By the middle of the 20th century, more than half of the households in the United States were clipping coupons to help save on household expenses, and by the mid-1970s that number had risen to three-quarters, where it has remained for consumers in nearly all household income brackets ever since. Of course, in addition to coupons offered in stores, in newspapers or magazines and by mail, more and more people are finding their coupons online these days. In fact, dozens of millions are now using coupons available on the Internet. Many of these coupons can be used directly online, but there are also many that can be printed off and redeemed the old fashioned way in a brick and mortar store. Here’s how to find and use coupons of that sort.

Do a simple search. Use your favorite search engine to look for “printable coupons” and you’ll get a return approaching 20 million pages, so the biggest problem you’ll have is in determining which sites are legitimate and have the best and most current offers. Many of the more prominent sites have active communities and forums so take a look at what others are saying to help you decide which sites are best and which to avoid.

Do a little more complex search. If you’re looking for a coupon to use on a specific product, add that product name or the parent company name to your search. For instance, “printable Gillette coupons” just gave me a return of nearly two million pages in Google, and several of the returns on the first page brought me to legitimate coupons on Gillette products.

Visit Brand Websites. A quick visit to Colgate.com just now showed me $1.00 off coupons for four or five of their products within a click or two. You can also register on many brand or retail sites to receive emails with special offers and coupons. The email I receive each month from Procter and Gamble, for instance, links to coupons and samples for everything from personal care products to dog food to water filters. They’ve even got coupons available by RSS feed!

Use a specialized coupon search site. Sites like Retail-Me-Not, Slick Deals, Coupon Cabin, Wow-Coupons and others allow you to search for printable coupons for a particular product or retailer. Some sites require registration or have other requirements, so check terms of use before you begin.

Here are a couple more tips for using your printable coupons. Be sure to print the entire coupon page out (including the website URL, etc.) when you do find it so you’ll have fewer questions about validity when you go to use it. Also, some merchants have a policy not to honor home-printed coupons at all due to fraud. You may want to ask about any restrictions or policies at the store’s service desk before shopping.

Welcome to the world of printable coupons!

But what about the good promo codes that ought to be valid and are from a reliable source but they don’t seem to work when you go to use them? Here are some of the reasons that a bonafide valid promo code might not work.

1) It’s a private offer. These are meant to be used only once and by a particular customer. Sometimes merchants send these out by email to those on their permissions lists. They may be set up to only work when that individual customer is logged on to their site. If you got it as an email forward from someone, even your spouse or another household member, it might not work for you. It’s a valid code or coupon, but only for the original recipient.

2) It’s a restricted offer. Some coupons or codes will contain exclusions of certain items. Often, these are items that are already discounted in some way, or particular product lines or brands. Or maybe the code only applies to purchases of a certain dollar amount. It’s important to read the fine print to make sure you understand the restrictions on a code before you try to use it. Look for expiration dates too while you’re at it.

3) You’re being greedy. Just kidding. We all want to get every discount we can, right? But many offers can’t be used in combination with other discounts or coupons. If you have multiple valid promo codes available for a particular purchase, you’ll probably have to pick which one is going to save you the most and stick with it.

4) You took a wrong turn somewhere. Maybe you have a valid code, but you’re trying to use it at the wrong site. Not that you’re prone to confusion or anything. Just sayin’…

5) Transposing: good for singers, not so much for promo codes. Keyboards and memory being what they are, I’ve sometimes transposed two characters in a code (or remembered it incorrectly) when trying to enter it. It happens. Best to either copy and paste the code when you can, write the code down carefully, or refer to teh source where you received the promo code when you’re ready to enter it.  And yes, that “teh” in the previous sentence was intentionally transposed. It’s called iorny.

So in addition to finding valid promo codes from credible sources, take a little time to understand what’s being offered and whether there are restrictions, and also be precise as you apply your codes and they’ll never break bad on you. Okay, maybe a little rowdy, but hey, codes will be codes.

By the way, you’ll find that all of the promo codes and clickable coupons here on Mevio Offers are always valid, public and sharable. We also go out of our way to let you know right up front about any restrictions, and you’ll always see codes and links prominently displayed for your reference. We don’t like to brag, but we’re pretty proud of all that.

So keep your codes on the sunny side, and if you’ve got tips or tricks to share, feel free to leave a comment.

Happy promo code hunting!

When you’re either shopping online or using a site that requires a login, have you ever seen the little padlock down in the right hand corner of your browser? Or maybe you’ve noticed that the address of a site starts with “https.” Perhaps you’ve even received a warning from your web browser that you’re about to send data over an “unencrypted” environment. All of these signs tell you whether or not a site is using a secure connection with your browser, called a “Secure Socket Layer” or “SSL.”

SSL is the standard means on the Web for creating a secure, encrypted link between a Web server and a browser. It ensures safe passage of sensitive information, such as credit card numbers, login information, etc. Sites use SSL as a means to protect online transactions with their users or customers. Encryption simply means that the data is scrambled into a sort of code that can only be unscrambled by the proper “decryption” key.

An SSL certificate is a digital record that verifies the identity of a site and encrypts information sent to the server using SSL technology. It serves as a sort of electronic “passport” that establishes an online entity’s credentials for your browser. When you attempt to send confidential information to a Web server, your browser accesses the server’s digital certificate and then establishes a secure connection.

An SSL Certificate will include the name of the certificate holder, a serial number and expiration date, a copy of the certificate holder’s “public” encryption key and a digital signature from the authority that issued the certificate. Your browser inspects all of that information in the background every time you enter a secure site. Conversely, if you try to submit personal information to an unsecured Web site, your browser should warn you that the site is not secure and that sensitive data might be intercepted by third parties on the Net.

If you’re doing secure transactions online as a user or customer, you should be aware of the security status of a site based on messages from your browser, and the presence or absence of the padlock icon and “https” in the address. If you’re a business doing commerce online, your customers will be doing the same. A valid SSL certificate from GoDaddy.com can make all the difference in letting your customers know that it’s safe to send personal information over the Net to your site.

The Celts lived in what is now northern France, Ireland and parts of Britain. Many scholars believe that the celebration of Samhain (pronounced SAH-wen) marked the end of the Celtic Year. It was observed on what would become the night of October 31st in the modern calendar. The name is Old Irish for “Summer’s End.”

The Celts believed that on this night the boundaries between the physical world and the spirit world were opened and ghosts of the dead returned to cause mischief, destroy crops, and generally make trouble. Their spiritual presence was also thought to make it possible for priests to make prophecies about the coming year. Sacred bonfires were built, crops and animal sacrifices were made, people dressed up in costume (often representing the dead or other spirit creatures) and fortunes were told. The “new fires” were then used to relight hearths extinguished earlier in the evening. This was thought to bring luck and protection for the new year.

By the First Century of the Common Era, the Romans had conquered the Celts, and their harvest festival traditions were eventually incorporated into the Celtic celebrations. Feralia was a day in late October when the Romans commemorated the passing of their dead, and the celebration of Pomona, the Roman Goddess of fruit and trees, also fell in Autumn. Pomona’s symbol, the apple, is still a part of our Halloween festivities today with the tradition of bobbing for apples.

By the 7th Century, the Catholic Church (now the center of life in much of the land of the Celts) designated November 1st as a commemoration of the Saints. By the Year 1000, All Souls Day, a day to honor all of the dead, was added to the calendar on November 2nd. A three day celebration called Hallowmas included All Souls Day, All Saints Day, and the eve of All Saints (All Hallow’s Eve, or “Halloween”). Bonfires were built, parades were held, people dressed up in costume (often as saints, angels, devils, etc.), people bobbed for apples and, yes, predictions for the coming year were made. Any of this sound familiar?

It’s a long way from those ancient Celtic observances to the huge commercial holiday we know today, yet we’ll still see bonfires, and people dressing in costume, and maybe a few ghosts out on the prowl.

However you plan to celebrate Halloween 2009, you’ll find everything you need for the occasion at BuyCostumes.com and you’ll save 12% on your order with our BuyCostumes Coupon Code.

On May 8th of 1886 pharmacist Dr. John Stith Pemberton sold the very first glass of his new beverage creation. Named “Coca-Cola®” by Pemberton’s partner and bookkeeper Frank Robinson (whose unique script can still be seen in Coke’s familiar logo today), it wasn’t a huge phenomenon at first.

Then in 1887, the Coca-Cola Company was incorporated with a man named Asa Candler as one of the partners. Candler was an innovative marketer, and one of his ideas was to distribute coupons like the one depicted above, offering a free fountain drink to the bearer. Candler supplied free syrup to soda fountain proprietors to cover the cost of the giveaways. Employees of the company and sales representatives helped to distribute the coupons. By 1895 the cola was being served in every state of the Union. Between 1894 and 1913 it is said that one in nine Americans had received a free Coke, over 8.5 million free drinks in all.

The next coupon to gain prominence was that of cereal producer C.W. Post in the early 1900s. It is said that his cents off coupons for Grape Nuts and other products were the first of that sort. During the Great Depression, coupon clipping became prevalent, and thereafter as supermarket chains strove to replace the corner markets, those chain stores used coupons to attract customers.

In 1957, The Nielsen Coupon Clearing House (later renamed the Manufacturers Coupon Control Center) was created to handle coupon redemption, and coupons were becoming a huge part of business. One-half of all American households were clipping coupons by 1965, and in the decade that followed, that number grew to three-quarters.

The method for delivering coupons has changed through the years, with downloadable coupons, email coupons, and even coupons distributed by texting to mobile devices nowadays. Instead of “clip and save” now it’s “click and save.”

Of course, you’ll find some of the best offers, coupons, promotional codes and money savers right here from MEVIO. Check back often as we’re adding valuable new offers for savings on your favorite products and services all the time.

If you’re looking for reliable hosting, the ultimate in design and customization, powerful analytics and great advantages to get your website noticed, the Squarespace platform has everything you need. Here is just a quick summary of what they have to offer.

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All Squarespace sites are hosted on all of their web servers, not just a single server, so there’s no worry about a single server failing. A normal day for their server architecture sees tens of millions of hits, so if your site goes suddenly viral, you needn’t worry as you might with shared hosting elsewhere.

Squarespace’s data infrastructure relies on Peer1 Networks, for both connectivity and power sources. It’s a world class data center. Peer1 not only remained online during the NYC blackout a few years ago but they were actually able to lend their power to some neighbors in need.

Build Your Content

Pages and features in Squarespace are broken into blocks that you can snap together to build your site. For instance, building a photo gallery into your website is as easy as choosing the photo gallery module and adding it to your navigation. Add full drag and drop control and rapid on site editing, and you’ve got a single platform with infinite possibilities.

Enjoy A True Designer Look

Squarespace sites come with more than 60 style variants from professional brand name designers. Every style allows point and click control over every single element of the design. Templates contain a multitude of color and style variants, and each variant can be further refined and customized so your site will look completely unique. Since the style of the site is independent from the content you create, you can change styles without breaking anything. You can even design your own themes with a few clicks and see the changes in real time on your site. Top navigation variants, menus, columns on the page – arrange it all to your heart’s content.

Manage Your Site – Not The Software

At Squarespace, you’ll have complete and total control of every part of your site, at any time. You’ll also have all of the analytics you could possibly ever imagine, without third party tools or the need for analytics expertise. You’ll also never have to manage software updates, plug-ins, etc. Squarespace does all of that seamlessly and behind the scenes.

Squarespace Does It All

Squarespace is a completely managed website content, design and hosting system. They handle all of the details in setting up your site, so there’s no software to install and never anything to upgrade. Your site will weather the most massive barrages of traffic. They also use the latest in site optimization to ensure that your site is picked up by the search engines. When new features are deployed your site is always up to date automatically.

If you’d like to give it a try, you’ll save 12% for the lifetime of your account with our Squarespace Coupon Code. You can get more detail on how Squarespace works from their site.

Hybrids may seem like the new kid on the block, but it was over a century ago that Ferdinand Porsche produced the first gas/electric car, and the first U.S. patent for a gas/electric hybrid was filed by H. Piper in 1905. Although plug-in hybrids are in the works, the current crop of hybrids use technology called “regenerative braking” to capture energy that would normally be lost when the vehicle is slowing down in order to recharge the batteries. Today’s hybrids are as convenient, as powerful and as reasonably priced as their fully gas-powered brethren.

Those who drive hybrid vehicles do so for many reasons. There is the practical aspect of fuel savings, as well as the more social aspects of being on the front edge of technological advancement and reducing pollution and one’s carbon footprint. If you own a hybrid, chances are you’re proud of it, perhaps even a bit fanatical about it. So what do you do when it’s time to book a rental car?

Fortunately, rental car companies have responded to increased consumer demand for fuel efficiency by offering vehicles with better mileage and lower emissions, including hybrids. Hertz brought several thousand Toyota Prius hybrids into its fleet in 2007. Avis and Budget followed suit with the Prius and the Nissan Altima hybrids, and the nation’s largest rental car company, Enterprise, offers some 5000 hybrids from Toyota and Ford. They also offer the opportunity to pay an extra $1.25 on each rental to help offset carbon emissions, with funds going to Terra Pass.

Although there are typically increased rental fees of around $5 to $15 for renting a hybrid as compared to an equivalent conventional car, there are also savings when it comes time to fuel up before return, and many customers prefer to rent a vehicle that reflects their values and style despite any increased cost. Whether you’re a hybrid owner yourself, cost conscious at the pump, a committed environmentalist or you just want to try out the technology on your next rental, rental car firms are responding with an ever increasing number and variety of hybrids at your service.

Remember that whatever your vehicle needs, you can save when you book your next vehicle online with our Discount Car Rentals from top firms Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise and Thrifty.

With Autumn 2009’s official arrival, homeowners are beginning to dig in to their list of annual fall chores in earnest. Angie’s List consulted their top rated service providers and put together a checklist of the most important tasks to attend before cold weather hits.

1) Have your heating system serviced. Four out of five emergency calls answered by heating specialists could have been avoided through proper maintenance. Better to have your furnace checked now than to have it fail when the weather is freezing. This is also a good time to check your filters and replace them if needed. It’s an inexpensive way to help keep your system operating properly and reduce your heating costs.

2) Check your pipes. Cleaning the plumbing system to remove clogs can also help protect it from freezing, as can proper insulation. You might also want to drain your water heater to keep sediment from building up in the tank. This simple task can increase the heater’s efficiency by up to 50%.

3) Insulate. If your home isn’t properly insulated, this is one of the lowest-cost options for improving your energy efficiency. Caulking, sealing and weatherstripping where you find drafts in your home can also mean big energy savings. Angie’s List suggests walking through your home with a stick of incense or a candle, and watch where the smoke goes to find the drafts.

4) If you have a working chimney, find a good chimney sweep. Creosote build-up can lead to a chimney fire, which in turn can lead to roof fires as burning debris exits and lands.

5) Clean out those eaves troughs. Gutter blockage from dead leaves and debris can cause lots of problems, including (believe it or not) water in your basement. Gutters are meant to make sure rainwater flows properly away from the foundation of your home. When they don’t work, you’re asking for trouble.

6) Rake the leaves. Fallen leaves will deprive your lawn of the sunlight it needs during the fall months. Piles of leaves are also a breeding ground for unwholesome decay and pests.

The checklist also suggests a routine fall vehicle inspection and service as needed, and reminds us that it’s time to get that winter car survival kit into the trunk.

Remember that many of these tasks are best left to qualified professionals. You’ll find top quality service providers on Angie’s List, and you’ll save 25% on your membership with our Angie’s List Coupon.

If you haven’t taken a look at the Thrifty Car Rental website lately, you might be surprised by the many new features they added this year, making it more convenient to find what your looking for. Here are some of the things they’ve done to enhance the experience of customers who prefer to book online.

1) They’ve improved the way vehicles are displayed on the site. The “Our Cars” section now includes Flash images of vehicles complete with a 360-degree view for domestic vehicles. You can select from exterior or interior views, and you’ll also see a comprehensive list of car features. They also note both passenger and luggage capacity and fuel efficiency ratings for all of the vehicles in the fleet.

2) Location search at Thrifty.com now uses predictive text. With as little as three letters entered, the site will show suggestions for city and locations. This cuts down on the time it will take you to find the Thrifty location you need. Also, once you select a preferred location, you’ll be able to easily view all of Thrifty’s nearby locations, and see interactive maps for each specific location.

3) They’ve also improved the “Specials” section on the site. You’ll be able to sort promotional offers by specific location, domestic or international, and easily find deals that are offered in conjunction with airline, hotel and other partners.

4) Rates are updated and displayed in real time. As you add or remove options like child safety seats or GPS navigational systems, the rates are automatically recalculated as you go.

5) Overall, the site has been streamlined and refined so that you can speed through the selection and reservation process faster than ever before.

Charlie Coniglio, Vice President of Marketing and eCommerce at Thrify said that their goal is to provide consumers with as much information up front as possible so they can make the best car rental decision, while at the same time optimizing and cutting out the clutter to offer a customer experience that is second to none.

Check out the new Thrifty.com! While you’re at it, remember to use our Thrifty Coupon when you’re ready to book your vehicle for 10% savings on your reservation.

1) Find a good vet and visit more often. Establishing a relationship with an excellent veterinarian is important to your pet’s health at any age, but it is especially so for an older dog. Even if there are no apparent health problems, it’s a good idea to visit your vet twice a year with your older dog as a preventative measure. Make sure your vet is someone you can trust and someone with whom you and your dog are comfortable. Ideally, a regular visit to the vet’s office should be a rewarding and happy experience for your dog. This will make it less stressful should you need to visit in the event of health issues or concerns.

2) Ease up on vaccinations. If your dog is 7 years of age or older, many veterinarians recommend more time between vaccinations, or not vaccinating at all, depending on the legal requirements in your locale. Vaccinations may be linked to a compromised immune system, particularly in older animals or those who already have a serious illness. In fact, in some parts of the country a vet can even exempt your dog from rabies vaccine if she feels it would pose a risk to your pet’s health. For healthy older dogs, routine vaccinations can often be placed on a three-year (rather than annual) cycle. Obviously, your vet will be expert on state requirements and also on the best course of action for your dog’s breed, age and health conditions.

3) Know your dog’s breed and watch for symptoms of common ailments. It’s not unusual for dogs to live to 15 years of age nowadays. This can mean several years of “old age” especially for smaller breeds. It’s important for you to be aware of common conditions that can cause problems for dogs in general, and for your dog’s breed in particular. There are many excellent books and a wealth of free resources online that can help you know preventative measures and warning signs. You can also consult your vet about common ailments and issues. Catching a problem in the early stages, or doing your best to prevent it altogether, can make all the difference in your dog’s ability to enjoy the senior years. Of course, this is good advice for a pet of any age. The more you know, the better you are able to promote a happy, healthy life for your dog.

4) Dietary needs change as we age. Like we humans, older dogs generally need fewer calories and more fiber in their diets. Special formulas and supplements are available for older dogs or dogs with particular health conditions. Smaller meals more often are generally encouraged, rather than one large meal per day. Ensuring the availability of lots of water is always important. Again, know your pet’s dietary needs, be attentive to changes in weight or bowel habits, and consult with your veterinarian to find the right nutrition regimen for your dog.

5) Take care of those choppers! Good dental health, including regular cleaning and daily brushing, is as important to dogs as it is to humans. It becomes even more important as we age.

6) Control pests. Control for fleas, ticks, worms, etc., is important at any age, but an older dog may be even more susceptible to the health risks and discomforts they may pose. It’s especially important to check your dog regularly for signs of infestation, and to control pests on your pet or in their environment. If you are concerned about the adverse effects of some pest control products there are many greener alternatives now available. If this is important to you, you’ll want to find a vet who shares your concerns or is at least up to speed on the more natural products for pest control. In any case, protecting your pet isn’t just a matter of comfort. It can be a serious matter for your dog’s health and survival, and for the health of you and your family as well.

7) Make plenty of time for play and exercise. As your dog ages, you may find that you have to take the initiative for walks and play more often. You’ll also have to pay special attention for signs of fatigue, and to make sure that adequate water and rest are available after exercise. Remember that although your dog may not prompt it as much as during the puppy years, the need for play, socialization and exercise is as critical to your dog’s health and happiness as ever it was. Set aside time for regular walks and interaction with your older dog. You’ll find that some of the most rewarding moments (and the best memories) will come from time spent with your dog in these precious golden years.

Remember that you’ll find savings on everything you need for your dog on our Pet Coupons page.