No Clippin', but Still Savin'?

Is it possible to not clip coupons, but still save money? Sure! Through the power of 'e'--eCoupons, that is. Have you even heard of electronic coupons? I had, but hadn't taken advantage of them until a little over a year ago, but they have really made a difference.

Locally, Kroger is one of our stores that uses eCoupons. If you have grocery store that uses a member card at checkout, they probably have eCoupons on their site, too (some have both paper and electronic). When you go on their site, click on the digital coupons link. You'll need to sign in (Don't freak out. All you give is your email, a password, and enter your store card number), then start clicking away. Once you've finished, click "load coupons" and that's it! It automatically loads the eCoupons to your card, so that when you scan it at the checkout, it takes off the discount. No clippin', but you're still savin'. :)

Now, here's where it gets interesting. If you pair your eCoupon with a paper coupon, they'll (usually) honor both. For example, Kroger has Progresso soup on sale this week $0.99 each. Kelly, at Faithful Provisions, posted this deal a few days ago: use the $1 off 4 soups paper coupon and pair it with the eCoupon for $0.50 off 2 and you end up getting them for $0.49, when you buy 2. I mean, call me crazy, but $0.49 is a pretty stinkin' good price to pay for a meal! For those who may have committed to Weight Watchers as a resolution, you'll be happy to know there is a version that has the number of points on the label. Cool!

Also, if you have a Upromise account, did you know there is an eCoupon section on their web page? The way those work is a little different. Rather than taking the coupon amount off the total, it adds that amount to your Upromise account. Just be sure to give them your card at the store, as there's no way to add purchases online later, if you forget. Unfortunately, it seems like every time I'm in Publix, I forget to scan that tag, doggone it!

Just like paper coupons, eCoupons have expiration dates. When you make out your menu and grocery list(s), be sure to note the items for which you have eCoupons. It won't take long before you'll really start to see that when you pair sale items with coupons and eCoupons your savings add up! So keep clippin', but also consider clickin' to see your savings go up and up. :)