Coupons Make Cents

by Jessica Lindsey

$eptember is National Coupon Month and across the country and locally, families are finding every way they can to save an extra dollar or two with the help of coupons.

There are the weekly coupon sections in the Sunday newspaper, countless online websites dedicated to helping locate coupons and there are even coupons that come directly to your mailbox or email inbox.

It can be overwhelming, but if used correctly, a family can save a lot of money.

New group brings savings to your inbox

In May, Chicago-based Groupon made it’s way into the Wichita market and Wichitans responded with excitement.

Groupon, a website that emails subscribers an offer for a daily deal, had 30,000 Wichita subscribers as of mid-August and is adding several hundred more every day. Groupon, www.groupon.com, is available in more than 140 cities across the world.

“Wichita was a quick success and continues to attract excited customers by the day,” said spokesperson for Groupon Julie Mossler in August. “Sixty-four deals have been sold to date (in Wichita) and we have saved customers more than $450,000.”

Wichita mother Kristin Whitlow had heard of Groupon before it even hit Wichita.

“I bought a Groupon in Indianapolis while I waited for them to get smart and come to Wichita,” said Kristin.

Since Groupon arrived in Wichita, Kristin has purchased daily deals for restaurants, salon services, hotels, golf deals and more.

“Some of it is just fun stuff for us to try, but a lot of it is for new places we’ve been wanting to try or already use,” she said. “Fifty-percent off to try something new is pretty good.”

Customers aren’t the only ones excited about Groupon, business owners have responded and are lining up to be a featured deal.

“We have several months worth of quality businesses in our pipeline,” said Julie.

Wichita Groupons have included deals such as $10 for $20 worth of frosted cookies at Connie’s Cookies; $8 for one all-day Mission Pass to the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, a $17 value; and $10 for $20 worth of books, drinks or sandwiches at Watermark Books and Cafe, just to name a few.

Each deal is available for only 24 hours, with the exception of the weekend-long deals, and once it’s gone, it’s gone. Purchase the deal online, print the Groupon out or show the Groupon mobile app on a cell phone to redeem.

Groupon is available in cities nationwide and customers can purchase a Groupon for any city. For example, if a Wichita family plans to take a trip to Kansas City or Oklahoma City, checking daily Groupons for those cities in the weeks leading up to the trip could set up a money-saving find.

Clipping and planning still save major bucks

Groupon enthusiast Kristin also admits to partaking in the traditional coupon-clipping method as well.

“I am a coupon fiend,” said Kristin who clips coupons from the newspaper and reads coupon blogs each week. “Over the last year, I’ve been able to save over 60 percent off our grocery bill. If it wasn’t for coupons, I don’t think I’d be able to stay at home with our kids. I use coupons mostly for groceries, but we also almost never eat out without a coupon.”

Old-fashioned coupon-clipping and deal-seeking is something many families have become reliant on. With the added help of online blogs and websites, a little work can translate into a lot of savings.

For example, take the story of Jenna, a Wichita mom.

Jenna’s husband was laid off from his job a little over a year ago and Jenna decided to help stretch her family’s money by saving just a few dollars each time she went to the grocery store.

“I was opened up to the world of coupon blogs,” recalled Jenna, who has two young children. “I never knew how many coupons were really out there, and coupons for items other than food.”

Jenna started small then began learning more about coupons and more about store policies. Then she turned up the speed and went full-force into the coupon world.

“Most often I save at least 50-percent off of my grocery bill, and many times it is more than that,” said Jenna. “When I first started I was shocked by how many things you can use coupons on other than food.”

Jenna uses coupons at restaurants, clothing stores, home improvement stores and even for family outings.

“I think the most shocking coupon use for me when I first started was that many museums and events have coupons as well,” said Jenna.

Jenna spends 15-20 minutes a week clipping coupons and putting them in her coupon binder. She agrees that it can be overwhelming to a new coupon-clipper so her advice is to only clip coupons that you know your family will use.

“Also you must figure out which coupon system works best for you,” said Jenna. “The shoe box method, the binder method, envelope method, accordion file method, or your very own method.”

Jenna was so excited about the savings she was experiencing that she began telling friends and family all about it and would even send out pictures of the deals she would find. People responded with many questions and much interest in how she was saving so much money and where they could find deals of their own that Jenna started a website to share all of her newfound skills.

“Wichita Coupons is a site dedicated to all the deal-seeking, coupon-matching, sale-searching men and women out there,” said Jenna. “With a multitude of coupons, deals, freebies and giveaways; Wichita Coupons takes the work out of finding the best deals to be had in Wichita.”

Jenna started Wichita Coupons, www.wichitacoupons.net, in August 2009 and it has taken off.

“I never imagined it would become so popular,” she said. “I feel like God has blessed my family so much, why not share it with everyone else. Couponing has really changed the way our family lives. We only spend around $120 a month on groceries for a family of 4, which gives us more freedom to enjoy other things such as vacations.”

Jenna and her family also have eliminated all debt except for their mortgage and because of coupons and watching sales she is nearly finished with Christmas shopping.

And with all she’s learned over the past year and all the money she has saved, Jenna knows it can be exciting but also stressful if you worry too much about finding a certain sale or missing the latest deal.

“But the thing to remember is it’s fun and if you miss a deal, don’t stress over it,” she advised. “Another deal is just around the corner.”