Couponing class teaches community to be savvy shoppers

By Mrs Michelle Kennedy (IMCOM)June 23, 2011

(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- Some 40 Fort Drum Family Members gathered June 14 at Army Community Service learn easy ways to “stretch a buck.” ACS offered its first Couponing Class and shared easy tips to help the attendees get organized and start saving.

In these hard economic times, people are trying to save money where they can and learning to be savvy shoppers is part of the routine, according to Katherine Jackson, a Fort Drum spouse who taught part of the class.

In 2007, Jackson quit her job to go back to college full time. She was a single mom on a reduced income at the time, and she had to find ways to shop smart.

Jackson said she had used coupons here and there, but she never realized how much money she could save by “target shopping,” or shopping for specific items during each trip to the store.

“I shop for sales (at local grocery stores), and I shop at the commissary for anything that doesn’t go on sale,” she said.

Couponing is especially beneficial for military Families, Jackson said.

“There are a lot of one-income (Families),” she said. “People think the military makes a ton of money, but we really don’t. When you have a Family (with multiple children), it can become very challenging to pay for cell phones, bills and child care. Bills add up.”

The hit show, “Extreme Couponing,” shows shoppers going to excessive measures to save money, but couponing doesn’t have to take over a person’s life, Jackson said.

Katie Holmes, a local dance teacher and coupon user, also helped to teach the class. She and Jackson both use binders with clear baseball or business card holder sheets to store and organize their coupons.

“Have sections for food, household items, laundry, dog food and personal items,” she said. “On the front of the section, I list the items in the order they are in the binder.”

Holmes added that she organizes and prepares her coupons on car trips or while she watches TV.

“The hardest and most time-consuming part is getting the coupons clipped and into the binder,” she said.

Jackson said she spends about 10 hours a week, which includes collecting, cutting, organizing and preparing for a shopping trip.

“I am a graduate student, a Girl Scout troop leader and a (family readiness group) leader, so I don’t have 30 or 40 hours a week to dedicate to couponing,” she said.

Jackson and Holmes both recommend buying Sunday newspapers and subscribing to online coupon databases. Shoppers looking to start couponing should buy one newspaper for each Family Member.

Tips to shop smart:

* Be organized.

* Never enter a grocery store without a list of items.

* Stick to the list.

* Shop alone if your spouse can’t stick to a list.

* Sign up for store bonus cards.

Virginia Cooper, ACS Information and Referral Program manager, said the class was a huge success. She plans to organize another coupon class in the future.

“Everyone had nothing but positive things to say,” she said. “People were asking that we do a couponing 101 and 102 and then a true extreme (couponing) class.”

Cooper added that she wants to start a coupon club in conjunction with class. Volunteers also clip and organize coupons for the coupon bins located in the ACS entryway. The bins are full of manufacturer and military store coupons that are available free to Soldiers and Family Members.