Coupon User Mastered the Art of Saving

Coupon-user has mastered art of saving Mother of 4 says that she spent about $1,500 on groceries last year In 2003, Jennifer Walker spent about $1,500 on groceries for her family of six. No, that wasn't on one trip to the store. That was for the whole year. The Shelbyville mother had heard about people who saved money by using coupons, but she didn't know how they did it. In February 2002, she discovered mycoupons.com. By saving coupons and following the Web site's advice, she began to learn the fundamentals. Grasping the concept was difficult at first. She started out spending three hours in the grocery store. At first, Walker meticulously followed the advice of people who posted on the Web site; she bought the same items using the same coupons as others suggested. After about three months, she became proficient at saving money with coupons. Walker has found coupons for almost everything she buys at the supermarket -- even milk and meat. Last year, Walker said she saved nearly $11,000. She still uses the Internet for tips but develops her own shopping strategies by clipping and organizing her coupons and scouring supermarket ads. Walker compares coupons to sales to get the best bargains. Now, she spends about one hour a week clipping and organizing coupons and about an hour in the grocery store during each visit. Timing is crucial. If a coupon is nearing its expiration date, she will use itright away rather than lose it. If the coupon still has plenty of life, it will be saved in hopes of an upcoming sale. Locally, Marsh, Meijer and Kroger double coupons of up to 50 cents. That'spretty good, but Walker waits for super-double and triple-couponpromotions, which Marsh and Kroger have on a recurring basis. A triple-coupon promotion triples the face value of a manufacturer's couponup to 50 cents. A super-double promotion doubles the face value for amanufacturer's coupon between 51 cents and $1. Coupons between $1.01 and $2 are redeemed at $2. Coupons worth $2.01 and higher are redeemed at face value. Usually, stores offer these two promotions simultaneously. Organization is a key factor to using coupons. Some people use pocketbook-size coupon organizers. Others use envelopes. Walker prefers a large three-ring binder with protective plastic baseballsheets. She can organize like coupons together and easily see what she has. Walker's husband, Dan, 35, has supported his wife from the beginning. He will even go to the store himself, if he is given a list of items and the required coupons. With two adults, four boys -- ages 4, 6, 10 and 12 -- two dogs, two cats, one hamster and one fish, food costs can be high. Thanks to coupon-clipping,Walker said she saves about 70 percent on her grocery store bills."I don't know how we managed before," she said. Now that she has mastered the techniques of coupon redemption, Walkercould never stop. Paper coupons are like cash to her. She hates to pay fullprice for any item, and she hates to see others pay full price, too. If Walkersees someone buying an item that she has a coupon for, she will give the person the coupon. Most people will accept a coupon from a stranger, but one man turned herdown. He was buying a bottle of liquid soap, and he had a coupon. Walkeroffered him two coupons, so he could buy two more bottles. Refusing theoffer, the man told Walker that he only needed one bottle of soap. The man failed to recognize Walker's most powerful saving strategy:buying sale items in multiples when possible. Businesses typically don't buy items singly -- including office supplies like pens and pads of paper --and savvy shopper don't, either. Most local supermarkets will accept multiple coupons for the same numberof items purchased. If Walker has 10 coupons for pickles, she buys 10 jars-- even if she has 20 jars at home. She knows she will use them eventually. When sales are exceptional, Walker shops every day. When sales are unimpressive, she often skips weeks at a time. She has waited as long asone month between shopping trips. Of course, her husband might stopand pick up some gallons of milk in the meantime. Buying in multiples does have one major disadvantage: storage. The Walkers bought two freezers to supplement the one in their refrigerator. They also expanded their kitchen pantry. The shelves are filled with a variety of brand-name items -- Mott'sApplesauce, Act II Popcorn, Honey Bunches of Oats cereal, Sweet Baby Ray's Gourmet Barbecue Sauce, Mrs. Butterworth's Pancake Syrup, Vlasic Pickle Relish, Lawry's Steak Sauce and Mike-sell's Potato Chips. The Walkers have passed their blessings on to others. They've donated boxes of toiletries to a mission in Fort Myers, Fla., which is affiliated with their Shelbyville church, Bible Holiness Church. They have allso have donated food items to a few families experiencing financial hardships. Walker has an advantage over most shoppers. She has a friend who collects newspapers for recycling. The woman gives all of the coupon circulars to Walker. Anyone can enjoy the savings power of multiple coupons, though. Walker's friend Debbie Conover said she saves approximately $40 a week by buying newspapers and collecting coupons from a few relatives. It might not sound like much, but she only buys for herself and her husband, Coyt, so grocery expenses are low. In a year, she reports saving $2,080. Walker taught Conover how to save by showing her some techniques at Kroger. "Jennifer said you have to learn by doing it," Conover said. "Now, I get free stuff at the grocery store almost every week." Walker also taught her sister, Stephanie Murphy, how to save money with coupons. Sometimes, they shop together. "Anybody can do it," Murphy said. "Sometimes, I only owe the clerk a few cents or nothing at all." Walker is a semi-celebrity at her favorite supermarket, the ShelbyvilleKroger. Most know her by her first name. Some even motion her to their lane,so they can see how much she has saved. Sometimes, clerks get almost as excited as Walker. A few have given Walker stacks of coupons. So far, Walker's crowning coupon-clipping achievement was handing the clerk 32 cents for $700 worth of groceries and other items. "I had three carts," she said. Coupon tips Jennifer Walker's tips for saving money at the supermarket: • Visit www.mycoupons. com weekly. • Buy a Sunday paper every week. • Ask friends and family for unwanted coupons. • Join or form a coupon-clipping club. • Stay organized. • Match coupons to sales for the best deals. • Buy multiples of free/inexpensive items. • Buying at a discount now is better than paying full price later. • Always watch for coupons. Other sources for coupons include publications (especially women's magazines) and blinking coupon- dispensers in stores. • Obtain a rain check if the store is out of an item. • Take advantage of rebates. • If possible, purchase rebate items separately because you will need to mail in the receipts.