The good old barter system, is alive and well especially among couponers.

If you get a chance to view Refundle Bundle, www.refundlebundle.com there is a whole page dedicated to about 40 people who want to trade, mostly coupons and related items. Most traders use the following lingo: trade coupons 1-4-1, which translates to: trade coupons your 25 for my 25, or your 35 for my 35, one for one.

It’s fun to try a few traders. Some close by, others from other cities to see what coupons they have available.

I used to trade during my bowling league. Each of us brought our unused coupons, placed in an envelope with our name, and passed them up and down the lanes. You took out any that appealed to you.

Another great trading time is during play dates for the little ones. We’d meet at McDonald’s once a month for the kids to play and for us to trade coupons and coupon gossip. Everyone had a great time.

Even the Brooklyn Public Library had a coupon trading section. Begin one at works, in the library, at a group center. Not only will you save money, you’ll probably make some new friends too.

Stop and smell the roses. How does that apply to the supermarket.

About 10% of all products in the supermarket are specially marked packages. I’ll bet that the marjority of these great deals are passed up.

A specially marked package bears some type of an extra bonus as part of its makeup. These could include:
• A peel off coupon
• Extra product at no extra charge
• A buy one get one free (BOGOF) as a bundle pack
• A free toothbrush on the container of toothpaste.
•
Here’s what I just found:
$15 in savings on a Tropicana 64oz. container
Free toothbrush on Crest
Free travel bottle on the Listerine
$1 Peel off coupon on the 2 liter coke
$.55 coupon on Hefty Bags
Extra bags inside Ziploc
2 free Quaker Oatmeal inside the instant box
Full purchase price refund on Clorox 2

I could name many more. How many have you spotted lately? If you become aware of that these bonuses exist, you’re more likely to be alert when shopping. If you find some, post them on the discussion board: www.selectcouponprogram.com to share with others.

Over the 37 years that I have been refunding, there have been lots of changes in finding and submitting the offers. The biggest is of course the internet. When I began everything was via mail, no shortcuts.

But times have changed. Probably 1/3 of all rebates are now found on the internet, and about ½ of those can be submitted online directly.

For example at Staples.com I can submit rebates directly online. It takes about 1 minute. The reason it’s so easy is that all my information has been preloaded through my frequent shopper card.

RiteAid.com has a wonderful program too. Throughout each month you enter receipts, and at the end of the month submit the total. You receive one refund for all your purchases. These can sometimes be as much as $500. Best of all unless you don’t have access to a computer everything is done online.

Other refunds are printable off the site. You can then submit them with the correct proofs of purchase. The check, free gift or free product coupon will be mailed directly to you.

This is such a benefit since years ago rebates were distributed through the supermarkets, and once all the forms were gone, you were out of luck. This method gives everyone an opportunity.

www.Refundlebundle.com lists about 400 different refund offers each month. Have a look at the discussion board on our site for almost daily updates of rebates and freebie.

The horizons of savings are almost limitless and what a boon for the consumer especially the saavy shopper.

Upromise was started at least 10 years ago as a form of a college savings program. You can enlist friends, grandparents and others to help contribute to your student’s long-term goals. I started one for Adam years ago, and it’s easy to sign up.

Just go to the web site: upromise.com and have all of your frequent shopper cards ready. Each time you purchase many of the 1000’s of items listed, you earn money which goes into a 529 account.

Give it a shot, and share this information to help others get started too.