Opportunities abound for baby boomers to cut costs with Internet coupons

Although millions of baby boomers use the Internet, they may not be aware of how to use it to locate coupon codes and printable coupons to slash their food bills and retail store costs.
 
I recently received an e-mail to sign up for a coupon Web site. However, being a cautious-consumer type, I thought I’d do research before responding. I’m glad I waited.
 
A host of new Web sites offering coupons and online promotions are flooding the Internet, according to the article “Five Best Coupon-Clipping Web Sites” on SmartMoney. While these sites offer a wide array of discounts, they're also causing confusion among shoppers, making it difficult to figure out what are the really good deals and which coupons are duds.

SmartMoney interviewed consumer advocates and deal hunters to develop this list of worthwhile Internet coupon sites:
 
Coupons.com
 
CouponCabin.com
 
CouponMom.com
 
RetailMeNot.com
 
SmartSource.com
 
Several of these sites offer short video clips on how the coupon offerings work.
 
When looking through these Web sites to see what’s offered, I saw that, like newspaper coupons, the grocery store coupons were mostly for processed foods, over-the-counter drugs, paper products, and cleaning supplies. While saving money on these items is great, boomers shouldn’t rely on processed food to be a mainstay of the diet.
 
The CouponMom.com site featured Stephanie Nelson, founder of site, in a shopping spree where $137 worth of groceries cost $25. Nelson used coupons for items that were on sale. She also buys three copies of the Sunday paper so she can get three coupons for each item she wants to buy. When Nelson bought three or four items, she was able to get another one for free.
 
Nelson’s “super shopping trip” reminded me of the reports of coupon queens from days past.
 
Despite the shortcomings of coupon offerings, it’s worth it to try out Internet coupons as grocery prices continue to rise to see if you can save money.
 
September is National Coupon Month.
 
Last year, consumers saved $3 billion dollars with coupons, according to About.com.
 
Coupon users report an average of 7 percent savings on their grocery bill with coupons, a survey by the Promotion Marketing Association reports.
 
The number of American adults using online coupons rose by 39 percent, to 36 million, between 2005 and 2008, according to a survey conducted by Simmons/Experian Research and Coupons Inc. Online users account for nearly one-quarter, 24 percent, of the total 148 million consumers who use coupons, compared to 22 percent market penetration as of last year.