Couponing 101: e-coupons

So in the couponing 101 posts, I've talked about coupon inserts from the Sunday newspaper and internet printable coupons.

Another great source of coupons are e-coupons.  E-coupons are loaded to your store's shopper loyalty card (Kroger Plus Card, Giant Eagle Advantage card...) and take an amount off your bill when you buy certain items.

The benefits of e-coupons are that there is NO clipping, sorting, or remembering to bring your coupons required.  All you need to do is load the coupons to your card and remember to bring the card with you!

The drawbacks are that the discount is only applied to one item (like a regular coupon).  For example, if you load a $.50 off Chex Mix e-coupon to your card, and you buy 10 bags of Chex Mix, only the first bag you purchase would get the $.50 off, not each one.  Also, the selection is usually slim--there may only be a dozen or so coupons and they may not be for items you want or need.  Another drawback is that many stores do not double e-coupons, even if they double paper coupons.  Always ask about your store's coupon policy so you know exactly what to expect.

Cellfire is one of the largest providers of e-coupons, and you can load them onto many shoppers cards including stores in the Safeway family and the Kroger family. Another site is Shortcuts.com.

If you are new to couponing, using e-coupons is an easy way to get your feet wet and start saving a little money.  Try it out and see what you think.

 Happy shopping!