Savings with a Snip
BY ELIZABETH HARMON
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Six years ago, Kate Charnota, a stay-at-home mom from McHenry, found a part-time job to help stretch her family’s budget.
She adds about $200 a month to her family’s bottom line with just a few hours a week.
Her job? Coupon clipping and shopping.
Charnota used to spend $600 on food, cleaning supplies and health items every month for a family of five. Now she spends about $400.
“I never go anywhere without a coupon,” she says.
She has used coupons all her life, but learning to organize them, as well as visiting several Web sites, has helped her maximize her savings.
“I used to cut them out and organize them by brand,” she says.
Now Charnota stores whole circulars in a binder, uses a Web site to identify weekly specials and weed out expired offers and trades coupons with friends.
“We try to encourage clients to use them because it’s free money,” says Cindy Korus, a counselor with Consumer Credit Counseling Service of McHenry County.
Coupons can help shoppers cut their grocery costs by half or more, says Jill Cataldo, a McHenry County resident and nationally syndicated coupon columnist.
“Most people just clip a few and take them to the store if they remember, but that’s the worst way to do it,” she says.
She offers four tips to make coupons work for you.
Tip 1: KNOW THE CYCLES
“What people don’t realize is prices are always changing,” Cataldo says.
During 12 weeks, grocery prices fluctuate.
Web sites such as www.savingsangel.com, www.grocerygame.com and www.couponmom.com track pricing cycles of local grocery chains and suggest coupons to pair with sale prices to get the best deal. When an item is half off or more, that’s the time to buy.
“For example, I bought Bestlife Spreadable Olive Oil and Butter,” Cataldo says. “It’s regularly $3.29, but right now it’s $1.25, and I have a $1-off coupon. Guess when I’m going to use it?”
Coupons aren’t usually available for meat and produce, but their pricing works just about the same way.
“With meat, you can follow the same 12-week cycle,” Cataldo says. “With produce, you go with the flow and buy what’s in season.”
Tip 2: SHOP AHEAD
Think about how much of an item your family uses during 12 weeks, and buy accordingly.
“You don’t need to go crazy like the people on TV,” Cataldo says.
“With cereal, we use a box a week, so I’ll get 12. A bottle of ketchup lasts about a month, so I’ll get three.”
A small pantry in your basement or garage and a little extra room in your freezer can help you take advantage of savings and reduce trips to the store, but Korus urges caution.
“Food is easy to overspend on,” she says.
“Most people don’t need 32 bottles of ketchup, so if we see someone doing that, it tells me they’re overspending.”
Tip 3: GET ORGANIZED
Save money and time with a shopping list.
“I encourage clients to make a meal plan, make a shopping list on a blank envelope and put your coupons in there,” Korus says.
Instead of weekly clipping, Cataldo suggests, date and file coupon circulars, tossing them out after the coupons have expired.
Keep them with store flyers to make comparison-shopping easier.
The Sunday newspaper remains the best source for coupons, Cataldo says. But check online for printable coupons at www.coupons.com, www.couponnetwork.com, www.smartsource.com and www.redplum.com. Find more ideas through online blogs such as Cataldo’s at www.supercouponing.com.
In stores, look for coupon dispensers, coupons on packages and printouts at the register, especially those that offer cash discounts on future shopping trips.
“I like to use them for meat and produce,” Cataldo says.
“It’s a really good way to bring prices down.”
Tip 4: HELP YOURSELF, HELP OTHERS
Korus suggests planning what you’ll spend before discounts, taking that amount of cash to the grocery store, then applying the money you get back after coupons to one of your financial goals.
“This is a great way to start a savings plan because it’s money you would have spent anyway,” she says.
Rick Orr, director of investment advisors for Baxter Credit Union, which has a branch in Crystal Lake, agrees.
“When it comes to investing, little increases (over time) can add up to be quite a bit,” he says.
