I’ve received three birthday greetings this week and my special day isn’t until the end of June.

What’s up? Well, looks like the rewards programs that I’ve signed up for at the Gap, Famous Footwear, and DSW send birthday coupons to be used during your birthday month.

Gap will give me $15 off my next purchase of $60 or more if I use my Gap credit card. DSW will give me $10 off my purchase of $24.95 or more. Famous Footwear will give me $5 for my purchase of $5 or more.

Can anyone say free socks?

As for the other coupons, I’m not sure if I’ll use them. What kind of birthday gift is it really to go to a store and spend your own money in order to use a coupon?

Until recently, I’ve ignored store loyalty programs to stores that I infrequently visit and said no to e-mail newsletters. They just junk up my mailbox and clutter my in-box.

But then I happened upon some blogs, or maybe it was a FatWallet forum, that expounded upon the merits of signing up for such programs. And I’ve decided it’s worth the extra mail for good coupons and freebies.

Coupons and deals are so frequent these days, even for mall-based stores, that I rarely buy stuff without one. And for those who think coupons aren’t worth more than a few cents here and a few cents there, it’s time for another look.

What birthday deals do you like? Know of anyplace where you get free stuff on your birthday, like maybe a free meal or free dessert?

This entry was posted on Friday, May 30th, 2008 at 11:28 am and is filed under shopping. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.