Business & Technology
At the heart of The Coupon Mom's Guide To Cutting Your Grocery Bills In Half, is Stephanie Nelson's philosophy that cost saving doesn't mean sacrificing a healthy diet or the foods your family likes. With the meal-planning strategies and simple recipes in this book, cooking quick, delicious, and nourishing meals has never been simpler.
"Nothing makes me more excited than showing others how to get a jar of pasta sauce for free by combining sales and coupons," says Stephanie Nelson, founder of www.CouponMom.com, the largest grocery savings website of its kind helping consumers save money. Broadening her proven advice that has drawn millions to her website, Nelson now presents The Coupon Mom's Guide To Cutting Your Grocery Bills In Half: The Strategic Shopping Method Proven to Slash Food and Drugstore Costs. This invaluable shopping companion that will save readers hundreds, and possibly thousands of dollars a year without compromising taste, variety, or quality. As Nelson promises, you'll be "simply astounded at how much money you are saving."
In 2008, companies distributed 315 billion grocery coupons worth $400 billion dollars across the country, but less than 1% of these coupons were redeemed. To Nelson, that's throwing free money down the drain! But her Strategic Shopping goes beyond simply clipping coupons. Here, she shares all the tricks of her trade. Beginning with a self-assessment quiz, readers will discover whether they are a Varsity shopper, Busy shopper, or Rookie shopper. Then, the book offers a tailor-made plan for every lifestyle. Readers will learn:
- How to get the best deals at wholesale clubs, mass merchandisers, discounts stores, and drug stores
- How to combine store sales, coupons, and promotions to get the deepest discounts and even FREE products
- Easy ways to track prices and the foolproof rules on when to buy, and when to hold a coupon
- Why buying in bulk isn't always more cost-effective
- How to save on diapers, baby food, and kids entertainment—at home and on vacation
- How to buy organic without breaking the budget, and much, much more!
In addition to helping families save money, Nelson's passion is to encourage people to use her money-saving strategies to contribute donations to food shelters across the country. She began a program called Cut Out Hunger to give her readers practical, effective ways to give back to their communities.
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Introduction
I never meant to become the Coupon Mom. I certainly never dreamed I'd have a website with two million members.
My intention was to feed my family for less money, and to help families less fortunate than ours.
After graduating from college with a major in finance, I worked for ten years in sales and marketing for Procter & Gamble and the Marriott hotel chain. In 1995, my husband and I made the decision to downsize our lifestyle so that I could stay home with our boys, a two-year-old and a new baby. My quitting the corporate world meant our income would be cut in half, so I knew I was actually taking on two new roles: stay-at-home mom and CEO of our family budget. To get by on one income, our dollars had to work harder than ever. As we examined our household spending to cut costs across the board, I noticed that grocery bills represented a big chunk of our overall budget. I figured that cutting what we spent on groceries would have a significant impact and would give us a good bit of financial wiggle room. I was right!
By cruising the grocery-store aisles with a clipboard to record prices, I learned how sales cycles work and when to buy. I diligently scanned store circulars and clipped newspaper coupons to plan meals around deals. My freezer and my pantry became two of my closest friends, since they allowed me to load up when prices dropped, keeping our food costs constant.
As we all got more Web-savvy, saving money on groceries became easier than ever. Printable coupons, electronic coupons, downloadable discounts to store loyalty cards, and deals on stores' and manufacturers' websites all presented more ways to save. My strategies allowed me to not only cut back dramatically on my own family's grocery bills, but also to give back to the less fortunate through a program I called Cut Out Hunger.
Once I mastered the ways of combining sales, coupons, promotions, and rebates, I was able to buy many items for pennies, sometimes for nothing. That translated into donations for our local food bank, and a wonderful lesson for our children.
This was all too good not to share with others, so I started spreading the word through seminars and media appearances. We launched CouponMom .com in 2001 to give shoppers one easy place on the Web to learn Strategic Shopping methods, search for deals, and share success stories and advice with others. The site has also gotten a lot of media attention, and I've appeared on both Today and The Oprah Winfrey Show, sharing what I've learned with as many people as I can. Nothing makes me more excited than showing others how to get a jar of pasta sauce for free by combining sales and coupons. Or, more important, helping families significantly slash their grocery bills over time. On the website, a community has developed, and we all have a good time helping one another reach our savings goals.
Trying economic times mean that many people who in the past never gave a thought to how much money they spent suddenly need to get serious about saving. It means many families who were living on the financial edge are struggling more than ever and need the help of those who are able to give.
This book is written for every shopper who wants to save, or give, or both. I'll show you the power of planning, and how adopting simple strategies can make the most of your time and money. I'll share budget-friendly recipes your family will love, and we'll hear some inspiring stories from CouponMom.com members who are making a difference in their families— and in their communities, by adopting the Cut Out Hunger program to fit the needs of people in their areas. I'll talk about the various types of shopping styles and how my plan can be customized for any lifestyle, so that everyone can benefit. Everyone, from the rushed single professional who has barely 5 minutes to eat, much less to plan shopping trips, to the dedicated deal seeker who treats the grocery store like a big-game hunter treats a safari, can save with the strategies this book teaches.
Our kids are now thirteen and sixteen, and we have treasured the years I have been able to spend at home with them. The Strategic Shopping methods I teach in this book helped make it possible. Our grocery spending is half of what it once was. We eat budget-friendly meals and, above all else, plan our trips to the supermarket carefully.
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