Here are a few simple steps that can help families and consumers ease their financial burden by stretching each dollar further using Internet technology. Specifically, by shopping online and taking advantage of the savings available through online coupons, loose financial habits can be successfully managed.

Starkville, MS (PRWEB) January 4, 2008 — As the New Year approaches it’s wise to adopt a practical plan for implementing those well-meaning New Years resolutions. This year, given recent media attention to the troubled mortgage market, financial goals are expected to be very popular.

With millions struggling financially, it’s a sad commentary on our society that so many haven’t been taught the benefits of basic thrift and fiscal responsibility. However, it’s never too late to learn.

Here are a few simple steps that can help families and consumers ease their financial burden by stretching each dollar further using Internet technology. Specifically, by shopping online and taking advantage of the savings available through online coupons, loose financial habits can be successfully managed.

1. Sit down and make a list of where you shop and what you buy. If you don’t know where and what, you can’t map out a winning strategy that maximizes the advantages of the Internet and coupons. Be warned though, Internet coupons (usually called coupon codes) are like regular coupons so if you buy something just because you “have a coupon” for it, you’re not really saving money.

2. Once your list is completed, plan your shopping needs around an online coupon site such as Shopping-Bargains.com. There you can research which stores have coupon codes and what discounts are available to you. Most coupon sites have a search box and shopping categories to help you quickly find the store or product you are looking for so you can match it with a money-saving coupon or discount.

3. Learn to be flexible. If the store that you normally buy from doesn’t have a coupon code savings then consider shopping at a different store or buying a different brand that has a coupon code discount and costs less. You may not always get the exact item that you’re used to but the purpose of online coupons is to save money and that you will do.

4. Watch one or more online coupon sites for new deals and coupon code specials. The good ones are updated on a daily basis. You won’t find something that you should take advantage of everyday, but watch long enough and you’ll find some really great bargains that are on your list. Here’s a tip: Take advantage of customized email newsletters and Web 2.0 tools such as RSS feeds and let technology notify you when there is something new that interests you.

5. Create a savings group with co-workers, family or friends so you have several sets of eyes watching for great deals. The more people looking for savings and encouraging each other to be frugal, the better your chances are you won’t overspend and no bargain will be overlooked.

Wise spending is always a good New Years resolution. You’ll be amazed at how much money you’ll save in 2008 when you follow these five steps. And with a plan in place and online coupon codes on your side, this is one resolution you can stick with all year.

Shopping-Bargains.com, LLC (www.shopping-bargains.com) is an Internet shopping mall featuring coupon codes and deals for more than 1,000 online merchants in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Founded in 1999, this coupon and deals site leverages exclusive marketing relationships with top retailers to bring shoppers the best in online savings ranging from free shipping discounts, dollar and percentage off coupons, clearance promotions and much more. Shopping-Bargains.com is committed to being a leader in providing shoppers with reputable and frugal online shopping options.

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This press release was submitted on January 4, 2008 via the PRWeb Press Release Newswire.

Shopping-Bargains.com has earned HACKER SAFE certification from ScanAlert, the world’s leading provider of website security services. Understanding the importance of customer trust and safety, Shopping-Bargains.com works with ScanAlert and the Better Business Bureau to ensure that the security and privacy of our shoppers are protected.

Especially during this holiday season when online shopping is so popular, Shopping-Bargains.com felt the need to provide shoppers an extra sense of security by adding “trust badges” to every page of the site. That way, with a single click, “shoppers can read a real-time status report that independently verifies our trust and security claims” says Mike Allen, President of Shopping-Bargains.com, LLC.

To help address concerns about hacker access to confidential data, the “live” HACKER SAFE mark appears only when a web site meets the HACKER SAFE standard. According to ScanAlert, “research indicates sites remotely scanned for known vulnerabilities on a daily basis, such as those earning HACKER SAFE certification, can prevent over 99% of hacker crime.”
Both Shopping-Bargains.com and Shopping-Bargains.co.uk are tested and certified daily to pass the HACKER SAFE Security Scan.

“I am pleased with this additional level of online trust and transparency that we can now demonstrate to all our shoppers,” said Allen. “Not only do these services visually enhance our shoppers’ sense of security through clickable ‘trust badges,’ they also provide independent evidence that we are a safe place to shop.”

Prior to implementing these trust badges and the recent HACKER SAFE certification, Shopping-Bargains.com had always maintained tough security measures. “The difference now is that our security status is visible to everyone since it’s tested everyday and verified independently” Allen said.

When it comes to online shopping, safety is definitely a high priority for Shopping-Bargains.com. That’s why Shopping-Bargains.com has both HACKER SAFE certification from ScanAlert and BBBOnline Reliability Program membership within the Better Business Bureau. This distinction is matched by very few others in the industry. “We are proud to be the only coupon site, to the best of our knowledge, that holds both of these security and privacy distinctions” maintains Allen.

Shopping-Bargains.com will continue to devote extra resources into working with reputable security and trust services like those from ScanAlert and the Better Business Bureau. As Allen concludes, “We strive to continually improve our customer experience and enhance the value we provide those shopping with us.”

Starkville, MS, November 6, 2007 — Shopping-Bargains.com was one of four sponsors for a team of students from the Starkville Christian Home Educators (SCHE) who participated in the BEST Robotics competition held at Mississippi State University this year. The mission of BEST Robotics is to “inspire students to pursue careers in engineering, science, technology, and math through participation in a sports-like science and engineering based robotics competition.”

There were 11 teams from Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana competing. Each team of students in this six week competition was provided four motors along with building materials such as plywood, Plexiglas, PVC pipes, nuts and bolts, sheet metal and other miscellaneous hardware and challenged to build a robot capable of performing specific tasks via remote control.

The SCHE Team, named Eclipse –which consists of students ranging from elementary to high school aged children, have been diligently preparing for this competition. The students worked on the robot an average of 8 hours a week for six weeks.

The competition’s theme was a Mars mission and the robot, which they named Solar 12, was assigned the simulated objective of moving supplies from a landing site to a Martian colony. The process is entirely student driven. For the BEST Award, students have to develop the robot, create an engineering notebook, give an oral presentation, and create a booth display exhibiting to the work they have done.

As a non-traditional company, Shopping-Bargains.com looks for non-traditional ways to promote innovation, entrepreneurship and critical thinking skills in youth.

“We were pleased to reach out in our local community and encourage a group of students as they pursued new challenges. As a learning event, I was glad to hear they are already talking about things that need correcting for next year. In my opinion, they did very well for such a young team on their first competition” said Mike Allen, president and CEO of Shopping-Bargains.com.

More information about BEST Robotics can be found on their website at:

http://www.bestinc.org

For further information visit: http://www.shopping-bargains.com

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On September 26, 2007 the Shop Bargains Facebook Application was launched for Facebook users. This free new tool can be installed within your Facebook account and displays a summary of online coupon codes and shopping deals from Shopping-Bargains.com on your Facebook profile and canvas pages.

Starkville, MS, November 3, 2007 — Facebook is a free social networking directory made up of individuals’ photographs, names and other information. Facebook also provides a framework for customizing your account by installing fun and useful applications that interact with core Facebook features.

Earlier this year, Facebook created Facebook Platform and opened up their API (application programming interface) to web and software developers so they could create applications that interact within the Facebook system.

“Facebook Platform creates an ecosystem for developers to build applications that deeply integrate into Facebook and use its social graph,” Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook stated in a May 24, 2007 press release. “By enabling developers to make applications within Facebook, we’re working together to create a better utility for millions of people.”

“I’m constantly looking for ways to make it easier for people to use Shopping-Bargains.com in their everyday shopping experiences online. As a Facebook user myself, I saw Facebook as something that was both fun and useful” said Mike Allen, President and CEO of Shopping-Bargains.com. “Knowing that Facebook was allowing creative applications to display content and interact within their system and knowing that we had useful online coupons and deals, I felt it was wise to build a tool that would bring these two systems together.”

Shopping-Bargains.com’s Shop Bargains application lets Facebook users customize the types of bargain summaries appearing on their Facebook profile page. Users can choose from among 33 shopping categories so they only receive bargains from categories that interest them. A click on a bargain summary provides full details (and the coupon code when required) and a follow-up click takes one shopping.

As Mike Allen explains, “Facebook is a social network and I wanted to make our coupons and bargains available within this space so shoppers can receive them easily, when they want and how they want. Essentially we built this tool to deliver on our customer’s preferences and not force them to comply with ours.”

Allen goes on to say he “wanted something that enabled our bargains to be shared, commented on, and passed along among friends who trust each other. He also wanted an alternative way to promote the great online retailers, deals and coupon codes on Shopping-Bargains.com that does not rely on traditional venues like search engines, email newsletters and message boards.”

Some have felt that Facebook applications tend to be been heavy on fun and light on usefulness. Facebook user and President of PartnerCentric, Inc., Linda Woods, feels otherwise about this tool. “I think the Shop Bargains Facebook application is one of the only real commercial and practical applications I have experienced there. It’s useful, and it’s ecommerce at its most inventive. For me, it’s more interesting than sending fake drinks or ‘biting’ vampires virtually!”

Once you have installed the Shop Bargains Facebook Application you can customize it to your preferences and invite your friends to add it to their accounts too. There is also a place to comment on and share your favorite coupons and deals with your friends.

To add the Shop Bargains application to your Facebook account, follow the link below:

http://apps.facebook.com/shopbargains/

For further information visit: http://www.shopping-bargains.com

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