Coupon queen feeds family of six for $4 a week
Filed under: Bargains, Budgets, Saving Money, Shopping
Kathy Spencer of Boxford, Mass. has to be the Jedi Master of coupons. If you know anyone who can beat her record of feeding a family of six and three pets for around $4 a week -- all thanks to her stealth discount shopping -- then I'd tell you that person is shoplifting!You can be a coupon master too, but it takes a lot of planning and buying in bulk when it's on sale, Spencer told Boston's WCVB TV. "We freeze everything. If taco shells are on sale, we pull out chicken from the freezer and make tacos."
Spencer spends about five hours a week scouring newspapers, circulars, and websites for deals, and about four hours in grocery stores matching coupon to item. "A lot of the stuff I get for nothing. I will mail in a rebate and actually make money," she says.
On a shopping trip in Seabrook, New Hampshire, Spencer scored $279 in groceries for 39 cents. Gail Huff, the reporter who accompanied her on the trip, vouches for the savings, "I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it."
You can follow Spencer's savings on the "How to shop for FREE" group on the social networking site, BigTent.com. Needless to say the coupon master has thousands of followers and growing.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
8-27-2009 @ 10:54AM
PATRICK said...
THAT IS FANTASTIC....SHE HAS A FULL TIME JOB AND IT'S IS SAVING MONEY. I BET SHE COULD DO EVEN BETTER IF SHE INCLUDES RECYCLING. I BET HER EXPENSES WOULD BE IN THE NEGATIVE.
THAT SHOULD BE SHOWN TO OUR GOVERNMENT. MAYBE THEY CAN TAKE A HINT OR TWO WITH OUR ECONOMY.
Reply
8-28-2009 @ 11:08AM
BelaySmert said...
QUICK !! Make her a shopping czar.
8-27-2009 @ 3:52PM
vavjak said...
Teach me your tricks, I live In haverhill.
Reply
8-28-2009 @ 1:30AM
Deborah said...
I find it ironic that membership is not free!
Reply
8-29-2009 @ 9:37AM
Carey said...
It's not free AND you need an "invitation" to get in???
10-26-2009 @ 10:24AM
Felicia said...
Really? you are upset about the $1 fee for a whole year! That is a mere .08 per month to find information you would have never found out otherwise. I bet you give a away more than .08 per month for nothing!
8-28-2009 @ 8:42AM
Linda said...
yeah sure she does. She gets the papers and circulars, , and ink and paper to print too? I also find it ironic that membership is $1 so you can scam all my information from me??why? or you can be a seller for $14 and sell crap too?
It's like the Biggest Loser "trying" to help people stay healthy and fit but you have to pay for their information too.
Nothing is free anymore. Her free groceries are prob 20boxes of mac n cheese and no meat or veggies LOL
Reply
8-28-2009 @ 6:45PM
J said...
You're right. The "food" she's b uying isn't actually food at all. It's processed crap. When she starts buying meat, veggies, furits and dairy for four bucks a week, b*tch, call me.
8-29-2009 @ 12:03PM
Cathy said...
Exactly what about fresh produce. Not to mention the gas and time.
8-28-2009 @ 3:35PM
Lynne said...
OK - so she spemd 5 hrs a week looking for coupons, and 4 hrs a week in the grocery store - get real! That's about $215 dollars worth of my time. I could feed a family of 6 and still have change.
Reply
8-30-2009 @ 10:07AM
Patti said...
she probably also has to stockpile for months, spending an huge amount of money first, before she can even do this.
8-28-2009 @ 5:36PM
Dee said...
Do her children not drink milk or eat FRESH fruit or veggies? B/c where I live, there are NEVER coupons for those type of items and sales are very rare in the fresh produce section. I am hoping she grows some of these things, otherwise her children have extremely poor nutrition. Even if they are getting it canned, it is full of sugar and preservatives.
Reply
8-29-2009 @ 10:45AM
Kateybeth said...
Although Milk and Meat coupons are rare, they do exist. Simply Smart and Move Over milk are two brands that regularly offer coupons. When you team these up with each product being on sale and use store sponsored extra coupons like doubling or tripling, you can get milk for either free or nearly free. I recently bought Hood 14 ounce individual servings of milk (some flavored, some white) at a price of $1 each, I had coupons that gave me $1 off of two and then used the instore promotional coupon that doubled that dollar coupon making my milk free.
Our grocery stores offer buy 1, get 1 free sales, buy 2, get 3 free sales. I take advantage of those too. One particularly good deal I found this past summer was for John Morrel Kielbasa and Smoked Sausage. They were on a buy1, get 1 sale, ($3.99 for two) plus they had $1 coupons on them and our store was offering to double coupons. I ended up stocking up on both products. Summer is nearly over and I still have 6 or 8 Kielbasa and Smoked Sausages to use over the winter.
8-29-2009 @ 6:24AM
Michelle Hirt said...
I have seen this done. I had a friend who would keep box tops of everything as proof of purchase. She needed a storage shed for it all. Then she would send in a dozen soup labels and get coupons towards soup or actual cash. She never actually paid for soap, toothpaste, things like that. They hunted for meat or fished. They grew their own veggies and had fruit trees in the back. Canning was key. She also traded with friends. Trading peanut butter for cereal was common. It can be done. People start thinking about this stuff. In the future we will probably not have SS. We will need to go "back in the day"...............
Reply
8-29-2009 @ 7:12AM
Tapestry said...
Invest in a small green house in your backyard so you can grow fresh vegetables year round, plant fruit trees in stead of ever greens or fruitless varieties. That is a start, there are still places where you can buy a whole animal that is freezed if you can afford having a freezer, you can make your own bread and your own clothes too.
However, you have to figure out what your time is going to be for these daily chores. Most people work full time they don't have time to make their own clothes, which includes buying material and using a sewing machine.
There will always be a few that make 'saving money' their top priority but for the rest of us we live from pay check to pay check and just have enough time in our day after work to eat and get some sleep before the next day dawns.
Reply
8-29-2009 @ 7:20AM
KAREN said...
MAYBE YOU SHOULD WRITE A BOOK, BECAUSE WE LIVE IN LONGMEADOW , MASSACHUSETTS (WESTERN MASS.), AND EVEN WITH COUPONS AND ALOT OF GENERIC BRANDS, IT TAKES US AT LEAST 200 A WEEK FOR A FAMILY OF 4, PLUS OUR 3 DOGS, JUST TO EAT BASIC MEALS--NOTHING FANCY.....ITS BAD ENOUGH WE DONT MAKE A WHOLE LOT TO BEGIN WITH , (AND, YES WE HAVE COLLEGE EDUCATIONS), SO YOU SEE EDUCATION DOESNT DO MUCH--SEEMS TO BE "WHO YOU KNOW" TO GET A DECENT JOB TODAY.......WE STRUGGLE....MY EX HUBBY HAD ALOT OF MONEY BUT WAS ROTTEN TO ME--THIS MAN IS GOOD TO ME BUT DOESNT MAKE CRAP --- I GUESS YOU CANT WIN.......I COME FROM A WEALTHY FAMILY TOO...OF COURSE THEY DO NOT HELP, UNLESS IT IS AN EMERGENCY......A PART OF ME THINKS MY KIDS AND I DESERVE A BETTER LIFE THAN THIS, BUT MOST OF THE MEN THAT MAKE THE GOOD MONEY ARE JERKS , OR CHEAT, OR EXPECT YOU TO LOOK LIKE BARBIE 24/7 FROM WHAT I'VE SEEN-----LIKE I SAID --I LOVE MY CURRENT HUBBY, WE BOTH HAVE EDUCATIONS ALSO--BUT WE JUST DONT MAKE ENOUGH .......WE RENT A HOUSE, (kids next door to us -they are half our age with lousy retail jobs & no education, yet they own a home, like i USED to.....of course their mommy had to co sign)..........IT REALLY IS TRUE WHEN THEY SAY " NICE GUYS (NICE PEOPLE) FINISH LAST.......I DONT EXPECT SOME RICH LIFE , LIKE I HAD GROWING UP-- WE JUST WANT TO BE ABLE TO PAY ALL OF THE BILLS, AND POSSIBLY GO ON A SMALL VACATION ONCE A YEAR .....AS IT STANDS , WE ARE BEHIND ON BILLS......I DONT KNOW WHAT THE SECRET TO THE KIDS NEXT DOOR WHO MAKE NEXT TO NOTHING IN THEIR LOUSY RETAIL JOBS BUT THEY GO OUT TO DINNER NIGHTLY--(WASTE OF MONEY)WE ARE GUESSING THEY USE CREDIT CARDS FOR EVERYTHING , THEY ALSO DECIDED TO GET 2 NEW CARS --WE HAVE ONE USED SUV-WHICH IS FINE WITH ME--JUST WONDERING HOW THEY ARE PULLING ALL OF THIS OFF--IM GUESSING MANY, MANY CREDIT CARDS AND PROBABLY A SECOND MORTGAGE.... WE HAVENT BEEN OUT TO DINNER IN SEVERAL MONTHS......I CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS YOUNG MARRIED COUPLE TO HAVE KIDS --THEY WILL SEE WHAT IT IS TO PUT YOUR KIDS FIRST ALL THE TIME , AND TO TRULY SACRIFICE....THEIR NIGHTY "GOING OUT TO DINNER RUNS" WILL COME TO AN ABRUPT END --IT WILL BE A REAL "EYE-OPENER" FOR THEM, TO SAY THE LEAST.......ANYWAYS --TO ALL OF YOU THAT ARE GOOD PEOPLE TRYING TO MAKE ENDS MEET, AND BOTH WORKING HARD TO PROVIDE FOR YOUR KIDS --MY HATS OFF TO YOU --WE KNOW HOW YOU FEEL......I GREW UP WEALTHY, AND NOW HVE VERY LITTLE, AND WE BOTH WORK, YET SEEM TO LIVE CHECK-TO-CHECK .......OH WELL, AS I SAID -- "NICE PEOPLE SEEM TO FINISH LAST"......WE ARE RELIGIOUS PEOPLE ALSO.....WELL, GOD BLESS YOU ALL !!!!
Reply
8-29-2009 @ 1:38PM
judicarol said...
Stop having a pity party for yourself Karen. Do you realize we are fighting a war in Iraq? Get over your entitlement issues and jealousy.
8-30-2009 @ 4:06PM
Candace said...
I cant belive u just did this rant. I mean really are you that jelous of the people who live next door ? Why not be happy for them if you have a true understanding of god in you heart ? Why on earth are u fixed on what they have and what you don't? I find it hard to belive you have any education with the ignorance you just let spew in the statments you made. Mind yours and be thankfull for what you do have; Perhaps, if you do that maybe you will get ahead? Unreal at this woe is me you have agaist someone else making it in these times.
8-29-2009 @ 9:41AM
Dani said...
Dont put others down because they know how to manipulate the situation. You shouldn't be so jealous of younger people who have jobs and a house, at least they are trying! Also, just because someone co-signs for you doesn't mean they help pay for it. Life is what you make it and it looks like your making yours pretty miserable. Be happy you can afford to eat!
8-29-2009 @ 10:39AM
stillwill2 said...
wow, now that is what i call a real whineathon. go get you some coupons, buy a house and stop your whining. coupons will fix everythng, no, i mean, really....