Coupon use up by 25 percent

Coupon use for the first half of 2009 is up by 25 percent, according to a recent New York Times report. Americans are on track to redeem some 3 billion coupons this year. By comparison, we redeemed 8 billion during the recession of 1992.

The use of coupons was frowned upon just a few short years ago. But that mentality has changed with the recession. This is low hanging fruit that Clark encourages you to grab. Get your Sunday paper for the glossy coupon circulars and visit CouponMom.com for tips on organization and other key couponing strategies.

And don't overlook the power of brand substitution. If you have a coupon for a brand you're not familiar with, why not give it a try and see if you like it? You may be surprised.

One side note here. There's been a big push to get consumers to use electronic coupons. Clark loaded an e-coupon app on his smart phone, but soon deleted it because he found he never used it. E-coupons have been something of a bust so far. Americans still prefer clipping traditional coupons.