, flexible and perhaps give up your favorite brand, but it can be done and you can save a lot of money.

Remember, coupons are designed to sell a certain product and get you in the store but if the item is not one you need and use, then saving money on that item is a moot point.

Food coupons can be found anywhere.  The Sunday newspaper is usually the best source but also look on line, at public libraries and at coupon swap boxes at the store itself.  Some stores issue coupons at checkout for use on your next trip.  Be sure and note expiration dates and if a cash value is offered.  Don’t let them expire and go to waste.

The keys to a successful coupon strategy are:

Organize before you shop.  Keep coupons sorted by food type in an easy to search through container and match coupons with needs on your grocery list.  Some coupons have mail in rebates.  Beware of this and follow up.

Use Store Loyalty Card Programs. Sign up for a store loyalty card that usually offers coupons plus bonus points that are cumulative each time you shop.  Using a store’s own credit card can lead to double points and free item coupons. 

Combine regular coupons with sale prices.   If a coupon item is not on sale and it’s not an urgent buy wait until it’s on sale.  Be on the lookout for sale and bonus points tags.

Compare ads.  It may pay you to drive to more than one store if it’s an item you need, have a coupon and it’s not available anywhere else.  But, before you burn up extra gas, ask if the store honors its competitor’s coupons.  Many will do this just to keep you in the store.  You can call ahead to save a trip.

Don’t buy too much. Don’t be susceptible to the 2 for a dollar marketing tool unless it’s to your advantage with a coupon.  If you need two of the item go ahead and buy them; but save by buying only one if that’s what you need.  For example, the sign may read:  15 limes for a dollar.  Unless you’re a big lime user, some could go bad before you use them.

There was a time when some shoppers felt using coupons was not appreciated by the grocer and hesitated to use them.  They didn’t want to hold up the line while the checker scanned coupons.

It’s a faster and easier method now with computers.  Some of these strategies may not be right for you.  It takes practice and patience, trial and error.  If stretching your food dollar is your goal, there are few better ways than using coupons.

When times are tough, the old fashioned staple of coupons tend to experience resurgence. Coupons have been around as long as the concept of marketing has, and in recent years the internet has helped create a whole new universe for coupon hunters.

Coupon Aggregators

Some web sites specialize in providing a one-stop shop for coupons from all sorts of stores, both online and brick and mortar stores. Similar to travel web sites, these coupon aggregator sites can save you a lot of time clicking around looking for the best deal. Why go to hundreds of sites when one site can deliver what you need? That's exactly what sites such as RetailMeNot.com do for you. Beyond simply searching for stores of interest on their site, they also provide other convenient ways to access their online coupon services. For example, why not use their Mac Dashboard Widget to keep track of the latest free online coupon codes? If you don't have a Mac, simply download their Internet Explorer or Firefox web browser add-ons and have free online coupon codes sent directly to your web browser. Jumping on the expanding popularity of Facebook, they also offer a plug-in for the popular social networking site.

Other useful free online coupon aggregator web sites include CouponMountain.com, DealCatcher.com,Ebates.com and BestOnlineCoupons.com. Do a search on Google or your favorite search engine for “free online coupons” and you'll be amazed at the different sites out there.

Company Coupons

Businesses have long recognized the power of the coupon. Not only does it help them increase sales, but from an analysis perspective it can help their marketing departments figure out what types of promotions consumers you like respond to the best. Thus, you can find many coupons directly from company web sites.

The easiest way to see if there are savings of what you regularly buy is simply to type the brand name and the word “coupon” into any search engine. Chances are the free online coupon you're looking for is out there. Many may have expiration dates, so make sure you take note of when the coupon is good until.

Free online coupons have two main ways of redeeming them. The first is the good old fashioned way. Print out the coupon and take it into the store of your choice. Present the coupon at the point of purchase. Another popular way to use free online coupons is by typing in a coupon code during an online purchase. If you regularly purchase over the internet, this can be more convenient (and save a lot of paper and printer ink too).

Make sure to read the fine print of any web site offering coupons. Most will ask for your email address and other personal information. Give out only what you're comfortable with. It's a good idea to open a separate email account just for these types of online promotions. This will prevent your personal inbox from getting flooded with spam.

Finding free online coupons is not only a great way to save money, it can be a lot of fun as well!

There’s a special text message that usually gets Jennifer Phillips-Miller’s attention right away. That’s because Jennifer is a member of Ideeli.com, one of a new breed of private shopping clubs that have recently emerged on the Internet.  The text message advises Jennifer that a new designer product is about to be offered for sale at a huge discount.

Ideeli is a members only club that organizes short (lasting just 2-3 days) online sales of luxury products at steeply reduced prices.  Think Italian designer shoes for $100 rather than $500.  It’s one of the hottest new trends on the Internet.

Ideeli works with hundreds of luxury brands from the US and Europe.  These brands all have the occasional need to quickly sell overstocked items or to quickly introduce new products to the market to generate buzz and word of mouth. In the old days they would do this with sample and warehouse sales. 

Now they use membership clubs like ideeli to move the product for them.  Ideeli is given a set number of items to sell and offers them in short time restricted sales at huge discounts.  It conducts about 20 of these sales per week. While they keep the names of the brands they work with somewhat under wraps (we aren’t allowed to mention them here) , we can say they have relationships with nearly 300 of the top luxury brands in the world at prices of 60, 75, or even 90% off retail

Goods include more than apparel and shoes.  In the case of ideeli, they also offer home furnishings, jewelry and travel.

Sales can sell out in a matter of hours or days and never last more than a few days.  And if you don’t like the item when it arrives, or the fit is no good – you can return it.

For Jennifer, the sales make for great sport. “I love it!”, she says, “You need to move quickly when you get an alert to see if the item is something you are interested in and how cheap it is.” And with a 2-year old in tow, “It sure beats spending time in a department store.”

Jennifer also loves the variety. ‘Living in Dallas, you just don’t get a chance to see a lot of these brands and at these prices – forget it.”

The one drawback of these clubs is that membership is limited.  That’s because the clubs have access to a limited number of items for each sale.  If membership were too large, then the items would sell out in minutes leaving most of the members upset.  Typically new members need to be invited to join by existing members.  If they don’t have an invite, they can apply to join through their waiting list.

Fortunately, ideeli is expanding its membership for a limited time. They have set up a special page where, for a limited time, readers of HowLifeWorks.com can sign up free, and bypass their waiting list. 

To get your free ideeli membership now, click here.