1. "Let Your Fingers Do The Walking, It's a Snap"
Remember that ol' Yellow Pages jingle? Well, basically the concept is right there - "at your finger tips"! I love my iPhone, what can I say. The following Coupon Apps can help you organize and store your coupons as well as compare prices on items.
RedLaser for iPhone or Android - this app lets you quickly and easily scan bar codes to help you know if you're getting the best deal available. Using your phone's camera, you point at the product bar code to get a list of prices from nearby stores. The other cool thing this app does is helps you find books at local libraries. If you're like me, why buy the book if you can get it from the library? Along with email capability to check out items later, RedLaser allows you to check out food allergens and even lets you enter the barcode manually if you're having trouble scanning it.Card
Star - this app is available for iPhone, Android, Blackberry - I don't know about you, but I like taking advantage of all the Rewards Programs out there - however, keeping track of my cards (which are many now) isn't my favorite thing. I have a long 'business card folder' that I was keeping my cards in (alphabetically) and then I had a lanyard with all the little keychain size cards on it (so I didn't bog down my key ring with them) - however, not all cards had the keychain size available and it was a pain toting around the larger folder. This app allows you to keep track of your rewards cards. You just enter your information and then let the sales clerk scan the bar code from your phone so you can receive your rewards.
Groupon - this app is available for your iPhone or your Android.Purchase, manage, and redeem Groupons directly from your mobile device.
- Browse unbeatable deals on local adventures
- Get any deal with the touch of a button
- Search nearby Groupons using GPS
- Keep track of all your Groupons by location, date and expiration
- Save trees with paperless redemption
I've spent countless hours combing the Internet, newspapers and magazines for the best deals. These days - why would I? Everyone and their mother has a blog or website dedicated to saving money with coupons and rewards programs - so I just let them do the work for me!! Some of my favorites are:
RedPlum.com - I get emails from them with coupons and freebies.
Coupons.com - Like RedPlum.com I get emails from them with coupons and deals for my area. Since I can access my email from my iPhone I always have a reference to these deals if I find myself needing access at the spur of the moment.
I just read in a magazine about a site called www.ppgazette.com which aggregates coupons from the two I've listed above along with SmartSource.com (which I've used before, but for some reason I always have trouble printing from their site, so I stopped using them) and Valpak. Valpak is a source I've also used, but not online - I get coupons by regular mail from them. I have not used this site yet, but will be checking them out.
The coupon aggregator I've been using is called Yowza and it's an app on the iPhone. I think it may be primarily for iPhone's, I'm not sure - there may be something similar for other smartphones, but I'm not sure. This app is great! It allows me to create a list of all my favorite stores and updates me on coupons available. So if I'm at a particular store for a last minute find - I check the app first, make sure I'm not leaving any money on the table - and if one is available I can have the cashier scan the coupon right from my phone. Sweet!3. Paper Coupon Organization
I still get paper coupons, for sure. Facebook is a great source for retailers trying to get their lion share of consumers time and money. Most of the coupons come to you in the mail. I also get coupons for food etc. as a result of birthday clubs. I still keep my coupon wallet which is organized alphabetically by product name. I keep paper coupons with "no expiration" date in a separate section lumped together. The coupon wallet is my favorite - I've had it for a VERY long time; it was given to me from my wonderful freelance friend and frugal living mentor, Anjie Henley. Anjie hosts her own frugal living website and blog: http://www.flybu.com
With much of my food purchases now being done at farmer's markets, 99cent Stores and local farming sources, my need for coupons has decreased. My consumption of products from the retail shops has decreased as well and has been replaced a handful of products with multiple uses. I shop thrift stores and second hand shops. My couponing habits have changed - I've streamlined and simplified to help bring my frugal living desires into balance with my desire for a more quality lifestyle spent enjoying my time and resources rather than just managing them.
No comments:
Post a Comment