I am a self proclaimed tight-wad, verified three fold by independent sources.  With that, it’s inevitable that I would shop around for the best deals possible, saving pennies along the way.  I am not, however, penny rich and pound foolish, and I understand the value of my time.

So it should come as no surprise that I’m a coupon guy.  Every Sunday I look through the paper and pull out the coupon brochures (as well as the Best Buy ad) and go through them, pulling out coupons for items we use routinely.  Toothpaste, toilet paper, shampoo, green beans, frozen pizza; all fair game.

I read with interest today from an article in the Wall Street Journal about the natural progression of coupons in the digital age.  From the report:

“In the past four months, coupon usage has surged about 10%, according to Inmar Inc., a coupon-processing agent. And increasingly, shoppers are skipping the scissors and getting coupons online or having discounts sent to their smart phones and rewards cards.” -Source

Really.  I could go digital!

Kroger has come into the digital light by sending its free text messaging coupon program to the national level.  The program, provided by Cellfire Inc. sends deals via text message to your cell phone on a regular basis.  All you have to do is click on the link in the text message and the discount is added to the Kroger discount card.

Then there’s the good old internet.  I’ve used coupons.com before to find deals on toothpaste, which is a bit more forgiving because I’m not really particular on brand.  Colgate, Crest, whitening, tartar control… it really makes no difference to me, so long as its the price leader on the aisle.

Coupons.com has been hit and miss with me, because the coupon selection is fairly limited and focused.  The site usually has some coupons for Bausch and Lomb products, which we frequently use, and some various cleaning products.

One major deal they have right now is 35% off the Entertainment Coupon book with free shipping.  The book is typically $20 and we usually get ours from the neighbors kid who sells them for school.  The book easily pays for itself, plus some.

As always, the key to using coupons is to only use them on products you would typically buy.  Using a coupon on a product just because you get 35 cents off is like buying a $100 coat because it was 10% off.

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