Online Coupons - A Convenient Way to Save Money

Many American families clip coupons to save money on groceries, health-related items and one-time purchases. For many years, the Sunday newspaper was the place to find these savings but as technology has exploded, so has coupon clipping. Coupons can be downloaded on the Internet or pulled from a machine in the store. One of the most popular coupon sites on the Internet is www.coolsavings.com. Whether or not you want to save money on groceries, the family vacation or back-to-school clothes, you can find it on this site. The categories on www.coolsavings.com are extensive and include: groceries, pets, health and beauty, automotive, travel, babies and kids, home and garden, education, personal finance and entertainment. You can print the coupons from the website.

Coolsavings features coupons from SmartSource, the most well known coupon company in the country. The coupons from most Sunday papers are from SmartSource. Coupons are inserted in 1,160 newspapers. The coupon machines in grocery stores are also a SmartSource product. These coupon machines help consumers who may be making that "impulse buy" save money by using the coupon. The coupons have also encouraged sales of products. The company has its own website, www.smartsource.com, which has its coupons for the week listed.

Another site with an extensive list of coupons is www.couponcabin.com. This site contains the same categories as www.coolsavings.com. As with www.coolsavings.com, you can print its coupons.

For savings on grocery, health and household products, online coupons are available at www.eversave.com. This site also has the SmartSource coupons. In some cases, more money can be saved by answering simple questions. For example, consumers who answer two questions for a Leggs/Just My Size coupon get an additional 25 cents in savings!

Many stores, particularly pharmacies, will have in-store coupons in the Sunday paper or online. If you don't get the newspaper and can't clip the coupons, you can print them from many of the store's website. If you see a good deal at a store that you don't shop, check with your favorite retailer to see if they will honor the competitor's coupons. This can not only save you money but also save you time by allowing you to shop in just one store.

For those who believe that coupon clipping is too time-consuming or is not the worth the savings, Stephanie Nelson, also known as the "coupon mom" has written a book about saving money with coupons. The book, called "The Secrets of the Coupon Mom," has tips and advice on how to save using coupons. Nelson has also shared her advice on "Good Morning America. She has a website, www.couponmom.com, which has tips and links to some of the best deals and offers available.

Nelson also knows the industry. According to Nelson, shoppers have saved nearly $3 billion annually just with grocery coupons! That doesn't count the countless number of coupons used for travel, clothing and electronic items. However, many consumers simply throw the coupons away and don't take advantage of the savings. According to Nelson, more than $315 billion dollars in coupons are being thrown away each year!

Even if you think clipping coupon is time consuming and you don't want the hassle of thumbing through the Sunday newspaper each week, you can still make coupons work for you. Many retail outlets feature coupons to save either on an online purchase or at the store. By book marking the store's website and checking it from time to time, you can find out what the latest deals are with or without a coupon.

If organization is your problem, you can find a small coupon organizer at most discount stores for about a dollar. This will allow you to group your coupons by category. You can also easily compare the coupons to the weekly sales advertisements for more savings.

How much can you save by clipping coupons? It really depends on you. If you want to take advantage of the hundreds of websites with coupons and special offers, it is possible to cut your grocery budget by 25 percent and save hundreds of dollars on other purchases. If you only look for coupons for special purchases like appliances or contact lenses, the annual savings to your budget will be less.