Over the past six months our family has been delving into the world of couponing. It varies week by week depending on how maniacal I let myself get but we usually save around $8-10, this week we saved $20 using in store coupons we picked up while shopping. The show Extreme Couponing has almost made me call the cable company and beg forgiveness for our years of absence if only they will let me watch that show.
For the regular grocery list there is a wealth of information out there on printable coupons, store deals and mind blowing combinations that result in free products. However only occasionally do the mainstream coupon sites come up with a coupon that helps with the extras in life, a book, a game, a CD. Sure there are Borders rewards for those of us who don’t boycott such institutions, but I like the extra deal. With weekly sales flyers a must for every store these days I long since gave up paying full price for anything “extra” but still, a coupon would be nice. Already in the short lived life of extreme couponing, that void may be coming to its end. On one of my casual jaunts around the internet recently, I stumbled across a site you may have seen before, but the theory behind which, may potentially be the next big thing for coupon junkies (ahem).
The Hasbro coupon site. Hasbro! As in Star Wars, PlayDoh, oh and just about every movie franchise toy there is, www.playsaver.com will redirect you to the site.
At first glance I thought, what a useful tool for mums. To have a coupon for the fun stuff as well as the essentials, this is the stuff dreams are made of. Then I noticed an added bonus; no sign in feature. They didn't want my email address or the birth dates of my children, all they wanted was for me to select and print. No feedback, no zip code, nada. This my friends is the wave of the future.
Hmm, where's the catch?
Stemming from a grand tradition of well placed advertising during Saturday morning cartoons here we have the coupon site aimed directly at our kids. They don't need to sign in as themselves or sign in as us in order to get what they are being tempted with. Just click, print and hand to mom! For those of us who worry, there’s even a pop up screen just before they get to the good stuff asking if your kids have checked with you first. I’m sure that when he’s old enough Toby will not just click straight past that but will read it like I did, eventually!
They offer savings on traditional games; 
Toddler fodder;
Action figures;
And did I mention Star Wars?
Sure this kind of site could be dangerous in the hands of the wrong kid (or husband) but whoever came up with this idea is a genius. Yes they will probably get us to spend more money through this, but it’s a small price to pay for a lifelong lesson in frugality. In years to come as I teach my son the value of money, as he rakes leaves, shovels snow and cleans his room it will be great to add into his work ethic this idea of saving money whenever you spend. Yes you can have that toy, but do some research, with a coupon you can have that toy and those Pokemon cards. If instead of an extra purchase I can encourage him to bank the money he saves, well that‘s just icing on the cake.
I read a post recently about a woman who promised her children a portion of the profits if they could cut the family electricity bill in half: They did. Her son checks the electricity meter every day as a way to track their progress. In a world dominated by credit it's nice to have another arsenal at my disposal for teaching financial responsibility. I look forward to other companies following Hasbro’s example in the future, now I’m off to add to the Star Wars stash with my coupon!
