No Matter How You Say It

I was watching Good Morning America this morning, and they had a segment on saving money by using coupons. Now, the first question is: how do you pronounce that word? Is it CUEpon? Or COOpon? They asked the audience, and it sounded like it was pretty evenly split between the two pronunciations.

No matter how you say it, using coupons can really save you a lot of money. I've heard that some people don't want to bother with coupons, maybe because they think it's just too much trouble or even because they think it's embarrassing to use them. I can't figure that last one out. If someone is willing to hand you money, is it embarrassing to use it? I don't think so! Not using a coupon on something that you would buy anyway is like throwing money away.

However, using a coupon just because you have it isn't necessarily going to save you money. The key to using coupons is to combine your coupons with the store sales and, if possible, with store coupons, too. Pile those savings up to get the best deal, and if you can get multiple coupons, stock up when you get a great deal. For instance, a couple weeks ago I got two cans of mousse, a bottle of hairspray, and a bottle of shampoo for FREE by combining the sale price, manufacturer's coupons, and the store coupon. You can't beat that.

Coupons are available in many places. My main source is the Sunday paper, and I'm trying to do a better job at looking for online coupons, too. Coupons are even available for online shopping, so there's no excuse for not using them. There may not be a coupon available for the online store you want to purchase from, but don't you owe it to yourself to at least look first? Wouldn't you hate it if you bought something from Hot Topic and then found out that there's a Hot Topic coupon for free shipping? I know I would.

I'm probably a little over-obsessed about saving money, but in this economy, can anyone really afford not to be?