Marcia Metzger seems harmless enough.

As she pushes a grocery cart through the produce aisles of Shop Rite in Hudson, her 4-foot-11 frame is further dwarfed by the shopping basket.

She surveys the fruit — nectarines: 99 cents a pound — from behind wire-frame glasses and keeps no shopping list except for the one in her head, where she also stores facts about Martin Van Buren. She knows an awful lot about him because she works as an office automation assistant at The Martin Van Buren National Historic Site in Kinderhook.

Waiting in the seat of the cart usually reserved for wiggling children or delicates like loaves of bread is the thing that makes Metzger one dangerous customer: her coupon folio.

Lime green and plastic and organized in broad categories, that folio can leave a register reeling — backward, of course — as it subtracts, and subtracts and subtracts, from her bill.

Technology is changing coupons — and shopping in general. You can now print valid coupons from your computer rather than browse the weekly newspaper circulars. Here’s a roundup of what’s up:

• New generation of coupons means users clip less
• Printable coupons at The Penny Pincher Gazette
• mommysavesbig keeps track of the latest printable coupons, rebates, freebies and more
• There’s much more than just groceries at Yahoo! Deals
• And finally, here are the Top 5 Printable Coupon Sources, according to Examiner.com

You know times are hard when the shopping list makes a comeback.

As the recession takes hold, consumers who used to shop impulsively are seeking ways to rein in their spending, and many are finding that sticking to a list can help them navigate through stores and limit their purchases.

Yes, I meant to post this a while ago.

Many bargain hunters these days are trading supermarket aisles for the auction circuit in search of deep discounts on everything from cereal to spare ribs. Past the sell-by date? Bidders are happy to ignore that detail if they’re getting a good deal.”

I make a grocery list and ‘try’ to stick to it. I leave a note pad on the refrigerator to keep track of the food we need to replenish. Before shopping, I compare weekly grocery ads to find the best prices. If there is a good deal on something and I use the product on a regular basis, I buy it in multiples (especially the buy one-get one free items). Replacing name brand items with a generic equivalent also helps the budget. I have found that many less expensive generic products taste as good as the more costly name brand products.”

Researchers from the California Institute of Technology and Stanford’s business school have directly seen that the sensation of pleasantness that people experience when tasting wine is linked directly to its price. And that’s true even when, unbeknownst to the test subjects, it’s exactly the same Cabernet Sauvignon with a dramatically different price tag.”

Over the past year prices for some basic grocery staples are rising faster than at any time over the past decade, according to July figures of the U.S. consumer price index. Across America, frozen orange juice prices are up 31 percent over a year earlier; eggs and whole wheat bread up 24 percent; milk up 21 percent; margarine sticks up 17 percent; coffee and chicken breast up 12 percent; ground chuck up 11 percent; and soft drink colas up 10 percent.

The increases far exceed general consumer inflation, which rose 2.4 percent over the same period.”

Editor’s note on that headline: Duh.

The average retail price of a gallon of whole milk has never been higher — $3.80 a gallon — according to July Department of Agriculture statistics. Experts blame the price spike — up 51 cents since February — on milk shortages in Europe and Australia.”