Couponing comes to Strathmore

Times Reporter

 

Saving money is something very few people don’t love, and for Strathmore resident Sandi Johnson, getting the best deal has become a hobby. 

Johnson is a registered nurse and her husband Cory is a motivational speaker. Saving money and couponing didn’t begin for this couple because of a need, but because of a love for deals and saving. 

The TLC show ‘Extreme Couponing’ shows men and women taking things to the max with their couponing. Johnson doesn’t take it that far but admits couponing has become a big part of her everyday shopping habits. 

On May 16 Johnson decided she wanted to join the couponing world. 

“Then I’ve just gone from there and just had a lot of fun,” said Johnson. 

“What people always say is where do you get all the coupons?”

She said people could go to Brandsaver.ca or Websaver to name a couple.

Johnson said when she first started she would buy all the newspapers to get coupons. Now she doesn’t pay to get her coupons. Sobey’s is one of her favourite stores because there are tear away pads of coupons throughout the store. She and her son Brandon make a game out of seeing who can collect the most coupons.  

“Yogurt is one of the things you should never pay full price for, yogurt and cheese because you can always, always get cheese coupons and dairy coupons,” said Johnson. 

Johnson said MrsJanuary, Frugal Edmonton Mama, and SmartCanucks are a few other sites people can find coupons, but can also get tips about couponing.

“Honestly it’s a no brainer couponing. Who doesn’t want to save money? People are like, ‘I have no time’,” said Johnson.

“At first it’s like any hobby you have, you’re going to spend way more time initially, getting set up. But if you know where to go, it’s all spelled out, people are doing the hard work for you.

“My favourite thing is always the front page of any flyer. If you don’t have time to go through it, look at the front page because that’s their wow factor, that’s where they’re trying to sink you in. Whenever they’re limiting stuff, it’s got to be a good deal.”

Johnson said often she could get brand name items cheaper with her coupons than no-name products on sale. One example of why she thinks coupons are so great is because one flyer she went through was selling six boxes of no name tissue for $4.99. She bought six boxes of Royal Kleenex for $2 and change with her coupons.  

“I will not use a coupon unless it’s on sale. I would rather throw them out and actually it was very sad for me… I went through my coupon binder and I probably threw out maybe two inches worth of coupons,” said Johnson.

“But if they’re not on sale I’m not wasting my money because I want rock bottom prices, otherwise why bother? The key I think is just to be organized. I’m not organized in life but I’m organized in my coupons. You have to be or you’re just going to frustrate yourself.”

“Every time you go to the shopping centre you’re always buying extra. I just (put it) downstairs or into my pantry or we have a big, big deep freeze and a fridge in our garage so we just fill that up.”

Johnson said all sales are in cycles and you can often tell what’s going to come on sale. She said the cycle is usually six to eight weeks and if she can buy enough to last until it comes back, she can buy more at the next sale.  

“I want to be in control of what I’m paying for stuff, so I will wait until it’s cheaper,” said Johnson. 

She said when she first started couponing she wasn’t waiting until sales, but has learned to hold onto her coupons and wait until she can get the best possible price. 

Groceries in her house used to cost approximately $1,200 a month, and the cost has gone down substantially since she began couponing. 

“I don’t coupon like this, but I do my own form of couponing and that’s doing things like using incentives, certain kinds of Visas and Airmiles and Areoplan miles things like those,” said Cory.

He said they put everything on his one Visa and they get approximately $1,600 worth of free flights a year. He also buys the entertainment books in the summer, which are full of good deals. 

“You just have to look, and once you start looking, you’re just going to see things and you’re going to think this is new. It was always there you just didn’t realize it, it wasn’t your normal. Coupons are our normal,” said Sandi.