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COUPON POWER/ON THE COVER
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Couponista's Money-Saving Tips:
• Only grocery shop once a week.
• Plan your list based on what's on sale now, not what you
need now.
• Only buy items on your list.
• Stockpile items that are on sale.
• Know your store's coupon policies and use them to your
advantage.
• Don't be afraid to try new brands and store brands.
• Share coupons.
• Don't impulse buy.
But because she's been stockpiling for
a while, it isn't often that what she needs
isn't already in her house.
Deal Finders
"All you need to save big money is a com-
puter, a box or crate, some file folders
and the Sunday paper," said Gorman, who
shops for her family of four, including
husband, Scott, and sons, Noah, 8, and
Max, 4.
"Just file the entire coupon insert that
comes with the paper all together in one
pile, without even clipping any of the
coupons:' she said. "Put it in a file with the
day's date on it and leave it there until the
coupons are used or expired."
Next, she uses a unique system of gath-
ering the coupons needed for each shop-
ping trip. It's perhaps her biggest secret
weapon: accessing the Web site coupon-
mom.corn.
"On the site, you can go to the name of
the store where you'll be shopping and it
will tell you what's on sale at the store that
week, which circular and what date circu-
lar the coupons are in that match with the
sale items:' Gorman said.
"I base my weekly list by what's on sale
in the circulars for the week:' she said.
Gorman uses the Web site, but said
even without computer access, shoppers
can thumb through the weekly news-
paper circulars and advertising to find
what they plan to shop for, whether it's at
grocery stores or drugstores, including
locally owned Sav-Mor stores — Warren
Prescriptions in Farmington Hills and
Say-On Drugs in West Bloomfield and
Bloomfield Township.
This past week, Gorman bought bottles
of Kraft barbeque sauce for only four
cents each. They were on sale for 79 cents
and purchased with 75-cent-off coupons.
The Bounty paper towels she came home
with were on sale for $1 a roll and were
purchased with coupons that took $1 off
every two rolls. So each roll cost her 50
cents. Her Smart Balance peanut butter
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May 14 • 2009
was 50 cents a jar.
"I got Danimals yogurt smoothies
— my kids love these — for 25 cents per
four-pack," she said.
Her rule: "No matter what the price, I
only get what my family can use or what
I can give to someone else. I won't come
home with a blood glucose monitor just
because it's free, because we don't need it
— even though they are often available at
no charge after store rewards or rebates:'
she said.
Where To Shop
cheaper than anywhere else she said.
"Bagged lettuce is about $3 for a huge bag,
and at the grocery store it's $2.50 for a
small bag."
Gorman also has shopped at Hiller's
Markets, which sells kosher foods, includ-
ing meats and poultry and several brands
of cheese, and has a wide selection of
Israeli foods. "I went there for Passover
items because they have an excellent selec-
tion:' Gorman said.
She also noted that Hiller's will double
manufacturer's coupons up to 50 cents.
Hiller's also will accept competitor's cou-
pons on a store-by-store basis as well as
Internet coupons from manufacturers and
other coupon sites.
Gorman takes only a small file folder
with that week's coupons on each super-
market visit. "It takes me an hour to an
hour-and-a-half each week to plan my
shopping trip," she said.
Gorman does her weekly grocery shop-
ping at Meijer in Commerce Township,
but occasionally also shops at other stores
"when there's a good deal."
In Michigan, couponmom.com only
links to cost-saving information for
Meijer, Kroger and Wal-Mart and lists
savings at national drugstore chains
including Target, CVS, Rite Aid
and Walgreens. The site also has
information on additional deals,
including printable coupons and
ways to get free samples.
"Meijer is big and overwhelm-
ing and out of my way, but I
like them because they are a
Michigan store and they offer
great specials:' Gorman said. "It's
the best place to find items on
sale that also have coupons asso-
ciated with them.
"And at Meijer, along with your
receipt, the register also spits out
"catalinas," which are coupons
you can use on future trips, for
discounted or free items!"
When paying, she said, "I
almost always use a credit card
that we get points for. In fact, I
am in the process of 'purchas-
ing' a laptop computer with the
points."
Once or twice a month, she
shops at Sam's Club. "There
are certain items there that are
Max and Noah near the family's food pantry.
But because she recommends shopping
only one time a week, the driving time
saved by shopping only once makes up for
the preparation time. "Sticking to your list
is important," she said. "So the fewer times
you shop, the fewer chances you have to
shop on a whim."
Make It Or Save It
Always a bargain shopper who used
coupons and sought out a deal, Gorman
started her money-saving quest a little
more than a year ago.
"I was looking for a job in the Jewish
community and was working in a different
field, but only one day a week',' she said.
"In the meantime, I decided if I couldn't
make money, I would save money."
She became immersed in learning how.
"I treated it like a job and spent a lot of
time doing research, reading books on
the subject and pouring over the forums
on couponing Web sites:' she said. "The
result is that I have been saving my family
about $400 a month — 20-50 percent on
each shopping trip — over what I used to
spend."
Part of the process includes frequenting
the same stores and registering for a store
savings card. "Not only will the card auto-
matically discount some items; but also
each time you shop there, points are accu-
mulated toward future coupons, either for
specific items or those that take a dollar
amount off the total purchase she said.
Sharing The Knowledge
"A quarter here or a dollar there really
adds up if you know what you're doing:'
Gorman said. "I can show anyone the
concrete techniques for saving money
the way I do. It's simply a matter of
knowing the right steps and making the
effort. So many people are having a hard
time. I want to help them save money
on groceries and get free and nearly free
bath and beauty products."
Last month, she began to share her
method by holding a seminar for a
group of friends. Her 8-year-old taught
her how to do a PowerPoint presenta-
tion that shows what she does every
week. She also offers a handout listing
a summary of all steps and a glossary
with the coupon lingo.
"We were her guinea pigs:' said Joy
Alekman, who hosted the program
in her Farmington Hills home. "Since
then I've saved 35 to 50 percent on each
shopping trip."
She has shopped both with the use of
couponmom.com and with just coupons
and store circulars. She said having
the computer made the process much
easier.
Alekman has been storing her stock-