The Newest Coupon Queen

It’s time I shared with you all my new hobby. My husband coined it “hyper-couponing”, but I just like to refer to it as “coupon collecting.” After reading this article in the Chicago Tribune and watching an Oprah episode on the same topic, I decided to give it a try myself. I’ve always been a fan of the online coupon code (retailmenot.com is my favorite) and I never make an online purchase without first searching for (and usually finding) a coupon code. But who knew that you could print grocery coupons online! I found a recent article on the topic remarking that 36 Million American Adults Now Print Coupons:

Hyper-Couponing

The number of people turning to the web for coupons has soared to 36 million in 2008. That’s an increase of 10 million people from 2005. Traditionally consumers have associated coupons with the Sunday paper, but as consumers turn to the web for news they’re also looking online for savings. In an effort to learn more about these “Coupon Clickers,” Simmons/Experian Research and Coupons, Inc. conducted a survey — the 2008 Printable Coupon Consumer Pulse. The research confirms the most popular sources for printable coupons are savings-specific sites like Coupons.com. A June Hitwise report found Coupons.com has the largest market share for savings sites, and traffic has increased 190 percent since 2007.

“The economic downturn is generating a shift in coupon use and a long-term change in consumer perception and behavior,” said Steven Boal, CEO of Coupons, Inc. “A new generation of shoppers is discovering coupons on the Web and printing coupons is becoming a regular part of a consumer’s shopping routine. In fact, almost a quarter of the 148 million Americans that use coupons now find them online, and nearly half of these Coupon Clickers are between the ages of 22 and 44.”

Now that I am a mom, I feel I have even more of a responsibility to make sure our dollars go the distance. I’ve only been at it for a few days now, but I have already acquired a nice collection of coupons, and several that I’ve been able to print multiple times. Here are the hot spots:

• Coupon Bar Web Edition (108 offers)
• Coupons.com
• Printable Coupons
• Couponmom.com

There are also tons of blogs on couponing and budgeting, but they can get a little overwhelming, especially for novice couponing. You can also Google a particular manufacturer and most times they have coupons you can print on their website. Carnation, Pillsbury, Johnson Baby, and Betty Crocker are just a few direct sites that I printed coupons from. Proctor and Gamble will send you their coupon booklet in the mail if you sign up for it at their site. Now you don’t have to feel like getting a Sunday Newspaper is your only option for getting coupons!

After a while I considered the fact that I could be wasting ink and paper printing all these coupons that could potentially not be used. Then I thought of the upshot - buying things I wouldn’t normally buy will allow me and my family to try new foods. It will also keep the fridge and pantry stocked and create more variety in our everyday selections. It may seem like a hassle to search for coupons and deals, but the excitement of saving money is motivation enough for me, especially when an item is on sale at the grocery store and you have a coupon for it.

Talk about feeding the pig!