It’s cool to be a cheapskate these days. It’s also easy via the web. But with so many coupon, discount and deal websites available, navigating your way to the best sites to find deals you’ll actually use can be a challenge. Here are a few sites worth looking at. www.ShortCuts.com
This site makes trips to the grocery store even easier by allowing you to select your coupons and load them directly to your grocery store’s loyalty card. No printing, no clipping, no more holding up the queue while you dig through your cute coupon organizer. www.RetailMeNot.com
This site is a fabulous source for online coupons, discounts and promotional codes for merchandise, travel and services and manufacturer’s coupons. It’s easily searchable by store or product and offers a beat-my-price search engine so you can see whether the deal you found elsewhere is truly the best. www.Upromise.com
A must for parents, Upromise offers coupons and discounts at retailers (both big and small) and allows you to earn bonus money for your kids’ college savings accounts (or pay down your student loans) at the same time. Do you use Travelocity? Where do you get your gas? How about groceries? The percentage of cash you earn on each purchase is small but adds up. Download the turbo saver; it will alert you to sites offering Upromise bucks. www.Restaurants.com
The deal works like this: You buy gift certificates redeemable at restaurants in the website’s nationwide network. You’ll pay $10 for a $25 certificate. I often receive email offers for 70 or 80 percent off ($2 or $3 for a $25 certificate).The catch is that some certificates only can be used for dinner, some only for lunch and some only for food. Some also require a minimum purchase that may exceed the gift certificate amount. So be sure to check out each restaurant’s redemption rules. I’ve used these certificates to save both in Kansas City and while traveling and have never had a problem. www.Groupon.com
When you sign up with Groupon, they will email you one super coupon a day. It could be for services, dining or retailers. The deals are tailored to your demographics and your local area. The catch is that you must buy the coupon. Also, you can’t use the coupons for gift certificates, and if you choose to return the items you scored, you get store credit – not cash. At this writing, offers included discounted KC day spas, Barnes and Noble and foreign language courses.
www.Woot.com offers one deal each day. You can also search their deals, sellout, kids, wine and shirt sections for additional products. The catch is that there’s no second chance. If they run out of a particular item, that’s it. No new daily deal appears until midnight.
Introducing www.KCParentDeals.com
KC Parent is excited to announce the launch of KCParent Deals. At www.KCParentDeals.com, you’ll find exclusive deals from our advertisers that will help you save BIG! From half-off at a local play place to buy-1-get-1-free deals, you’ll find yourself visiting www.KCParentDeals.com again and again.
Victoria Pressley is a military spouse, stay-at-home mom and freelance writer.