Learn how to add digital coupons to your paper savings

You don’t need to clip coupons from the Sunday paper anymore. And if you still rely on them for your couponing needs, you’re missing out on many discounts that you must seek out to receive.

Supermarkets, dollar stores and big-box stores increasingly offer deals only through apps and websites. “Coupons are even better when they’re automatically applied at checkout,” says Nathan

Burrow, deals editor for _Wirecutter_. He suggests signing up for retailer loyalty programs, which will often get you these automatic deals on purchases. Also download retailers’ and

restaurant chains’ mobile apps. Those often contain special discounts because the companies want to encourage you to order from your phone. Digital coupon redemptions have outpaced paper

coupon redemptions since 2020, reports Inmar Intelligence, a Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based company that first digitized coupon redemption for retailers, then became part of the move to

electronic coupons for consumers. EMAIL LISTS, TEXTS CAN BE SOURCE FOR DISCOUNTS Joanie Demer, co-CEO and cofounder of the Krazy Coupon Lady, suggests signing up for mailing lists from

trusted retailers. “Just for signing up for SMS text messages with some retailers, you may get a special text offer,” she says. While giving retailers your email or phone number typically

gets you a discount code upon sign-up, their future promotional messages may tell you only when sales are happening rather than giving you access to special deals. So consider using a

separate email account if you want sign-up discount codes without the flood of emails, and unsubscribe from texts if they become a nuisance. Once you figure it out, “clipping” and redeeming

digital coupons is super easy: For many retailers, all that is required is having a loyalty card and registering your number on the store’s app or website. Then, select deals you want as you

scroll through a list on your smartphone, tablet or computer. The store automatically applies those deals at checkout. HOW TO GET THE DEALS WITHOUT A SMARTPHONE Having a smartphone allows

you to add coupons — and comparison shop — while you’re in a store. But even if you don’t have a smartphone or aren’t online, you can often work around the tech to get these coupons. Have a

friend or family member download the coupons from a website to your loyalty card, and the selected discounts will be applied when you punch in your phone number at the register. Also, some

stores ask for a smartphone number to send you a sign-up code as a text message. If you don’t have a smartphone, you can give the number of a friend or family member, then ask that person

for the code they’ve received to complete your registration on a store’s website. Even if your “dumb” flip phone has text messaging, some companies won’t send this code, a security method

called two-factor or multifactor authentication, to such phones because they don’t have the security features common to an Android or Apple smartphone. Some will allow you to enter a phone

number to get a code read to you over the phone. Here’s how to get digital coupons to work for you at major chains that offer them. Though these instructions might seem complicated, you’ll

find that most sites make the sign-up task easy. Once you use digital coupons a few times, it all becomes second nature.