Maybe you’re the type of shopper who cringes when you think about those who stock up on groceries at Costco or Sam’s Club, when you know you can pay a lot less by clipping coupons and shopping the sales at your local grocery store. Or maybe you’re the type who would rather head to ALDI or Trader Joe’s, knowing that you can pay a fair price without having to keep track of coupons or what’s on sale that week.

Either way, a shopper who might end up overpaying at a club store, and one who finds under-the-radar deals at a limited-assortment store, have one thing in common – what they tend to value most of all, is simplicity. Coupons in the News article here.

Drinking straws have become the latest cause célèbre among environmentalists decrying the wastefulness of single-use plastic products. Some restaurants are declining to offer them, while some communities are outlawing them. So it seems the everyday straw as we know it may be on the way out.

But don’t tell that to the folks at “Clean Syp Straws”. They’re hoping to make straws relevant again, by turning them into coupon-delivery devices.

So never mind where they might end up after you toss them into the trash – these straws could help you save money while you sip! Coupons in the News article here.

Did you get any good deals on Thanksgiving night? Black Friday? Cyber Monday? The holiday shopping season is in full swing, but there’s one place where many shoppers apparently don’t seem to mind if they don’t get a deal this time of year – the grocery store.

That may come as a surprise to couponers who would never dream of paying full price for groceries, regardless of the season. But a new survey says many grocery shoppers are willing to set aside the coupons and sales in order to splurge for the holidays. Entire article from Coupons in the News here.

If you ever page through an old magazine or dig through grandma’s junk drawer, you just might come across the couponing equivalent of the Holy Grail – coupons that never expire. Never!

Decades ago, brands weren’t so picky about making sure their coupons were only valid for a few weeks or months at a time. Many had “No expiration date” imprinted at the top, so there was no rush and you could use them whenever you got around to it.

So does that really mean they never, ever expire and you can use them even today? You could always bring them to the store and see for yourself. What’s the worst that could happen – the store might decline to accept them?

Well, you could get arrested and hauled off to jail for counterfeiting. That could certainly make your couponing Holy Grail seem a little bit tarnished.  Read the entire Coupons in the News article here.  

The very happiest of Thanksgiviings to all of you.

Join dancers from the Joffrey Ballet production of The Nutcracker on the museum’s Michigan Avenue steps as we reveal our beloved lions wreathed in festive greenery. Enjoy a special performance from mariachi-style band Cielito Lindo and complimentary hot chocolate while you welcome the holiday season. Following the ceremony, head inside the museum for art-filled activities in the Ryan Learning Center.  The Event is FREE; Museum admission for Kids under 14 and Chicago teens under 18 is Free.

Facial recognition cameras are no longer the stuff of science fiction, and cameras that can recognize individual items on grocery store shelves are already in place in Amazon’s cashierless “Amazon Go” stores. So inventors are coming up with all kinds of ideas using similar technology – there are cameras that will alert staffers when a known shoplifter enters the store, and there are cameras that will recognize you as you walk through the doors and provide you with deals based on your purchase history.

Now, building on that idea, a newly-published patent application describes a system in which cameras will recognize you, keep track of your every move in the store, watch what products you look at or pick up, and offer you coupons based on the items you’re browsing.

So is this cool, or creepy?  Entire article from Coupons in the News here.

I don’t know if you’re aware of silicone babies, but it’s a thing and watching them on YouTube (hey it beats cat and dog shaming!) kinda scares me.  Here’s one video of a drinking/ peeing newborn, but lots more pop up, including this video where someone in the UK shows the entire package she’s just received.  If you’re interested, Amazon has an assortment.

You’ve probably heard all about location-based coupons that pop up on your phone when you approach or enter a store. But how about coupons that self-destruct if you leave the store?

Coupons triggered by your specific whereabouts aren’t yet commonplace. But IBM is already taking the idea one step further. In a newly-published patent application, the company gives the concept a new twist, by describing a system that would offer you coupons when you enter a store, or even a specific aisle of a store – and then take them away if you don’t use them right then and there. Read the entire Coupons in the News article here.

If it seems like prices are going up and there are fewer deals available than there used to be, a new report offers a simple explanation for that – stores think we either don’t notice, or just don’t care.

“The Pricing Disconnect Between Senior Retail Executives and Consumers”, by retail technology company First Insight, finds that retail executives are a little out of touch when it comes to knowing what their customers want.

First Insight conducted separate surveys with consumers and senior-level retail executives to compare their perspectives on consumers’ shopping and saving habits. What they found was “a significant perception gap” when it comes to how prices impact consumers’ purchasing decisions.

Both groups agreed that quality was the most important factor in determining what to buy. But while 40% of consumers felt low pricing was most important, only 20% of retail executives thought consumers actually felt that way. Entire article from Coupons in the News here.