So on Friday, I went to the local Walgreen Drug (no, I won't misuse an apostrophe) to buy Zicam to ward off a cold. I spent $20, and they gave me a $2 coupon. I went again today, spent another $20 on similar products, and got another $2 coupon. And yesterday, Target sent us a coupon for $10 off a $100 purchase.

It seems stores are trying to lure us in. If you're smart, that means savings.

In the case of Walgreen Drug, we'll use the coupons on non-FSA stuff. The chain isn't exactly known for low prices on consumer staples, but if you can get $2 off with few strings attached, then it's worth it. Especially if you have to go there anyway because it's cold season.

In the case of Target, we made ourselves a list of things we needed and stuck to it. We bought two cans of formula instead of one (we'll use it), and stuff like furnace filters that we'll use eventually anyway, and tracked it as we went along. It wasn't long at all before we had $110 worth in the cart--a bit more than we needed, but that's OK. Everything we bought was either on sale, or cheaper at Target than wherever else we'd buy it.

We got a coupon from either Petco or Petsmart this week too. So we'll use that to go stock up on dog food--once again, something we're going to need eventually anyway, so there's no harm in buying three bags if that's what's necessary to get the coupon to kick in.

So we saved ourselves some money at Target. And we'll save a little at two other stores too in the near future.

It's not a lot, but every dime counts. Especially in this economy. So if the stores near you are sending you coupons (or printing them for you at the register), use them. Be smart about it, but use them.