In a recent article from abc4.com, consumers are finding it much easier to save a good deal of money in this new digital age.

With the plethora of websites and apps available on mobile devices that offer coupons and coupon codes, saving thousands is more possible now than ever. The article interviewed frugal mom, Nicole White. She had this to say about the way she views discount coupons – “When you have a budget you kind of want to save every penny you have”.

This attitude has caught on in a big way due to technological advances. Coupon use can be considered much more practical now that going through the Sunday paper is not mandatory to find savings. Many people already have their favorite coupon websites and blogs that they utilize to save on the things that they like to buy.

People are starting to realize that they are finding many more ways to get instant savings. This really makes the process so much easier. Sunday paper coupon clipping isn’t going away yet, however. Many retailers realize that a large number of people still prefer to clip their coupons and bring them into their favorite stores.

Unfortunately, some people think that finding and using coupons is just not worth their time. This attitude would probably change once it is realized that you can actually achieve $15/hour or more in savings by looking for and using coupons. The bottom line is that people who always go out of their way to utilize coupons can save thousands of dollars in the course of a single year of shopping.

This is obviously something that is difficult to ignore once it is fully realized. Of course, there are plenty of people that do not need convincing about the benefits of coupon savings considering the current state of the economy. The fact is that now is a great time to be frugal, whether you need to or not.

So whether you are planning on going to your favorite store, or checking out their website, make sure you spend some time looking for a coupon. You might be surprised to see how much you can save, and it will be worth your time.

It should be no surprise to anyone to hear that the use of coupons are at an all-time high.

A recent article from utsandiego.com explains how people are utilizing discount coupons like never before.

It does not take a recession to motivate people to try to save money. Obviously, tough economic times calls for savings wherever possible. Companies are definitely taking note. Coupons are being found in more places and in larger numbers.

Although the article mentions that the Sunday paper is still the best place to find coupons, other spots like in store aisles, on cereal boxes, in emails, and on websites are making coupon savings that much more ubiquitous. This can definitely be seen as a win-win for both consumers and merchants. The article mentioned some staggering numbers; consumers saved 4.6 billion dollars last year. This was 500 million dollars more than 2010.

While newspapers are still the main source for consumers to acquire the coupons that they need, the Internet is becoming a large source for savings as well. Major merchants are starting to find more ways to offer their customer some online coupons. Merchants who make it easy for their customers to purchase things through their website are seeing some large value in making coupons available on the Internet.

Kraft Food, General Mills, and Nestle are some large food companies that are certainly taking advantage of this new medium for coupon distribution. What is great about the Internet is that you do not have to be a giant company to also utilize coupon discounts. Any company can devise of ways to help their customers save some money through coupons available on their main website or other places online.

Many industry experts see coupon use continuing at high numbers even as the economy gradually improves. This makes perfect sense. If companies make it easy for their customers to save money, why wouldn’t they take advantage? This is exactly what has been happening with increasing numbers.

So good for you if you consider yourself to be a savvy consumer. Saving money is becoming easier and easier. Happy shopping.

It seems like there is another daily deal company arriving…daily. Mr. Komodo thinks this is quite amusing. It is almost as sad and amusing as the energy drink market. Please excuse the digression.

One might think that our major banking institutions might consider this fact and not try to enter an over-saturated market. This is apparently not the case, as reported in a recent article from smartmoney.com.

Banks are increasingly offering their customers daily deal-like offers through their online checking accounts. This is not that surprising when you consider the amount of personal consumer information that credit card companies have on their typical customer.

The credit card companies and banks are using the same misleading message that their offers are chances for people to save money. Mr. Komodo can see right through this message and so does the author of the SmartMoney article. The way that the author put it was that these offers are just “one more push for an unnecessary purchase“. Again, the point here is that spending is not saving.

You can’t really blame these companies too much for this strategy. After all, “money makes the world go ’round”. Apparently if everyone were to stop buying stuff, then our whole world would collapse, or something like that.

Economic sustainability is what should be promoted instead. Yes, it is OK to buy things. No, it is not OK to buy something just because you can save 60% on it. Instead, every for-profit company is trying to make as much money possible, regardless of potential consequences. This will always be dangerous in a world filled with not so savvy consumers.

Ideally, coupons should only be used on things that you know that you need and have used in the past. Very few exceptions to that rule should exist. However, it is apparent that the lure of massive discount coupon savings is driving this daily deal market. It will most likely be a question of when, not if this daily deal industry bubble pops. So do us all a favor and be smart with your coupon decisions.