For decades, we’ve been used to seeing coupons in the Sunday paper, and much more recently, seeing discount coupons in email newsletters and weekly circulars, But what’s this you hear about Groupon? This new service, that appears to be sweeping the nation by storm, sounds like nothing more than a fancy name for coupons, right? Well, maybe…

Groupon is what they now call a “daily deals” website, where you can get a brand new discount each and every day, often at levels beyond your typical grocery store flyers. In fact, Groupon deals are so advantageous that they’re often discounted by 50% or more.

So how does it work?

When you visit Groupon, you’ll be asked to enter your zip code and sign up for an email newsletter. When you do, you’ll be emailed a brand new deal, each and every day. Unlike many email deals, the Groupon deals are for local stores in your area, which means that each one offers a potential to save some major cash.

You’ll find deals for everything from movie tickets to spa packages, and everything in between. And since you get a new one every day, there’s no worry about trying to save it for later; you either use it, or lose it.

The best part about Groupon is that the deals are free, and there’s no cost for signing up. If you are a business owner in need of a new set of leads, Groupon works great for getting new customers in the door. The business gets new sales, the customers get a great deal – everyone wins!

How to Redeem a Groupon

When you find a Groupon that interests you, you’ll be given the opportunity to click a link and purchase live, right on their website. When you do, you’ll get a redeemable coupon or coupon code that you can bring to the retailer. While you’ll often get them instantly, there are some cases, such as time sensitive Groupons, where you’ll get the deal at a later time. Either way, don’t worry, your deal is safe. Just make sure to use it before the expiration date, if there is one.

The beautify of Groupon is that it is localized, niche based, and new every single day. There’s also no obligation, so if you get tired of receiving emails, you simply opt-out and move on. If you find that you like daily deals, then check around, because you’ll find that thanks to the success of Groupon, there are now dozens of similar services, each with fantastic deals of their own.

Though most mortgage rates vary by location and bank, the market tends to dictate the high’s and low’s based on a variety of factors, the greatest of which is the interest rates set by the Federal Reserve, in the form of prime rates.

Usually, home loan rates are set just above the prime rate, so the lower the prime rate goes, the lower home loan rates go.

The problem with relying on the prime rate to signal when to buy a house is that the prime rate is lowest when the economy is at its worst, such as the period in the latter 2000’s, and even in 2011. The good news is that when buying a home when the economy is down means you’ll likely get a much better deal, with the downside being that it’s hard to tell if you’re buying during a decline in home values, or if they are at the bottom and trending upwards.

Either way, if you plan on buying, then the best way to get low home loan rates is to have good credit and a low debt to income ratio. In other words, pay off what you can on your credit cards and loans before applying for a mortgage. Doing this will also help you get approved with more purchase power.

While it’s quite typical to see lower rates on 15 year and variable rate mortgages, the most popular package is a 30 year fixed rate loan, where you might pay an additional percent of interest, but will have the luxury of 30 years of fixed payments.

Going with an adjustable mortgage might sound good, but usually the rates skyrocket after the first five years, forcing homeowners to refinance or sell because the payments have gotten beyond their control.

There are several websites that list current home loan rates, but most banks and credit unions post them both online and in their local offices. As of 2011, the lowest rates are just over 3%, while the average is around 4-5%. For those with bad or damaged credit, rates will hover closer to 5-10%, depending on credit score and money down.

If you’re really concerned about getting the best rate on your home purchase, then ask your lender about paying down the rate and/or points. Usually, most banks will give you a reduce rate in exchange for a larger up front sum.

When the economy is tight, it’s likely that most people have tightened their belts as far as they can go. Where else do you turn when you’ve already cut out the lattes, canceled your cable, and started riding your bike to work?

Believe it or not, next to housing, the single biggest money saving opportunity (and expense) for most families is in the grocery department, where buying in bulk and saving money is the way to go.

The problem with buying in bulk though is that the stores selling bulk items intentionally mislead you into thinking you are getting a deal when you aren’t. The trick in buying bulk isn’t always in buying the biggest hot sauce jar, or the largest pack of toilet paper, but buying selectively based on a few key factors.

1. When buying food items, shop for the cheapest price per ounce, rather than per jar or container. A jumbo box of cereal might look like a deal until you realize that the 4/$5 special is cheaper by the ounce.
2. Use coupons when you can, and use the extreme coupon shows as an example of how to do it right. When you get double coupons or can buy in bulk to build a negative tally on the grocery bill, then you’re doing the right thing.
3. Don’t buy things you don’t need, especially if they go bad before you get to use them. Buying in bulk and saving money has a lot to do with buying goods that can be stored for long periods of time.

Some of the most popular items to buy in bulk are:

• Shampoos, deodorants, razors, and other bathroom supplies.
• Toilet paper, paper towels, and tissues.
• Canned goods, such as soups and vegetables.
• Drinks, such as water, soda pop, and juices.
• Dry goods, such as grains, legumes, and cereals.

If you can master even a few of these categories, then you should be able to knock 10-20% off your annual grocery bill, and if you add good coupon and circular watching habits, then you might be able to save another 10-15% on top of that.

In other words, if you start buying in bulk and saving money, you could save over 30% on your grocery bill. For a family spending $1,000 per month, that’s an extra $300 to spend on entertainment or paying down debt.

Unless you live under a rock (in which case you are likely not affected anyway, so go back under there and be safe), you have heard of the economic crisis the United States is currently experiencing. This crisis is shaping up to be the worst thing we have seen since the market crash in the 1930s, and it is having a profound adverse effect on the economy of the rest of the world, as well.

When the US housing bubble burst, the crisis began, and it began reaching critical mass in 2007, with 2008 seeing the collapse of large firms like Bear Stearns and the federal takeover of the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, known as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, respectively, among other major events like The Fed’s emergency bailout loan to AIG and Merrill Lynch agreeing to sell itself to Bank of America.

There are many different aspects to this economic crisis, and for each of those aspects, there are multiple adverse effects and reactions that are rippling out across the planet, but the very base cause is the subprime mortgage issue. Increases in loan incentives like easy initial terms and the trend of rising housing prices in previous years led borrowers to take on high or difficult mortgage payments under the impression they would be able to refinance into a mortgage with more favorable terms rather quickly. This coupled with the risky lending practices of the mortgage originators like giving loans to people that would otherwise be considered unworthy of credit, resulted in high default rates when housing prices started to drop and refinancing became more difficult.

Basically, people that could not actually afford it were encouraged to take on high mortgages, being led to believe they would be able to quickly refinance and get the payments down to a more manageable level while still acquiring a nice home. Once housing prices began to fall and refinancing therefore became more difficult, people were unable to keep up those high mortgage payments and began defaulting on payments. The foreclosure rate skyrocketed with over 1 million properties in the US being subject to foreclosure activity in 2007. It is not yet clear where this will end and if the actions the federal government is taking to try to salvage things will work, but there are small signs that the stock market may be recovering, albeit in small increments.