I imagine you love coupons as much as I do or you probably would not be stopping by this site! While paper coupons maintain the highest redemption rate, the number of mobile coupons redeemed is expected to increase more than tenfold this year (up from just 4% in 2009), according to Harris Interactive.

If you want to start using mobile coupons, here are a few sites and apps to check out:

A&P: A&P launched a new program to offer Club Card shoppers mobile coupons by text message. Shoppers go online to opt in and input their Club Card number. Shoppers will then receive texts with coupon codes. Users simply respond and the coupon will be added to their Club Card account, and the value will be deducted when they purchase the item and swipe their Club Card.

Shoppers at sister stores Waldbaums, SuperFresh and The Food Emporium can also access mobile coupons by using a mobile web browser to add coupons while on-the-go to their loyalty cards. These special savings are part of the Red Tag Online Savings program.

Cellfire: Cellfire offers two options. Not only can you access Cellfire.com from your cell phone to add grocery coupons to your loyalty card for stores in the Kroger, ShopRite and Safeway chains, but you can also access mobile coupons to be used at restaurants and local retailers.

Just show your cell phone at check-out to redeem your coupon. I’ll be honest, though, the number of non-grocery coupons on Cellfire is pretty limited. I tried several zip codes and could find little more than coupons for Sears Portrait Studio and 1-800-Flowers.

Coupon Sherpa: The Coupon Sherpa application is available for free to iPhone and iPod Touch users. Just search for coupons and show the mobile coupon to the cashier at check-out to receive your discount.

MobiQpons: MobiQpons is a free app available for the iPhone, Android and Blackberry. Using geo-location technology, MobiQpons will pull up coupons for stores near you wherever you are. Or, sort coupons alphabetically or even by a list of your favorite stores.

Target: Target launched a new mobile coupon program last month. Just text the word COUPONS to 827438. Once registered, you’ll receive up to five text messages per month. Offers can be accessed at check-out by way of a single bar code on your phone. You can also sign up to receive a text when your local ad goes online.

Yowza: It’s impossible to have coupons on hand for every store or restaurant you may be near. Half the time when I go shopping I end up going different places than originally planned. If this is you too, grab this free app to get mobile coupons tailored to your exact location. Yowza is for iPhones and Android phones.

Do you use mobile coupons? Are there any services I haven’t mentioned that you’ve found especially useful? I’d love to hear about your experiences.

Have you signed up for Twitter yet? If not, you may be missing out on coupons and discounts on everything from travel to electronics to shoes and even to groceries! Here are my top-five ways to find money-saving coupons using Twitter. You can also follow me on Twitter at @ErinGifford for daily money-saving tweets.

• Follow Your Favorite Retailers. Where do you like to shop? Jot down a quick list, then head to Google. Type in the name of the retailer and then the word “Twitter.” For example, you might type Kohl’s Twitter into the search box. The very first search result is the link to @Kohls, the Twitter page for Kohl’s.

• Create Twitter Lists. Build separate lists within your Twitter profile so you can see on one screen tweets from all your favorite retailers and be the first to find out about coupons and special deals. Check out my blog post from December called For Holiday Deals, 15 to Follow on Twitter for a bunch of retailers, deal forums and cash-back shopping sites to follow for big-time bargains and coupons.

• Search for the Most Popular Deal Tweets. Head to Summize.com and type in the name of your favorite store along with the word “coupon” to see what pops up. I typed in Gap and Coupon and found a few online coupons and promotions. I also found a few more people to follow who clearly know their way around the deals! Check out CheapTweet or TweetMeSavings for the most popular deal tweets in various categories.

• Use a Money-Saving Twitter Coupon Bot. Try out CouponBot. Send a tweet to @CouponBot with just the name of the store you plan to shop, then wait to receive links to coupons tweeted back to you.

• Track Hashtags. Follow key money-saving hashtags to find great deals, coupons and freebies. A few to follow include #coupon, #coupons, #bargains, #freebie and #freebies, according to Fried Beef’s Tech. You can also enter the hashtags into the search box on your profile to see the most recent tweets.

Do you use Twitter to track down coupons and deals? I’d love to hear how it’s worked out for you.

A 2004 study from the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that the average American family throws away 14 percent of their food – that’s almost $600 a year!

I’ll be honest, this has been me from time to time. In the not too distant past, I’ve had to throw away cookie dough, sweet potatoes and asparagus because they spoiled or passed their expiration date before I got to them.

So, here are a few quick tips to save money by keeping food from going to waste:

• Take stock of the produce, breads, cheese and deli meats you have in your home so you don’t double up on these foods.

• Create meal plans around perishable foods to use them up before they spoil.

• Separate the club packs of meat and freeze them the day you go shopping to keep the meat from passing its “sell by” date.

• Use leftovers in next-day breakfasts and lunches. There are also a variety of cookbooks worth checking out that are dedicated to cooking with leftovers to make your food dollar go farther, including “Love Your Leftovers,” “Use it Up Cookbook: Creative Recipes for the Frugal Cook” and “Second Time Around.”

What do you do to keep from wasting money by throwing away food? Do you have any good second-day recipes? I can’t wait to hear your suggestions!

I was reading an article in the Florida Times-Union called “How to Save Money in 15 Minutes a Week,” which focused on spending 15 minutes a week to clip coupons to save on groceries. True, this is one great way to save money, but I wonder how much more I could save by devoting 15 minutes a day to money-saving activities. Here are a few ways to save (some of these I already do):

• Make a bag lunch for my husband and daughter to take to work and to school.

• Create a weekly meal plan. I know that on nights when I’m not sure what to make for dinner, that’s when the urge to call for take-out is so strong.

• Write up a grocery list. Numerous studies have cited that those who create and stick to a shopping list save far more money on food each week than those who do not make lists.

• Consolidate errands. Stop by CVS after I drop my middle daughter off at preschool. Or, pick up dry cleaning when I go to deposit a check at the bank next door. Grouping errands not only saves on gas, but gives you more time in your day.

• Put on a sweater. I’ll be honest, I do not like to be cold. But I know that if I keep the thermostat where it should be (I often like to kick it up a notch or two), then put on an extra layer, I’ll keep more money in my pocket.

• Don’t warm up the car. I have the tendency to turn on my car, then come back a few minutes later. Sure, it’s toasty warm, but from what I’ve read it’s not necessary, and I’ve only wasted gas.

• Go online for a few minutes to find out which fruits and vegetables are in season. These are the only ones worth buying fresh. Everything else should be bought frozen or you’ll pay a premium.

How else can you spend 15 minutes a day to save money this year? I’d love to hear your tips and suggestions.

Have you been out shopping this week? Me, I’m pretty much exhausted from the pre-holiday shopping, even though I made many of my purchases online.

If you’re desperate to hit the post-holiday sales and your family has already gone home, iPhone moms take note. Here are five must-have apps to have on your iPhone or iPod Touch if you must hit the mall with the tots in tow.

• CHECKout-Shopping Calculator: There are lots of signs touting savings of 60%-off, 70%-off and more, but it’s hard to tell the final markdown price with kids who want to get ice cream right now. This free app will tell you the final price in a flash, and even let you know if it falls within your budget.

• Yowza: It’s impossible to have coupons on hand for every store or restaurant you may be near. Half the time when I go shopping I end up going different places than originally planned. If this is you too, grab this free app to get mobile coupons tailored to your exact location.

• ShopSavvy: If you’ve spied a great deal, just scan the product bar code to see if you can still find the item for less online or at another store. Sometimes all the big sale signs in stores can distract you from figuring out whether you’ve got a real bargain or not.

• Point Inside: This app provides you with indoor maps for hundreds of shopping malls across the country, helping you plan out your trip before you load the kids into the car and before you park at the wrong end of the shopping center.

• Snow Globe Maker: No doubt there will be times when you just need to distract your kids. This great app lets them make their own snow globes on your phone. Once finished just shake the phone to see the snow fall. This app is $.99 in the iTunes store, but the first 10 people with an iPhone or iPod Touch who leave me a comment will get a free promo code to get this app for themselves.

UPDATE (1/3): Here are the ten winners of the Snow Globe Maker promo code. Look out for the code in your inbox.

melissagist@
stretch418@
ssilverbullet19@
vpalmer01@
sara0711@
angeltuc@
angie.mobley@
zumbalisa@
kywildcat07@
drfour@

What about you? What are your favorite iPhone apps? Any must-haves to have installed when out and about with kids?

It’s no secret that more and more of us are eating at home. AllRecipes.com, the #1 food site, recently posted its largest traffic month ever in November with 10.7 million people visiting the site in search of recipes.

The popular food site also found that 80 percent of participants in a recent survey said they’d be cooking at home more in 2009. Meanwhile, 59 percent expect to increase their coupon use in 2009, up from a 55 percent increase in 2008.

To help you save money on your at-home family meals, here are seven easy moves to make to keep money in your pocket this week.

1) Make a meal plan. The easiest way to save money is to plan your meals for each night of the week. When you know what to make at 5 p.m. (and you know you have all the ingredients!) it’s a lot less tempting to order a pizza.

2) Plan weekly menus around what’s on sale. Before you write up your weekly meal plan read through the grocery ads to see what’s on sale. Quick tip: visit Recipe Matcher, enter the on-sale foods and ingredients you have on hand to instantly generate recipes.

3) Choose recipes with a low price per serving. Build meals around less expensive meats like split chicken breasts, pork chops and stew meat. Check out $5 Dinners for meals that can be made for $5 or less (for a family of four), such as Chili Cornbread Cups and Chicken Noodle Soup.

4) Use coupons for your entire meal. Seek out coupons for every component of your meals, like Meal Deal coupons on Shortcuts.com. In one click you can load your store loyalty card with coupons for turkey breast, frozen vegetables, potatoes, crescent rolls, stuffing and holiday cookies. These coupons get scanned and redeemed at check-out.

5) Go vegetarian once a week. Save extra cash by going meatless once a week. Good choices include spaghetti, chili or even omelettes.

6) Opt for frozen foods. Don’t reach for frozen convenience foods, like TV dinners, but rather frozen vegetables and chicken that can be whipped up into a meal. Frozen side dishes, like potatoes, are another easy way to go to save money.

7) Be smart about private label items. In many cases you can save by opting for the private label over a brand name, but by being smart about coupons, you can often get the brand name for less than the private label. Here’s a post I did recently at Blissfully Domestic called Confessions of a Name Brand Shopper on how I save big by not buying private label at all.

How do you save by eating at home? I’d love to hear your tips and advice.