Some of the best coupons used to come by mail, especially for local businesses, now they come via email and text message.

Sometimes you don’t feel like being bothered by wading through dozens of advertising emails though the payoff can definitely be worth it. Instead of having to search for coupons for items you purchase often and stores that you frequent, sign up for the email list when asked in stores. Some places send too many coupons but for places that you like to shop receiving frequent emails or even text messages about specials or e-coupons isn’t a bad thing.

Instead of having to read through lot of emails, even if you don’t want to read them, I just sort them alphabetically. Generally, the subject tells you whether or not there is a coupon or just an advertisement for a sale. Not interested in shopping at a particular store this week? Then just delete the message.

Also, when you sign up to receive coupons via email, then there are fewer coupons that you will receive via mail and this cuts down on junk mail and clutter at home.

“Coupons were not in vogue during our period of gluttonous consumption,” said Kit Yarrow, a consumer psychologist in San Francisco and an author of “Gen BuY: How Tweens, Teens and Twenty-Somethings Are Revolutionizing Retail.” “But now that it’s once again cool to be cheap, they’re back.”

Using coupons has always been in vogue with many frugal people. Now people who are considered more affluent are using coupons as well.

Even online retailers are offering coupons for things other than discounts or just free shipping. I made a purchase and found a free coupon for an item, in addition to reduced shipping.

Several coupon sites such as RetailMeNot.com offer coupons sent to you via email. Additionally, there are coupons you can receive via your cell phone.

The super coupon clippers have them organized. Keeping them in your wallet for easy access also works well too. Serious couponers might scoff at those who carry them in their wallets or loose in a bag, but one or two coupons can still help you save big.

Shoppers can take charge when you use coupons. Good deals can be made better with the use of a coupon.

24¢

That’s the price I paid for six boxes of True Lemon and True Orange packets. I had three coupons good for one box of any True Lemon product up to $3.99. Since it was only available at certain stores, I went to one of the stores and there was a buy one get one free sale with the store card. I was “purchasing” three and getting three free, which was a savings of $10.47. I was just planning on getting three boxes but since there was a sale, I wasn’t going to leave my free items behind. I could have used the coupons for the lemonade drink mix which only has 8 packets in a box, but they weren’t buy one get one free.

Also, I had an old coupon in my wallet from a body products store. I thought that since it was over a year old that I wouldn’t be able to use it. I asked before I made my selections and I was told as long as the numbers are legible then I can use the coupon. The coupon was for $10 off a purchase of $30 or more and was my reward for completing a telephone survey. The $10 coupon was a better deal than using the coupon for a purse size bottle of free hand sanitizer with any purchase. The hand sanitizer coupon was only worth $1.50. As part of my savings I bought sale items and used a gift card to stretch the savings.

Finally, I received a coupon with my receipt from a drugstore for $5 off any Bic writing product. I generally don’t buy office supplies from a drugstore, but I choose a pair of mechanical pencils with refills of erasers and lead for $4.99 to maximize the coupon.

Coupons can save you money on items you really want and need. Sometimes it takes a little work and occasionally a little luck, but you can save big with them.

For the first time in months, the grocery store was crowded when I went shopping. This is a change. Even on Saturdays stores hadn’t been crowded. This time, a Wednesday night, the store was crowded and not just because there weren’t enough cashiers. There were several cashiers, and even the self serve lanes were open. To me, this is a greater indicator that the economy is picking up again. People are not only buying food, but a significant amount that will make the lines long.

The 20 plus people deep line at the library a few days earlier really showed me that things weren’t really improving economically. When consumers are comfortable spending they will buy their own books, dvds and cds. When things aren’t they go to the library and look for other forms of free entertainment.

Even though the grocery store was crowded, it will still take a long while for consumers to feel comfortable buying extras. Food isn’t an extra but for some reason grocery stores also took a hit in the economy. Lowering prices did seem to help.

The lines at the libraries will continue to be long until more finding is added for additional clerks.  When the libraries were slow two clerks could handle the job with ease, now that people are able to get the latest releases for just the cost of waiting the stacks have become the hip place to be.

Retailers are pairing down some things in addition to prices to try to salvage their businesses. Maybe people didn’t need 12 varieties of everything, if they did, they would go to a specialty store. Though since the consumer is now king and aren’t buying what they used to, retailers  are being forced to pay close attention to what sells and what doesn’t. Coupons, sales, and fewer choices are becoming the norm as retailers are trying to maintain a foothold in this new

The changes are likely to last for years. Even when the economy improves, it will take years before the debts that piled up during the decade-long shopping spree are paid off. Americans are also getting used to their newly adopted frugal habits of saving more and spending less.

“I don’t think we are going to go back to business as usual,” said Steve Sadove, chairman and CEO of Saks Inc., operator of Saks Fifth Avenue.

Getting and staying in the habit of saving more and spending less is a sustainable way to live.

What if you just can’t cut your spending any more than you already have? What can you do? You’ve clipped coupons, make more meals at home and also cut back on discretionary spending.

Stop! If you are making ends meet and have no difficulty paying bills, then stop trying to save more. Save as much as you can without feeling uncomfortable. At a certain point if you save too much it can be addictive like a crash diet but then like a favorite food tempting a dieter, an item may call a save a person’s name and cause the person’s budget to come crashing down around them.

Remember when you were a child and made a list of what you wanted for Christmas? Make a list of things you want. This does not mean that you will buy these things but by making a list much like a shopping list, even if they are things you cannot afford right now will make you consider whether or not the items on your list are necessary. In fact, if you just go shopping online and list items you like, you haven’t spent anything. When you have money and look at the list later, you might look at the list and think  – “why did I want xyz?”

Just as you make a list when you are hungry, you should also make a list when you are planning to go shopping for any other type of item. If you are going to buy jeans have in your mind that you are going to buy jeans, or a black skirt or a bag, stick to that list. Do no go to other part of a store looking for items you don’t need, if you are easily tempted. Some people can go into a store and buy the item they want without feeling pressured to spend extra money.

Economists who have spent most of their time chronicling other recessions say it’s inevitable that pent-up demand will lead to some kind of breakout of spending. The official indicators aren’t there yet, but the stock market is stronger, and the housing market appears to be near bottom, which bolsters confidence.

Breaking out of the saving mold and spending will happen, especially for those who are unaccustomed to saving money, but the conditions must be right. What the right conditions are, have yet to be determined. Saving isn’t a negative part of a budget, it is a necessity like a utility to have a well-balanced spending plan.