It’s the weekend and time to get the Sunday paper for coupons… Here’s a video that shows you how to really maximize your coupons. There are many women who are called “the coupon queen” but they all seem to have the same tricks, using coupons when items are on sale or taking advantage of freebies.

Are printable online coupons worth it? Several sites offer coupons that you can print at home for discounts. Though touted as a time saving measure, scrolling though pages and pages of online coupons will not necessarily save you time. It is easier to flip through the coupons that come in the  newspaper and clip what you want. Even when you print the online coupons for store use, there is a lot of paper that is wasted from your printer.

Online coupons that you use for online purchases do not require any waste of time or paper. I have stopped searching online coupon sites that allow users to print coupons because rarely are there coupons available that I use. Instead, I look at the coupons that come in the Sunday paper and pair them up with items that are on sale that week. Or, I will go directly to a product website to see if there are any coupons offered there.

Finding online coupons that are usable is difficult and there has also been the problem of people forging coupons and passing them off in stores. Coupon fraud is on the rise. On several occasions I have seen fraudulent coupons posted near the register at Target and grocery stores showing the coupons that the stores no longer accept. Some stores have even stopped accepting printable coupons, from their own websites, since too many were altered or used without limit. This trend has forced several companies send you a coupon in the mail rather than allowing consumers to print a coupon and go to the store. The official coupons have a security seal on them with a silver rainbow hologram so that the coupons are more difficult to forge. When a manufacturer sends you a coupon that you have registered for, you are often limited to receiving just one in a certain period of time.

Even coupons that are printed legitimately may be overused or altered. Then everyone else suffers.

Two years ago this wasn’t a problem, because people didn’t care about coupons. Then when the economy took a nosedive, many people turned to coupons. Online coupon codes may be passed around but when a retailer decides to stop honoring the coupon or if too many people have responded to a sale, then a retailer can change the code. With a paper coupon it is not as easy to stop people from using a coupon.

The trend shows no signs of stopping. “It’s going to get worse for a while as the economy continues its downward trend,” says Bud Miller, executive director for CIC.

Kelly Hlavinka, a partner at loyalty agency Colloquy, agrees economics contribute to rising fraud. “Customers are looking for good value right now, and coupons – especially in the consumer packaged goods space – are the primary way customers can get value,” she explains.

The forecast for back to school shopping is looking bleak for retailers. This year, numbers are predicted to decrease by 7.7% for elementary and high school purchases.

According to the National Retail Federation’s 2009 Back to School Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, the average family with students in grades Kindergarten through 12 is expected to spend $548.72 on school merchandise, a decline of 7.7 percent from $594.24 in 2008. 

This year’s back-to-college and back-to-school spending combined will total $47.50 billion.

Is it any surprise that many people will shop the sales? Maybe not. This morning, I heard this information on the radio and a suggestion was made to buy school supplies at office supply stores instead of drug and discount stores. Buying school supplies at one place will not save you any money. Some stores are advertising “loss leaders” to get you in the store for a short while. Case in point, CVS offered two pocket folders for 5¢, limit 10 with your store card just for the first three days of the sale. After that, the folders would be 50¢ each. Target had Crayons on sale but the price wasn’t advertised.

Even if there is a list of school supplies, go through and see which things are optional and which you definitely need. Buying everything at one place was never an option when I was a child. We always shopped the sales. Now that people are using money more wisely, it is vital to bundle errands, have someone else (a relative or friend) buy some to get around purchase limits – unless you are buying alcohol children can make purchases as well.

Unless there is a sign that says no rainchecks – ask for one. Or if there is supposed to be a shipment coming in at another time, ask when the store will get the shipment and restock the shelves. Occasionally there are more items in back, stores may wait to put them out until after the sale has ended or only receive a small shipment. Go early when items are on sale (if you can) – don’t wait until Friday to shop for items listed in the Sunday circular, many products will already be sold out.

Hunting for back to school bargains will be more of a necessity this year than ever. Looking around and starting early will give you a greater chance of getting the best deals.

Be a pest.

When you notice that something in wrong on your bank statement or credit card statement, politely ask for an inquiry. Sometimes you may have to ask twice but ti will work. Two months ago I found fraudulent charges on a credit card statement, then I found double billing from a company I actually placed an order with. The fraudulent charges, I had to place an inquiry twice, but while the charges were being investigated, I didn’t have to pay interest on those and checked frequently to see how the status of the inquiry was going.

The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Persistence pays off, but politeness along with assertiveness helps. An overly aggressive person can escalate a situation and make it difficult to get someone to help you.

Assertiveness and aggressiveness are two sides of the same coin but can evoke reactions from different ends of the spectrum. A polite assertive person might be able to get a situation rectified in their favor. An aggressive person who seems to be a bully or boorish (think ugly American) may not be able to have a situation resolved in their favor.

Assertive behavior also deals directly with the person or company that can resolve the issue. You may feel aggravated by having to repeat a situation but by maintaining a pleasant demeanor and you will be able to have your situation resolved. Recent situations where people called 911 because of problems in fast food restaurants or other retailers indicates that shoppers weren’t using assertiveness, they were being aggressive.

Complain to the right person. Generally, the cashier or first person you speak to isn’t the person who can help you, if you have a serious issue. Ask to speak to a supervisor. Keep asking until you get the right person to help you. When calling on the phone, take notes including the time you called, and the name of the representative. Ask for what you want – a refund, a repair, a new item. You may not get it but by asking politely, you are closer to getting what you want than if you are aggressive and get angry quickly.

Telling your problem to someone who cannot help you, such as on an anonymous complaint site does nothing to resolve your problem. Using the sites will help warn others of potential problems, but many situations are different.

Whose fault is affluenza?

“The middle class is in trouble because of ‘affluenza,’ ” said Thomas Naylor, a professor emeritus of economics at Duke and co-author of a book of the same name. Affluenza is “a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more,” the book says.

Buying and spending because you have money that does not need to go toward a pressing need is one reason that affluenza has taken hold. Another is that with the rise of credit and debit card use over the past couple of decades, not having cash in hand to know exactly how much money you have made it too easy in some cases to buy unaffordable items. This does not mean that buying unnecessary items is bad, being unable to afford them is bad.

Media outlets have also persuaded people that they can have the good life. Having the good life and affording the good life are different concepts. As much as I love coffee, the only time I buy coffee daily is when I am vacation, even when I worked near coffeeshops and passed several daily. On television people buy coffee all the time and hang out in coffee shops. No one ever makes changes in their budget because of spending too much on coffee. This is a small area of spending in life. There are other areas that take a toll on your wallet. Buying a designer clothes and accessories because they are advertised in a magazine can be a splurge or it can be part of a lifestyle. If it is part of a lifestyle and has no effect on your budget you are either one of the rich and famous who may received the item for free as a walking advertisement or just rich and can afford to buy these things.

More, more, more. Though people are espousing saving money, it is often to be able to afford what is necessary for them.  Prices did decrease in certain areas of spending for most Americans due to the decrease in costs for certain items, though housing is must more expensive than it was ten or twenty years ago. Gasoline, though less expensive now, costs more as does public transportation for the non-drivers.

Spending on necessities has also taken a large chunk out of a family’s budget. Overspending and credit card abuse did occur for some people, but in other areas of a budget, the increase in necessities, without a decrease in desire for wants has affected middle class affluenza.