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Community Corner

Deep Down Who Doesn't Want to be a Crazy Coupon Cutter?

Dedham families can save a bundle just by cutting a few coupons each week - but stay organized and on track.

I don’t know when it happened. It took a long time to get me to try it but once I did, it was a slippery slope. The thrill of the first time was like a drug. The highs I would feel when I had a really good run and the lows I’d go through when I hadn’t even touched the stuff. As soon as I tried it, I was hooked. It was that easy.

Hi, my name is Alex. And I’m a coupon addict.

I used to push my cart through the grocery store, tossing in some brand name items, some store brands, not really thinking too much of it. I would hand my rewards card to the cashier and call it a day. Occasionally, I’d get stuck behind that woman who would whip out a three-inch stack of coupons and cheerfully hand them to the teenage cashier. He and I would collectively groan as we both knew that this was going to take a while; but this never seemed to bother Little Miss Happy Coupon. She would patiently wait, watching that kid swipe one slip after another – all the while, her silly little smile growing larger with each additional “beep” of the register. She used to drive me crazy. Now that’s me.

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I don’t know if it was the economy, becoming a mother of three, getting older/wiser/less judgmental or a combination of them all, but I gave in.

My older sister started using coupons after her second child was born (you can save an exorbitant amount of money when buying baby formula) and would call me to brag.

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“I used a manufacturers coupon plus store rewards and also a double blah blah blah and saved $27!”

I would tease her, calling her Cathy Coupon, and for a while she laughed along with me. Finally one day she laid down the gauntlet and challenged me to try.

”You can save a ton of money, you know. It becomes like a game,” she told me. “You try to do better than you did the week before and when you set a new record, it’s like winning.”

Smart lady, playing to my competitive side, I decided to ante up.

I’m no extreme coupon cutter – but I have my good days. My record? Saving $73 on a $213 bill at Star Market. I just boasted my best by spending $98, saving $35 and racking up an additional $12.50 in CVS Extra Bucks. And ? I continue my quest to hit $30+ there. It’s only a matter of time.

A new show called “Extreme Couponing” debuted this week and while part of me is somewhat impressed by how these women can save more than 90 percent on their shopping trips, they aren’t called extreme for nothing. They literally stockpile items like cereal, paper towels and canned goods if “the deal is worth it.”

Even Cathy Coupon would steer clear of these crazy (like a fox?) moms. They say it’s all about saving money for their family and the six hours of preparation, the 27 Excel spreadsheets that their shopping lists are on and the filing cabinet full of coupons that they pull behind their shopping cart is all worth it. I cry foul.

But I get it – they want to win.

To do a good job for your family using coupons takes time and organization – and there are plenty of mid-week “I just have to run in and grab five things” trips where I barely save a dollar.

But, I try to do one weekly trip where I spend a good 15 minutes beforehand making a list and matching coupons with what I need. One has to be careful not to fall victim to the marketing trick whereby you wind up buying 12 boxes of pasta to save a nickel when in reality, you have more than enough at home already.

Usually, I’m pretty savvy and do a respectable job as a smart consumer. I may not be extreme and won’t qualify for the All-American Couponing Team, but I think that I’m a solid starting player on the Mom’s Varsity Grocery Store Squad.

If you don’t believe me, I can show you my yearly savings to prove it. Not that Cathy Coupon is keeping score or anything.

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