Her family, however, had a reserve of food to fall back on thanks to coupons, Yoder said.ĭuring her best shopping trip, she purchased 165 boxes of cereal for about $14. A few months later, Yoder learned that she was pregnant with her seventh child, and then her husband lost his job. She knew Knight, who had also started to clip coupons, from her church and the two started blogging together in November 2008. Yoder started the blog about three years ago for family and friends. The site boasts nine bloggers, including the coupon class instructors Yoder and Knight, who specialize in specific grocery stores. "But we're certainly keeping an eye on the industry," Dailey said.Īt Fabulessly Frugal, savvy shoppers can find video tutorials and state specific coupon lists. The so-called extreme couponers make up a small portion of customers and Kroger has not been forced to limit coupon use because of the trend, he said. "We've seen slightly more complex couponing, which can take longer for us to help our customers exit the store," said Kroger spokesman Keith Dailey. The site added a mobile phone coupon app last year.
#Extreme couponing stockpile download#
The Kroger Co., which operates the nation's largest traditional grocery chain, launched a website about 18 months ago that allows customers to download coupons to their store discount cards or onto home computers to print.
"This is a whole new ballgame," said Glenda Glisson, 63, who attended the extreme couponing class in Boise. The Internet has also bolstered coupon use, with a wide range of online promotions, databases of coupons and bloggers who regularly post about the best deals. reported coupon use doubling in the first half of 2009 compared with the same period a year earlier, The National Grocers Association issued a warning in 2009, as couponing made a fierce comeback during the peak of the recession. "I think the stores are a little freaked out because of the television show," said Knight, who advises her students to keep a copy of grocery store policies on hand during shopping trips in case problems arise.Įven before the "Extreme Couponing" series, grocery stores were put on alert about counterfeit coupons that were circulating online. They also warned against photocopying coupons, which can place stores on alert and ruin deals for everyone. They encourage them to stockpile food to help their families, but caution against "hoarding" or clearing shelves of items that their families don't need or won't use. They instruct their students to be kind to their cashiers. In their class, Yoder and Knight warn against some of the practices that have given extreme coupon cutters like themselves a bad rap.
She showed off pictures of the stockpile of food at her home, where 46 boxes of cereal are stowed in her children's bedroom closet and packages of breakfast drink mix are kept under a bed. The women oohed and awed as Knight pulled out the fat binder of coupons that saves her 50 percent to 90 percent on every grocery bill.
They own the extreme couponing blog, "Fabulessly Frugal." The three-hour course was taught by Knight and her business partner, Cathy Yoder. She was among about 20 women who attended an extreme coupon class on a recent Saturday in Boise. "I was feeling a little conspicuous because people were staring at me," Border said. But she was hooked a few weeks ago, after coupons and store deals brought her $180 grocery bill down to $40. Heather Border, a 36-year-old mother of four in rural Idaho, is new to the extreme coupon phenomenon.
#Extreme couponing stockpile series#
Most have watched the television series "Extreme Couponing," which debuted on TLC in April and follows shoppers whose intense devotion to finding bargains can whittle a $555.44 grocery store bill down to $5.97, to cite one extreme example. They're the latest disciples of extreme couponing women who carry pictures of their overflowing pantries on their cell phones savvy shoppers who will spend hours flipping through newspaper and magazine advertisements in search of their bargains, and homemakers who have pinched pennies to put food on the table during the recession and need the extra help. Breaking into a broad smile, Knight says that figure has been reduced to only $100 to $150 a month.Īnd now the dental hygienist and mother of two is about to tell them her secret. BOISE, Idaho (AP) - The women sat expectantly as Monica Knight told them she once routinely spent $600 a month on groceries for her family of four.
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