I found an interesting thread over on Hot Coupon World the other day. The topic: What has couponing taugt you?

I thought it was so interesting that I'd ask the question here. Please share... what has couponing taught you? And, also, for our newbies, what do you wish you knew when you started?

The other day, as I was attaching yet another loyalty card onto my key chain, I found myself wondering how popular loyalty programs really are.

Today I have my answer... a new study by a company called COLLOQUY sais that loyalty clubs have seen a 19 percent increase in participation growth since 2007. And participation in the highly coveted 18 to 25 age group demeographic has spiked a whopping 32 percent.

I do think that having the cards for the stores you regularly shop is a fairly painless way to boost your savings. But if the programs are this popular, I can only imagine that we will see more programs coming from retailers in the near future.

Last weekend I was at home in the Philadelphia area visiting my family. I am trying to convince my non-couponing sister to start clipping, so I went to the store with her, binder in tow.

In all, we saved about $28, and she was very impressed. But the funniest part was when we got to the register...

The cashier scanned her store card and then my sister declared, "We have a TON of coupons!" The cashier just smiled and said, "OK." I laughed out loud because I thought it was so funny (we actually didn't have that many coupons, at least by my standards). But it is a good reminder that you should actually talk to your cashier. Especially if you have a rain check to redeem or some other coupon that may be out of the norm, they really appreciate the heads up. Plus, most of them are super nice folks...

It seems that even the slow economy and creeping gas prices can't stop folks from feeling patriotic.

According to the National Retail Federation, 144 million people are planning a celebration for the Fourth. That's up from 139 million last year.

So how about you? What are you planning? And does anyone have some good ideas for cheap eats or cheap entertainment? 

For local product developer Rob Jordan, Monday was a disappointing day. Two products from his Fortis Design company were supposed to be featured on a "Today Show" segment on unique Father's Day gifts. But Evette Rios, who was the guest on the segment simply ran out of time to get to them.

The two products to be featured were the designer duct tape that I mentioned on this blog a few months ago and a magnetic wristband marketed under the name Magwear. It is used for holding things like screws and nails while working on a project and would be a great gift for a handy dad. Rios did try to make it up to Jordan, giving his items prominent mention on her latest Rachael Ray blog post. Locally, you can find Magwear at NOFO in Raleigh's Five Points.

If you did, remember to enter your price information in the new Triangle Price Book!

And a sincere thanks to everyone who has participated so far! You are doing a great job entering information, and we are making great progress toward having a comprehensive price book to share!

I don't know about you guys, but I've been wondering about those new fancy bar codes that have been showing up on coupons for the past few months. The new codes generally feature a "normal" bar code, plus two thinner bar code strips stacked on top of each other.

Well finally, I have an answer. Read this New York Times story about the new GS1 data bars — a more sophisticated bar code.

There are folks who swear by Aldi, the discount grocery chain that specializes in no-frills shopping. There are others who hate it.

Regardless of your feelings about Aldi, the company recently completed a study in which the prices at its stores were compared to those at other stores. They looked at 184 items considered "very important to customers" ranging from apple juice and garden salad to cheddar cheese and frozen chicken breasts. The Aldi basket averaged $315.29 vs. an average $442.26 for the combination of discounters, big box stores and traditional supermarkets on store brands.

Feel free to share your thoughts...

About a month ago, I was blogging about how people were cutting back on Mother's Day gifts. Well now it seems that Dad is not immune to the economy either.

The National Retail Federation is reporting that people are planning to spend $90.89 per person on Father's Day, down from $94.54 last year.

What are you getting your dad? (Don't tell if he reads this blog and knows your screen name!)

As the economy continues to struggle, it's no surprise that retailers continue to emphasize their private label store brands. Some like Food Lion and Wal-Mart are revamping the packaging. Almost all stores are adding new products.

I do like some store brand items, though often I can beat the price using a coupon in combination with a sale on the brand name product. What do you think? Are there store brand items that you actually prefer over the brand name?