Mom Interviews

How do you find time to search for coupons, clip them, file them, and match them up with sales?

Couponing does take time but it also saves time. Once you establish a stockpile you can go weeks without stepping into a grocery store. But the beauty of having the “How to Shop for Free” site is we all work together so the sales get posted and you can see what will work out free and not even have to look at the sale paper if you are lazy that week.

 We also post some sales a week in advance, which gives time to get coupons for them. For example last week I got the Shaws (a New England grocery store chain) flyer on Monday for the sale that started on Friday so it gave me time to find coupons for the sale and get free yogurt , ketchup and popcorn. It also gave me time to order higher value coupons from Ebay from out of state.

For those that swear they just can't find the time to cut coupons, I suggest buying coupons on Ebay for things they use regularly. You can buy coupons for your daily Dunkin Donuts or your favorite brand of makeup, or order 20 coupons for free cat chow and only pay a couple of bucks and get hundreds in savings.

Could you share some of the finer points of couponing?

We had $1 off 2 Orville coupons but other states got 50 cents off of 1. What’s the difference? Shaws doubles coupons, so that made them $1 off of 1, so I get to stock up on popcorn. And, actually, it’s part of a spend $25 get $10 back promo, so not only am I getting them for free I am actually going to be UP money after doing this deal. This is what we call a “money maker.”

What’s one of your favorite money-saving deals?

One of my best deals, I have to say, is I found my current contractor through him offering a coupon. One night we got to talking and I told him about my group and what I do, he was so impressed he begged me to teach him how. He, in return, built be a free laundry room for the help I had given him and the money I had saved his family. I recently featured him and his daughters on my site with a picture he had sent me. He and his girls were posing in front of a mountain of Capri Sun juicebox cases they had got for free that week. I believe it was over 100 cases.

How much money do you save with coupons, on average?

I personally save at least a few hundred dollars a week by using coupons; my average grocery bill is $4. I am married and have four kids, one dog, two cats, and one rabbit.