Groupon- Consumer Activism at its Finest

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I was introduced to Groupon (www.groupon.com) by my friend Dan just this week. I had heard about it on the news and had seen a couple of ads for it online, but I didn't fully understand the wonders of Groupon until I actually went to the site, signed up, and saw it for myself. Their website boasts that as of today, the total dollars saved by Groupon users is $268,574,232 and the total number of Groupons bought is 6,457,820. That's impressive to a frugal girl like myself.

Groupon is exactly what its made-up name implies: a group coupon. Groupon works with local businesses to set up fantastic deals that are valid as long as a certain number of people take advantage of them. Additionally, the people at Groupon find businesses in individual cities and regions in the United States, so you can be from practically anywhere to take advantage of their deals. For example, today's deal in North Jersey is "$5 for $10 Worth of Café Fare" Basically, I would pay $5 through Groupon and then use the voucher I print as a $10 gift certificate at The Little Grocery café in Hoboken. That's 50% off! The only catch is that 19 other people need to take advantage of the deal before I can actually get it. If the deal doesn't reach it's target number of buyers, then the deal is canceled and you are not charged.

Additionally, there's a totally different group deal for New York City. Today the deal is 83% off a Gymboree membership for your child! $39 bucks for unlimited use of Gymboree for a month. Wow.

You can use Groupon on your computer as a regular website. It also will link to your Facebook & Twitter as well as send you the Groupon Deal of the Day e-mail for your area. If that isn't enough for you, you can add the Groupon app to your iPhone, as well.

You can join Groupon by clicking here. It is absolutely, 100% free to join. The link on this blog includes my referral number. Each time you refer a friend and they make a Groupon purchase, you get $10 put into your Groupon account to use on a future deal. Just another great feature of this service!