Since 2009, when the concept of online group purchasing first reached our shores from the US, Israelis have been able to enjoy the deep discounts offered on a variety of items and services at the many, many websites of this type, the archetype of which is Groupon Israel. There are even coupon sites for specific sectors of the Israeli public, such as Group-E for the religious, Mamibuy for parents of young children and Anglo Deals for us English speakers.Initially, these websites engendered a lot of enthusiasm, which caused much frivolous spending and more than one missed opportunity to actually use all the vouchers we'd purchased. Every day, we'd get numerous emails from the various coupon sites we'd signed up for, cluttering our inbox and dangling tantalizing deals for more and more stuff. But eventually, it all just seemed like too much. After a few months, I heard various friends of mine say they'd unsubscribed and given up using Groupons, because they were spending way too much on things they really didn't need.
Well, because - by my own previous admission - I have shopaholic tendencies of my own, I realized some ground rules needed to be established for the sake of my sanity and bank account. Here's what I came up with that works for me; I'd love to hear how you use Groupons to your best advantage in the comments.
