Coupons

It would have been a snowy day in hell for more than 6.5 million households across America if analog television broadcasts ended, as planned, next Tuesday. If they turned on their analog TVs, expecting to tune into Deal or No Deal or the local news using an old-fashioned antenna, they would have gotten a screen full of snow. These were all the households either unaware of, or unprepared for, the federally mandated conversion to all-digital signals. Congress, acknowledging the ill-preparedness, has now delayed the transition to June 12, when all television stations really, really, really must shut down their analog signals and Americans must be ready for it. Or else ... more snow.

Don't look now, but the fellow sitting in the window seat beside you might have paid a lot less for his plane ticket than you did, especially if he did his homework.But how'd he do it?Actually, the bargains are out there if you know how and where to look. So let's talk strategy:* Call and call, then call again. "Fares change all the time," said Dorothy Kopp, a travel agent in Winter Park, Fla. She cited a recent example: When she checked the fare from Orlando to Providence, R.I., before lunch, it was $197 round-trip.

TOKYO -- The idea was simple: Shower the Japanese with free shopping coupons and they would spend some life into the economy.Not cash, which could be stashed under a futon. Not a tax cut, which would only end up in savings banks.Local shopping coupons worth $6 billion would be good for virtually anything but securities or sex. Every man, woman and child over 65 or under 15 would be given 20 coupons in easy-to-fritter denominations of 1,000 yen -- about $8.This was the opening round of the Liberal Democratic Party's grand economic stimulus package announced last fall to rekindle the consumer demand that has gone cold as this country plods through its nearly decade-long recession.

Thanks to a little book of light-blue coupons, 2 1/2 -year-old Drew Wehner of Overlea gets freshly picked corn with dinner and his mother, Christine, gets a break on her food bill.The Wehners are among 33,000 low-income Maryland families who use the government-funded coupons, which they can exchange for produce at farmers' markets throughout the state. Each household involved in the Women, Infants and Children program, known as WIC, is eligible, on a first-come, first-served basis, for a $20 book of vouchers -- which works out to $660,000 that participants can spend on fresh food.

Safeway Inc. has brought its popular coupon booklet into the electronic age.Rather than clipping coupons from a booklet that's sent to area households, consumers can save on selected items with the swipe of a card.This week, the grocery chain is replacing the booklet with a new Safeway Club Card, offering savings of up to 50 percent on advertised items, said Greg TenEyck, spokesman for the chain's eastern division.The new marketing initiative to make coupons more convenient comes at a time when supermarket chains are locked in a heated battle over customer loyalty.

Thanks to a little book of light-blue coupons, 2 1/2 -year-old Drew Wehner of Overlea gets freshly picked corn with dinner and his mother, Christine, gets a break on her food bill.The Wehners are among 33,000 low-income Maryland families who use the government-funded coupons, which they can exchange for produce at farmers' markets throughout the state. Each household involved in the Women, Infants and Children program, known as WIC, is eligible, on a first-come, first-served basis, for a $20 book of vouchers -- which works out to $660,000 that participants can spend on fresh food.

Hoping to lure visitors to the Inner Harbor at night, the National Aquarium is extending its summer hours for the first time in its 16-year history.In July and August, the aquarium will sell tickets until 8 p.m. -- instead of 6 p.m. -- and keep the attraction open until 10 p.m.It's all part of "Nautical Night," a program to bring more people downtown in the evening by offering discounts and special events.As of yesterday, 17 hotels, restaurants and attractions had joined the effort. Their patrons will get $2 or $3 off an $11.95 aquarium ticket, and aquarium-goers will get discount coupons for some establishments.

For the past week, a downtown Baltimore Burger King offered a whopper of a deal: Buy food and get a discount on ammunition or a gun at a Catonsville sports shop.A coupon ad printed on the back of meal receipts said: "Good for one free box of ammo with gun purchase or 10 percent off."But within an hour of learning about the coupon from The Sun yesterday, the Burger King headquarters in Miami told the operator of the restaurant at Charles and Fayette streets to go to an office supply store to replace the register tapes.

Verdict's in: The American Lawyer magazine reports that th legal business is rebounding somewhat. Hiring was up 3 percent in 1995 at the nation's 100 biggest firms after three years of declines, and the firms' combined revenue rose 5.9 percent. But profits per partner were down, and revenue per lawyer was down at 26 firms.Clip work: If you clip coupons every Sunday, you have company. Carol Wright Promotions Inc., a market research firm, reports that 87 percent of consumers use grocery or health and beauty product coupons.

It's fare war season, with airlines touting MegaDeals and SuperSavings.While carriers typically offer a dozen major fare sales a year, summer ones are among the best.This year, with gasoline prices pushing up the cost of driving, more and more travelers are trolling for airfare bargains.With airline sales nearly as common as department store specials, passengers can expect deals to continue to crop up all summer, travel experts say."We're going to see a new fare war every two weeks or less," says Tom Parsons, editor of Best Fares Discount Travel magazine in Arlington, Texas.

The Federal Communications Commission has been planning a move to higher-quality digital television for a very long time, so it's hard to understand why 6 million Americans will be without some of their favorite television shows this week when some television stations here and across the nation switch off their analog signals. At fault are shortsighted federal bureaucrats who tried to accomplish the conversion on the cheap and made miscalculations that even the bumbling manager of The Office would have avoided.

It would have been a snowy day in hell for more than 6.5 million households across America if analog television broadcasts ended, as planned, next Tuesday. If they turned on their analog TVs, expecting to tune into Deal or No Deal or the local news using an old-fashioned antenna, they would have gotten a screen full of snow. These were all the households either unaware of, or unprepared for, the federally mandated conversion to all-digital signals. Congress, acknowledging the ill-preparedness, has now delayed the transition to June 12, when all television stations really, really, really must shut down their analog signals and Americans must be ready for it. Or else ... more snow.

President-elect Barack Obama's call for a delay in next month's conversion from analog to digital TV appears to be gaining support, although local television stations are still preparing for the Feb. 17 switch that has been in the works for more than a decade. As directed by Congress during the Clinton administration, broadcast TV stations in the U.S. - that is, those that can be received without a cable or satellite system - will be switching their transmission signals from the traditional analog to digital.

An article in yesterday's editions about the transition from analog to digital TV broadcasts in 2009 inadvertently omitted a box containing information about obtaining government coupons to help pay for converter boxes. About 21 million American households that do not have cable, satellite or fiber-optic TV service will be affected. Here's the information you'll need: WHO NEEDS A CONVERTER? Households that use "rabbit ears" or a rooftop antenna to receive broadcasts on an older, analog TV will need a converter box for each set. Converters are expected to cost $40 to $100, depending on features.

WASHINGTON -- The federal government doesn't usually give things away, but starting today broadcast TV watchers can apply for a gift that could keep their sets from going dark in 2009. Via a toll-free hot line and Web site, the Commerce Department will begin accepting applications for coupons worth $40 off a no-frills converter box to allow older televisions to receive digital broadcast signals. "We are open for business Jan. 1," said Bart Forbes, a spokesman for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the Commerce Department agency running the program.

Department gets $51,200 grant The Anne Arundel County Department of Aging and Disabilities has been awarded a $51,200 grant to expand its Information and Assistance Program to reach and serve more seniors, disabled people and their caregivers, the county has announced. The program, an outreach and referral system, will get a new phone system and a yearlong public information campaign through the Maryland Access Point grant from the state Department of Aging. Information: 410-222-1288.

Department gets $51,200 grant The Anne Arundel County Department of Aging and Disabilities has been awarded a $51,200 grant to expand its Information and Assistance Program to reach and serve more seniors, disabled people and their caregivers, the county announced Monday. The program, an outreach and referral system, will get a new phone system and a yearlong public information campaign through the Maryland Access Point grant, from the state Department of Aging. Information: 410-222-1288.

More than 100 years ago, Asa Candler introduced the first coupon in an effort to get people to try a new drink called Coca-Cola. Today, consumers still love their coupons although they're using fewer of them. Coupons remain a powerful way to find bargains, and some retailers that scaled them back have paid a price. And coupons still target a core group of customers for retailers and manufacturers. "Any way you can save money, I'm there," said Lorie Lawson, a 22-year-old cashier from Baltimore who uses coupons for a variety of products, including clothing from the Gap or Old Navy.

Money-savers on the road Americans spend close to $2,500 on a typical summer vacation, one of the larger expenditures a family makes in a year. The fun of a great trip, however, quickly evaporates if there is a huge credit card bill to pay when you return home. Here are ways to trim expenses once you hit the road: 1. Ask for a break -- Hotels, restaurants, car rental agencies and attractions, including theme parks and museums, often offer discounts to members of large groups, such as AAA or AARP.

Wallet? Check. Organizer? Check. Database printout? Check. With gasoline prices and electric bills shooting through the roof, more folks are turning to one of the oldest tricks in the family budgeting book: trimming the grocery bill. But many now go beyond stocking up at warehouse clubs and clipping coupons by seeking out Web sites that arm shoppers with detailed comparison information on weekly sales. Three years ago, Cindy O'Connor, a stay-at-home mother of seven, hated grocery shopping because every trip gave her a bad case of sticker shock.