coupons

As a salute to those who have served our country, on Friday, many restaurants and other businesses are offering freebies to active military and veterans for Veterans Day. In many cases, you'll need military ID or proof of service; other deals apply to civilians too. Dig in and enjoy. That's an order!

Groupon's IPO was a rousing success, but its business model still may be an endangered species. Facebook, restaurant reviews website Yelp, and dining reservations leader OpenTable have all bowed out of selling prepaid vouchers for area merchants at steep discounts in recent weeks. Here's why:

Running a restaurant has never been easy, but it's getting harder to succeed these days for eateries that shun the social couponing and new media games. A decade ago, all you needed was a strong concept, a healthy strategy and a few ads in the local paper, but the Internet has changed everything.

After Groupon's IPO release on Thursday and its bumpy first day of trading Friday, it's time for ordinary investors to think hard about whether we really want to take the plunge on the coupon company. DailyFinance offers a few expert opinions about whether this daily deal is a winner.

Do you really need Groupon or LivingSocial? If you answered "yes," you're among a shrinking minority. Really, Groupons are meant to entice us to try things we otherwise wouldn't. Couponing, though, is how smart shoppers cut costs on what they already buy, and these five sites can save you a bundle.

As Groupon prepares for its IPO, here's a gentle reminder to the company's original public investors: the bargain buyers. If you don't redeem those Daily Deals -- and many of us forget to after we buy them -- they're just money down the drain for you, and pure profit for the company.

When it comes to saving money on groceries, using coupons can cut your bill in half. But in this fast-paced digital age, who has time to find the deals? We've consulted the coupon experts to help you save money on food without giving up your social life.

It's fitting that Groupon -- the daily deals leader that at one time was valued as high as $20 billion -- is finally gearing up to go public at a discount. Its IPO will give it a market capitalization of less than $12 billion. The flash sale specialist is also selling fewer shares to the public, a move that will make it easier to pull off this deal in this iffy climate.

From piping in the smell of fresh-baked bread to making you wait in artificially long lines, your local supermarket works hard to get you to spend. Here's how to rise above the temptations.

Maybe winning Powerball isn't the financial lifeboat it's cracked up to be. A whopping 96% of shoppers would continue to use coupons even if they won the lottery, according to a survey released Monday by the deal publisher Redplum.com.