This week, I’m offering a crash course in couponing. If you can’t spend time online or browsing through advertising circulars, check out other online savings. These are the best sites for online coupons: Coupons.com, Redplum.com and Smartsource.com. At these sites, you will find coupons for items sold at grocery stores and drugstores.
At Ecoupons.com, you can link directly to your rewards card or membership card. Sam’s Club lets you access your eValues account to see which deals the warehouse chain has linked to your membership.
The coupons are based on past purchases, and the deductions come off automatically at the register.
Kroger has digital coupons that you can load to your Kroger Plus Card. You are no longer able to use both a paper coupon with a digital coupon for the same item at Kroger.
If you shop online, check for a promotional code that can be redeemed at checkout. Go to Couponcabin.com, Offers.com or Retailmenot.com to look for codes. CouponCabin You can download coupons to your smartphone to be scanned at the store. Target and Meijer offer mobile coupons, but check out Cellfire.com, Couponsherpa.com or Mobiqpons.com.
Money-saving apps
■ ShopSavvy: Snap a photo of a bar code with your phone’s camera, and the app searches for the best deal at more than 20,000 local and online retailers.
■ Yowza: Find local deals you can cash in instantly.
■ Shopkick: This can locate good buys based on the stores where you shop. They also reward you with what they call “kicks” that you earn for shopping.
■ ShopNearby: Find what you’re looking for at the best price.
■ CardStar: Carry all your shopping cards on your phone. Use the phone camera to scan a car’s bar code. When you shop, the cashier can scan the bar code from your phone.
■ GasBuddy: Find the cheapest gas in your area. It can search based on your GPS location or for prices in an area.
■ If you shop at one store a lot, search for an app for that store. If there’s an app, it could come with special deals.
Save on phone use
■ Unless you have unlimited calling, extra minutes cost money. Check out your usage for free.
■ Can you waive the activation fees? They’re typically $35. If you ask nicely, you might get the fee waived.
■ Smartphones download data every few minutes. Unless you have an unlimited-data plan, switch off your data feature if you won’t be using the phone for a while.
■ Make use of Freephone 2phone.com. Look up a local access number on the service’s site, dial that number, listen to a 12-second ad, then call to any of 54 countries (mostly landline numbers) for free for 10 minutes.
■ Call your provider to verify that your plan is right. Customer service should be able to tell you if your plan fits your needs or if you’re spending too much. Most will change you to a better plan.
■ Read your bill. If something isn’t right, call your provider or go into the store.
■ Family plans are almost always cheaper.
■ If you use a prepaid phone, read the fine print. If service goes down in the area, let the provider know, because 95 percent of them will give a pro-rated credit when their equipment fails.
Other savings
■ Coupon for $2 off a $10 lunch at O’Charleys.
■ Red Baron pizza has a coupon on its box for 6 extra wings at Buffalo Wild Wings when you buy 12.
■ Get a free Hero Photo Book from Paper Coterie. Enter the code MYHERO
