The Good Life For Less: Coupons For The Masses

By now, you have heard of Groupon -- the group-buying website that gives you deals on local food and entertainment. In fact so many of you have heard of it  -- and used it  -- that the company is now worth more than $1 billion!

If you haven't heard about it, check out the blog post I did on the site last year.

There are a few other websites out there that offer deals using the same kind of concept -- bulk buying of discounts and gift certificates -- and I want to share them with you if you haven't discovered them for yourself.

LivingSocial -- Works similar to the way Groupon does -- sign up and they will send you an email featuring a daily deal to a local business. This can be anything from restaurants, to getting your nails done, to paintball. You buy the deal and they send you it the next day, then you are free to use it.

Woot! -- This is an online site that can get you deals on Technology gadgets. From what I've heard about it, it was one of the first group buying sites on the Web -- starting in 2004. They sell a different item each day for just 24 hours or until it sells out.

Tippr -- Works by giving you three deals each day. You buy a deal and the discounts get bigger once the deal is "tipped" and as more people also buy the deal. Basic concept: the more popular the deal, the better it gets.

Who knew that coupons could be so cool and could turn in to a billion dollar industry!?

Have a favorite group-buying website? Post it below in the comment section to share it with other 'Good Lifers' or e-mail me so I can share them in a future blog post.

-Alison Lorge is a web producer and consumer blogger at WCCO.