Guest poster Cathy of the Chief Family Officer blog writes on Get Rich Slowly about how she saves serious cash on household essentials by playing "The Drugstore Game." The Game is actually a wise combination of manufacturers' and store coupons from Sunday circulars, drug store rewards programs, and buying items you don't think you need right now to get the most value out of your savings. Here's the Game in action:

In the toothbrush example above, a Drugstore Game pro would never pay the full $2.99. Instead, she would probably have a $1.50 off manufacturer coupon. So she'll pay $1.49 and receive $2.99 that she can use to buy more items.

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US-centric: Coupons—they're never around when you get that sudden urge to splurge on electronics. Not so with a 10-percent-off printable discount at Best Buy, which is posted as an image at a U.S. Postal Service "Mover's Guide" site with... Read More »

The TipNut blog happens across a pretty neat solution to keeping your coupons organised, writing your shopping list, and more, using a zippered, binder-style personal organizer/planner. There are, of course, more elegant coupon-only solutions—like the mini-Pendaflex Gina picked up last year—but unwanted planners tend to pop up on holidays and around offices at the calendar year start. If you've got a spare one or just one that isn't getting enough use, you can also store gift cards, write down your personal splurging weaknesses, and note prices for comparison. Hit the link for more ideas and advice on storing and organising coupons.

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US-centric: Newly launched web site RedPlum is hoping to take coupon clipping into the twenty-first century by moving traditional clip-and-save coupons you're used to finding in the newspaper or your mailbox to the point-and-click generation. RedPlum is run by a... Read More »

US-centric:Firefox only (Windows/Mac/Linux): Search one site for a product and get comparison prices inline from several other merchants with the PriceAdvance Firefox extension. PriceAdvance works very similarly to previously mentioned extension Book Burro, but it works with products beyond... Read More »

Windows/Mac/Linux (Firefox): The RetailMeNot Firefox extension integrates your online shopping with coupon aggregation web site RetailMeNot to keep you abreast of deals and freebies available at the site you're currently visiting. Just surf to a shopping site and the RetailMeNot extension will automatically check for coupons and alert you of available deals for that site. We've highlighted the RetailMeNot web site before, including how we use it to save tonnes online, but we've never given the extension a go. It's been a little hit or miss in my tests (sometimes the offers aren't showing up when they should), but in all it could be a nice add-on for the online power shopper. The RetailMeNot extension is free, works wherever Firefox does.

US-centric: Freeware mobile phone application and web site Cellfire delivers paperless coupons to your mobile phone so you'll never have to clip coupons again. With Cellfire, you can find a coupon for the business you're patronising right before you check out. Just download Cellfire to your mobile device or point your cell browser to Cellfire's homepage after signing up (tons of devices are supported, either through the download or the web site) and you've got access to coupons to anywhere from Ben and Jerry's and Subway to Hollywood Video and Virgin Megastore. To use a coupon, just flash your on-phone digital coupon at checkout. I haven't tried Cellfire yet, but if the inevitable blank stares and laughter one might expect to receive on holding up a cell phone and asking for a discount doesn't bother you, Cellfire looks like an interesting way to save a buck.