Clipping coupons can take time and energy. With the way the economy has been for the past couple of years, it can be helpful to save a little bit of money here and there.

Companies have also suffered from the weak economy. Businesses do just about anything to promote themselves, offering customers discounts over competitors’ prices and everything in between to draw in customers.

Coupons can be seen all over college campuses. These little slips of paper can be good for anything from a free entree with the purchase of a drink at a local restaurant to 20 percent off a purchase at the campus bookstore.

Coupons can be good for penny-pinching students and families, but also for the local economy.

(In order to keep the company and its employees safe, Macey’s has asked that only the first names of employees are disclosed.)

“Every transaction we have, we can almost count on a coupon,” said Taylor, a manager at the Macey’s grocery store on 36th Street. “Coupons bring people into the store.”

Debbie, another manager at the same Macey’s, pointed out that fake coupons, usually coupons printed from websites promoting free laundry detergent, are the only problem she’s ever encountered with coupons.

“If anything, (coupon use) promotes sales,” said Brendan Knell, a manager at the Smith’s on the corner of 40th and Harrison. “We don’t lose any money off of it. We send all the coupons into the manufacturer and get reimbursed for them.”

Not only is a coupon good for the company’s bottom line, but it also increases the number of customers coming through the doors of a store and, in turn, can increase positive public opinion.

“(Accepting coupons) increases traffic,” Knell said. “People want to use their coupons. If we didn’t accept them, they’d take them somewhere else.”

For some businesses, making coupons isn’t all about bringing in customers or building a positive reputation. Some businesses offer coupons as a form of advertisement. Roxberry, a smoothie shop just around the corner from University Village, is a Utah company. Due to the hard economic times, the Roxberry on Harrison Boulevard closed its doors. Now that it’s open again, the goal with coupons is to get its name out and let the public know it’s open for business.

“Roxberry, as a policy, accepts competitor coupons . . . (coupons) help advertise that we’re out there,” said Dan Smith, a manager at the Harrison Boulevard Roxberry.

Roxberry also has coupons printed in a coupon book that is available for students at the campus bookstore.

Chris Lopez, a student majoring in general studies, said he likes to get a deal, but has a difficult time finding deals worth his effort.

“They’re very helpful, but it’s hard to find a coupon that will give you a deal good enough to exert the effort to get and use the coupon,” Lopez said.