Guest Post: This post was written by James Lander of the couponing site, Couponing. The site offers couponing tips and fun facts in addition to online and print coupons.

It’s easy to see that today’s coupon shoppers look different from those of the past. Coupon-clippers who sit down with the morning paper finding coupons for the stores and items they shop the most, have become fewer and farther between. Instead, more and more shoppers looking for a discount are finding and storing their deals online.

With a plethora of coupon-centered websites available at the click of a mouse, online couponers can browse thousands of coupons the way they used to with a few pages in the newspaper. These sites compile coupons and offers, usually from national retailers, that can be printed and brought into the store like traditional coupons. Other sites give consumers access to discount codes which can be applied online and allow shoppers to save on items from all over the country. The sheer volume of coupons collected by gives shoppers more opportunities to save than newspapers ever could.

But – couponers don’t even need to be devoted discount-hunters to save big anymore. In today’s fast-changing online world, new and simpler ways for shoppers to save on everything from groceries to vacations are popping up every day.

Today, consumers can have coupons delivered directly to their inbox every day by just about any retailer with a website. This popular personalized service is the biggest change for consumers in the world of couponing in the tech age. Shoppers can sign up with companies and groups they’d like to receive discounts from, and they can wake up every morning to a fresh batch of deals.

By signing up for email alerts from a specific retailer, consumers can receive offers and special coupons available only to registered subscribers. These discounts are often in the range of 10 – 20% off of items from the entire stock, but can be 50% or more during a major sale or special event.

Daily deal sites are one of the most significant developments in the personalization of online couponing in recent years. Rather than dealing in groceries and shopping, these sites more often send subscribers daily emails offering local discounts on everything from happy hours to flying lessons. One of the most exciting aspects of these kinds of deals is that they offer consumers opportunities to get involved in things they would never go looking for on their own. Subscribers can also customize the kind of deals they receive, opting to receive or exclude certain categories of offers.

In addition to the benefit of receiving regular personalized coupons, consumers can usually share these deals with their friends and families. If you receive a special discount code for your favorite store but aren’t planning on making a purchase yourself, you can forward the email on to a friend you know who could use it. On the daily deal sites, a group of friends can all purchase tickets to an event or show and share in the fun at a fraction of the price. This social, sharing aspect of online couponing can help bring people together and create a community in the sometimes-lonely world of online retail.

With the entirety of the Internet at your disposal, the task of getting starting with couponing can seem daunting to novices. Here are a few tips for getting started:

• Browse the larger coupon sites when you’re looking for something specific. With the vast number of coupons available on these sites, it takes serious commitment to sort through them all for the best deals. When you’re just starting out, look for deals on specific items you were already planning on buying.

• Go to the website of a few of your favorite retailers and sign up for their email lists. Many companies will send you a coupon right away just for signing up!

• Sign up for the local daily deals in your area. Over time, assess which deals really interest you and if you’re actually using the coupons you’ve purchased. These deal sites are usually customizable and you can alter the deals you receive to better match your needs.

Little House note: To reduce my grocery bills this year, my goal is to use coupons as often as possible. Do you search for coupons online before shopping?

Across the nation, teachers are preparing their classrooms, parents are purchasing school supplies, and kids are wishing summer would never end! But it always ends and gives way to the beginning of a new school year. The new school year means it’s time to purchase new school clothes since most kids outgrow or wear out last year’s duds. Without spending a fortune, or making your child go to school in burlap sacks, you can follow these tips below to save money on a new wardrobe:

Shop the Sales with Coupons

Frugal shopping means hitting the sales, and better yet, shopping them with a coupon. One of my favorite places to pick up the basics is Old Navy. The quality of their clothing isn’t the greatest, but depending on how quickly your child grows,  basic pieces should last most of the school year. What’s great about this store is they frequently host sales throughout the summer.

Money Saving Tip: Keep your Old Navy receipt. At the bottom there’s a coupon you can use if you return within 5 days to receive an additional percent off.  Buy one or two pieces and return a few days later to purchase the remainder of your child’s wardrobe. Or, take an online survey and receive an additional 10% off your next purchase at Old Navy.

Organize a Clothes Swap

Kids grow quickly, sometimes so quickly they barely have time to wear the clothing you’ve purchased. Friends, relatives, and neighbors with kids encounter this same problem. Before selling the clothes at a garage sale or donating it, compare clothing sizes with your friends. You might find that little Megan’s dress fits your friend’s daughter Trista perfectly. Organizing a clothes swap can be a small or large event; think neighbors, mommy and me groups, or even your child’s school. Picking up a few new-to-you pieces by swapping out the old ones is a win-win situation.

Money Saving Tip: Set some guidelines before getting together. Make sure it’s clear you only want to swap “like new” items, meaning no stained or torn clothing please.

Get Creative at the Thrift Store

Depending on your child’s age, they may or may not like the idea of having their clothes come from a thrift store. One way to work around this is to purchase a few new items on sale at department stores and a few lightly used pieces at a thrift store. If you sew or are crafty with iron-on’s and beads, your child might be more interested in picking out a pair of jeans or a shirt at a thrift store. For younger children, this may not be an issue at all. In that case, you might be able to purchase most of their wardrobe for a fraction of what it would cost buying these same items new.

Money Saving Tip: Jeans are a great bargain at thrift stores. Spruce them up using iron-on’s or sew-on’s and beads.

How do you save money on school clothes?

I’ve been preparing materials for a few summer classes I’m teaching, beginning today, and realized that it never hurts to ask if there is a discount that can be applied to a purchase. Just yesterday I went to OfficeMax to make some copies since the school I’m teaching at is scrambling to begin this summer session. Since I hate opening a class unprepared, I wanted to copy the first day or two’s materials. When I went to pay, my husband blurted out, “Is there a discount for teachers?” (I’m not sure why I didn’t think to ask, but thank goodness for thoughtful husbands!) Well, of course there was; $10 off my $40 purchase!

My husband’s reminder made me realize that I should be asking for discounts whenever we purchase something. It doesn’t have to be a teacher’s discount, it can be any kind of promotional discount or coupon, especially at stores that frequently offer rewards cards. Here are just a few reasons to ask:

• Department store coupons – I don’t get the paper on a regular basis which is where many stores promote their sales and coupons. Asking at the register if there’s a coupon they can scan before checking out can save a bundle.
• Rewards discounts – For some reason, I can’t ever find my office store rewards cards. I’m sure I’ve signed up multiple times, but at the register it’s always a good idea to ask them to look up my phone number or sign up again to receive the discount.
• Large purchases – My husband has been drooling over big screen TV’s for a while, but wanted to wait for the prices to come down and the quality to improve. Now, that this has essentially happened, we’ll be making sure we ask for any promotional discounts before plunking down a wad of cash.

Since I have trouble remembering to ask for discounts, I need to carry a small reminder in my wallet – preferably one that’s taped to my debit card. As I see it, any savings is money that can stay in my account a little longer.

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Do you ask for discounts before checking out? How do you make sure you’re getting the best price?

As a savvy shopper, I make sure to hunt down coupons anytime I can to save money on online or brick-and-mortar purchases. Yet, even some of the most unusual purchases offer discounts with a little deal hunting.

Take for instance, ordering business cards through an online printer or using GoToMeeting to share files and make design selections. One of my clients loves GoToMeeting; he can quickly view my computer screen from his home computer and tell me what he likes or wants to change on his website without having to drive 45-minutes to our home office.

One great place to find all kinds of deals and savings is through DealTaker.com. Not only do they offer savings on consumer goods, they also offer savings on services. If I wanted to sign up for GoToMeeting and make this a permanent way to complete business transactions, I could take advantage of DealTaker.com’s GoToMeeting coupon code offering of 20% off a purchase plus a 30-day free trial. That’s a great incentive! And this comes in handy when I’m traveling or away from my desk for any significant amount of time.

When ordering business stationery or postcards, PSPrint is my online printer of choice. It’s hard to find a coupon for this vendor that doesn’t limit it to first-time only purchases. DealTaker.com offers a large selection of discounts which don’t exclude repeat customers.

I have the ability to search for the best deals by category or by vendor, making the navigating experience easy. Their coupons are easy to use as well and clearly list the expiration date.

DealTaker.com makes finding deals simple and will come in handy this weekend when I rent a car for a short East Coast trip. Having a coupon code available at the touch of a few keys makes purchases less stressful and keeps my pocketbook fuller.

What coupon experiences have you used lately?

I don’t consider myself lucky; I don’t win raffles, my name isn’t ever pulled out of a hat at baby showers during those silly baby name games, I’ve never won the lotto or any monetary contest for that matter.  Yet for some reason I’m a sucker when it comes to coupon surveys, especially the ones offering large gift amounts like Home Depot’s $5,000 gift card they advertise at the bottom of their receipt. For the past five years, I’ve frequented Home Depot many times, too many to count. Like clockwork, I’ve come home, filled out their 10-minute survey and waited patiently for them to contact me.  After countless surveys, I decided it was time to find out if anyone actually won these drawings.

After a little research directly on their survey site, I was able to verify that people actually DO win – four people a year, or one each quarter, make out with a very generous $5,000 gift card. That made me feel a little better, I realized that although I might not be very lucky, at least my time hasn’t been completely wasted.

Of course, Home Depot isn’t the only coupon survey I complete. I also take a few minutes to complete the Chili’s Restaurant survey as well for a possible $1,000 cash prize. Again, finding the past winners directly on their survey site, I noticed that Chili’s gives away about 3 $1,000 prizes a quarter – if I look at this data from a statistical point of view, I have a better chance of winning this reward than a Home Depot gift card.

So are the coupon surveys worth filling out, at least Chili’s and Home Depot’s? In my opinion, yes. For a quick 5-minute survey, the chances of winning may be slim, but at least I was able to verify that these companies do give away their prizes every quarter. Who knows, maybe my luck will change!

Do you fill out receipt or coupons surveys? Have you ever one a cash prize by doing so? Do you think it is worth the 5-minutes of your time?