Once again, a big thank you to Melanie!
Meet Laura A Featured Reader
Tell us about who you are and where you come from.
Hi, my name is Laura. I'm a 39 year old single girl (yes, I still refer to myself as a girl) from South of Boston. I'm fortunate because I live about five minutes from the ocean. I've done many jobs in my time. After working in a corporate setting for years I left my job a couple of years ago. Since then I've been helping out my sister with childcare and doing some other nanny jobs as well. I also teach children's yoga one morning a week.
I love doing charity/volunteer work. My favorite charities are Cradles to Crayons and the American Cancer Society. I hold a book sale every August in my hometown and all of the proceeds go to the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk. The books are all donated by local individuals and families. Each year I get hundreds and hundreds of books to sell. This is my fifth year in a row doing it. It seems to get bigger every year and I love that! I also recently started my own blog.
How did you find The Coupon Goddess Blog?
My sister Kelly turned me onto it. She started couponing about a year ago and she's a faithful reader of many blogs. She told me to check out yours and I was hooked from the very beginning. Even though I don't have a family of my own, I can relate to your stories. They are told brilliantly! I also have a weakness for shoes and cupcakes. If I could buy shoes while eating cupcakes, I would.
How did you get into couponing?
Again, I have my sister to blame.... oops, I mean thank. I am nowhere near the caliber that she is, but I am trying. She also has a family of five to shop for and I just have myself. We often shop with each other in mind. Some weeks we split the shopping. She'll go to Shaws to get the deals and I'll go to Stop & Shop and get the deals there. It works well for us.
What do you believe are the benefits of couponing?
Saving money! One of the benefits I also enjoy is that I'm able to donate more goods when I use coupons. If I see a high value coupon and it's for a product that I don't like or have any need for, I clip it anyway. The next time it goes on sale I buy it and donate it to the local food pantry.
What resources do you use online or off to save money?
My first resource is the Sunday paper. I cut almost all of the coupons from it. If I can't use it, my sister can. I also look online to see if I can save additional money by printing coupons. If I really like a product, I always go online to see if they have coupons on their website.
What was one of your biggest coupon scores?
I recently saved over $30.00 at Target. I was able to buy several games (Connect Four, Monopoly) for about $1.00 a game. I donated them to a local children's hospital.
How much time do you devote to it?
If there is a really good sale I devote about an hour to it. I'm fortunate in that I can do it while the children I care for are napping. I'm getting paid to sit and cut my coupons and go over the weekly fliers.
What is your method of organization, i.e. binder, file folder, dumped in the bottom of your purse?
I have a small pink file folder that fits in my purse while I'm shopping. When I'm not in the store I keep it with my reusable shopping bags in my car.
What would you pay full price for even if you didn't have a coupon for it?
Really good chocolate.
If you haven't already done so, you might want to take a look at my giveaway page to be entered to win a $25 gift card. Click here to see it.
Amazing! Thanks for mentioning me too - I feel so special. So proud of you. Love you, K
ReplyDeleteI too, follow the Coupon Goddess. You nailed it when you described her wit and great stories. She has inspired me to start couponing too. I don't think I will ever be the saving rockstar she is, but I'm doing my part to save a few bucks every week.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!