Couponing

Years ago, couponing was really big. Women went grocery shopping with envelops bulging with coupons. (I'm not being sexist, but I've never seen a man carting around more than a coupon or two.) There were couponing newsletters and articles in magazines about super-savers. Then, after a while, interest faded out.

But now, IT'S BACK! The internet has made couponing easy again. There are sites such as Coupons.com, MoneySavingMom.com, and CouponMom.com that have coupons just waiting for you to print off.

Coupon Mom also has a book, The Coupon Mom's Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bills in Half: The Strategic Shopping Method Proven to Slash Food and Drugstore Costs by Stephanie Nelson [640.73 NEL], which will get you started if you're a coupon newbie.

I know of a young woman who has taken up couponing to help pay off her school loans--and, she's succeeding! She has even started a blog, Couponing With Kari, where she shares her couponing coups.

You needn't be, shall I say, "obsessive" like Kari, but, every little bit counts in today's tough economic times.