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Sarah carries three coupon books in her purse all of the time, but on the trips to Winchester she carries her whole coupon collection filed in the shoeboxes.
Sarah usually buys $50 to $60 worth of groceries a week for $25 to $30. During a trip to Winchester, though, she has had her finest moment to date as a coupon clipper. She still has the ticket to prove that she bought $122 worth of groceries for $24. “I usually take just $40 with me on the shopping trips, so when the register showed $122 I began to worry,” Sarah said. “Then they started adding up the coupons, and I ended up having to pay $24.”
She has also purchased 18 cans of dog food for $1. “The checker couldn’t believe it, and he told me that I should go run Reagan’s budget,” Sarah said. “I told him that I wouldn’t want the headache.”
Sarah worries sometimes that she is a headache for the cashiers when she steps up to the register with a hand full of coupons. “I hate it when there’s a line behind me and I have coupons that have to be added up,” Sarah said. “Most checkers are usually nice about it, and I try to help them by circling expiration dates.”
Finding, clipping and filing the coupons takes a lot of Sarah’s time. “I used to work on them at least two hours a day when Amanda would take a nap, but now she wants to help,” Sarah said. “It’s a good hobby when you have the time.”
It also takes time to collect, fill out and mail in forms for rebates or free products. The time is worth it to Sarah, though, when the checks and packages arrive. Last week Sarah received $10.09 in checks, $5 in dairy checks, $2 in photo certificates, $1 for an air freshner, coupons for free pancake mix, orange juice and plastic wrap, a camera and a $5 AT&T certificate. She said that she usually does not receive that much in one week.
“The refunds and rebates really help out at Christmas time with presents,” Sarah said. Although she has tried to put her coupon savings in a jar, Sarah uses the money to buy gifts or for little luxuries for the family. Once, she
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