Oswego (WSYR-TV) - A group of 20 Central New York women has found a way to work together to save money on their grocery bill every week.
Kerri Shumpert leads the coupon trading group, which meets every Thursday in the basement of the Southwest Oswego United Methodist Church to cut, sort, and trade their favorite deals. Shumpert takes saving money very seriously.
“I have a file folder with 100 coupons on me at any given time,” she said. “I save between $30 and $40 a week. And that's a low figure- some people save hundreds a week.”
Finding coupons for healthier foods can be a challenge, however. So shoppers who want to save money and eat fresh foods might have to search.
Marketing experts say coupons are made to help people save money when they larger quantities. Fresh fruits and vegetables, meanwhile, are difficult to stockpile.
It just depends on how much time you dedicate to matching coupons with sales. But if you're looking for healthy foods, you could be searching for a while. Marketing experts say coupons are made so you save money buying larger quantities of items you can stockpile.
“The coupons incentive among people to buy vegetables is lower because they don't need to store more, they cannot store more, it's a perishable product,” said Tridib Madumdar , a marketing professor at Syracuse University.
Shumpert, however, says that none of her coupons go to waste.
“We have expireds and unused coupons that we send to the military bases once a month. The military bases can used expireds up to six months at their bases and commissaries,” she said.
Determined coupon clippers can often find products and merchandise for free. Shumpert says she picks up the Sunday paper and looks for the sales section, taking note of what products she is currently looking for that may be on sale.
For example, if one is looking for a $1 toothbrush, he or she should look for a manufacturer’s coupon and cut it out; then find a grocery store that will double that coupon up to 50 cents – the coupon’s value adds up to the price of the product.
Shumpert noted that the more time spent staying organized with coupons, the more money one can save.
