Most of us couldn't buy a single box of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese for 42 cents.
Staci Wilson got four boxes of the quick-meal staple recently when she spent 42 cents at a local supermarket.
But that was just the beginning. For her investment of four dimes and two pennies, Staci also went home with a package of Jolly Time popcorn; Apple Jacks cereal; two boxes of Kraft pasta salad; a jar of Classico sauce; a four-pack of Activia yogurt; and two packages of Oscar Mayer hot dogs.
When it was all added up, the register tape read $16.92. But that was before the clerk started subtracting the discounts that Wilson had earned:
Wilson, an STCU card services rep and credit union member, acknowledges that particular shopping outing was unusual. "Usually a trip like that will cost maybe $5," she said.
Wilson, 24, is part of a renaissance in coupon use by American shoppers, something consumer experts attribute to the tough economy.
CNN recently reported that coupon use declined for 15 years, but began to rebound in 2006, when rising prices made clipping coupons cool for everything from food to entertainment.
Target and Wal-Mart have reported an 11 percent increase in coupon use since 2007, CNN reported, while convenience stores saw a 14 percent increase - despite shorter expiration dates and other restrictions imposed by manufacturers.
Like many modern trends, this one is web-assisted. Though Americans still get most of their coupons from the Sunday newspaper, the number using online coupons quadrupled between 2005 and 2008, National Public Radio reported. Many consumers use sites like coupons.com, mommysavers.com and weusecoupons.com.
Wilson scours the supermarket ads Wednesdays and Sundays in The Spokesman-Review, and gets many others online or in stores. A Liberty Lake resident, she's found advice and support from a local blog, frugalchicliving.blogspot.com, where thrifty shoppers share news of the latest bargains.
With two incomes and no children, clipping coupons isn't about financial survival, Wilson said. In fact, she pays a premium for fresh vegetables, often buying at a farmers market during the growing season. There are fewer coupons for meats, so she looks for sales on family packs, which she divides into one-pound portions for freezing.
Wilson said she likes the challenge of saving money, and gets an adrenaline rush when she finds a particularly good bargain. And she passes along her savings through her church. "The more money I can save on groceries, the more I can provide to somebody else who needs it."
