Death of the Coupon

I found this article on MSN.com. I am intrigued by the prospect of having my coupons waiting at the register for me.

Here is the link: Death of the Coupon

Now my comments. I do some drawbacks to this system. I can use multiple paper coupons, and depending on the store, the number I can use varies. So if I buy 12 packs of Huggies diapers, theoretically, I can use 12 paper coupons. There was no information on the use of multiple copies of the electronic coupons.

Secondly, some stores do not have shopper loyalty cards (which is not necessarily a bad thing), such as DeCA (military) commissaries. What happens when you want to use electronic coupons at these locations?

Thirdly, what is the cost to set this system up at stores? If the cost of introducing, tracking, and ensuring the proper application of these electronic coupons, and associated systems, is too expensive, stores may not be willing to utilize it.

As noted in the article, some stores are already making the transition. In reality, it seems that introduction should not be more difficult that the application of rebates that stores often link to shopper loyalty cards. For several chains, your card automatically gets you rebates on certain products, with little or no effort on your part, and those rebates are tracked and displayed on the stores website.

Online Coupons

Considering that I am a big fan of online coupons, and I have been writing about them lately, I thought you might enjoy this article about them. The article includes references for sites where you can find some good ones.

The article originally appeared on MSN Money.

The Basics: How online coupons save you hard cash

The Grocery Game

For those of you looking for ways to slash that grocery budget (and let's face it, it is a huge expense, that is getting bigger every day), coupons and sales are often an "easy" way to cut costs.

The problem for most people is that maximizing savings generally involves hours of looking through ads, clipping or printing coupons, and matching them up. Now some of us (me included) enjoy the hunt, and have no problem doing the tedious work of coupon clipping and sale hunting.

For those of you who do not want to spend your weekends planning, clipping, and hunting, there is another option.

You can go to The Grocery Game. This is a website that does all that work for you (more or less). Now this is a PAID site, so it will cost you a little to get results, but if you really despise the effort, it might be worth it.

I have gotten some great feedback about the site, and several friends have sworn by it. If you decide to try it out, please come back and leave a comment about your experience!

More Internet Coupons

Several individuals have given me other sites to get internet coupons from, so here are some new links!

Coupon Mom

Grocery Coupons

Mommy Saves Big

Cool Savings

My Coupons

Military Shopper

Internet Coupons

There are tons of great sites out there for internet coupons. Most of them are related to grocery items, but there are some for other items. I've listed some of my favorites below.

Most sites allow you to print only two copies of each coupon within a certain time period (usually about a month).

Remember to check with your local stores to make sure that they accept these coupons. Many do, but some may require a dot scan barcode beneath the expiration date.


Coupons.Com
This site provides a variety of coupons, for a range of products.

Very Best Kids
Sign up for their newsletter, and they will include coupons for several Nestle products (usually totaling about $8) a month.

Betty Crocker
Some great coupons for products we buy often, especially cereal and baking products. Also a great source for recipes.

Pillsbury
This is run by the same company that produces Betty Crocker, so you'll find some duplicate coupons on this one, but they are still good!

Box Tops for Education
This site is also run by General Mills, and duplicates some of the coupons from the Betty Crocker and Pillsbury site. The nice thing about this one, is that by signing up, you can earn Box Tops, which can be given to the school of your choice to provide them with additional income. All the products which have coupons on this site also have boxtops on their packaging, so remember to clip them and give back to your schools!

Smart Source
Like Coupons.com, this is a general grocery coupon site.

Baby Food

If you have kids, then you have probably been through the fun of buying cases on cases of intriguing combinations of fruits, vegetables and meats, otherwise known as baby food.

Considering most children on baby food for at least 6 months, the expense can be quite large. Several of the large manufacturers offer lots of coupons and other incentives through their websites. These include postal mailings and internet coupons (you'll have to check with your local store to find out if they accept these).

Gerber also offers special offers when consumers mail in UPC's from their products. You can find the .pdf form on their web site, under the special offer links.

Gerber

Beechnut