When budgeting for the monthly basics, the idea that you could get some of the essentials for free sounds too good to be true. This isn’t just a possibility, insists coupon guru Kathy Spencer of Boxford, MA, but a lifestyle she’s maintained for years.“I started at CVS six years ago with $8 out of pocket and since then I haven’t spent any real dollar bills in the store,’’ Spencer tells the Boston Globe. Through planning, attentiveness and, at times in the checkout line, a strong backbone she has saved her family thousands of dollars.
Spencer keeps an eye on circulars for supermarkets and pharmacies. Frequently coupons can be applied the same time as sales, making many everyday products free or earning the shopper rebates or credit. In these instances you can stock up on an item, cross it off the list and move on to other necessities.
An extension of this Spencer employs is called a “roll,” in which store credit is combined with in-store rewards. Credit used on items will often still earn dollar rewards, and if broken up over multiple purchases on low cost items, this can allow you to walk in with $10 in credit and walk out with $20 worth of household goods.
Ultimately “free,” requires the vigilance of keeping tabs on different stores and their discounts, the organization of knowing what household staples you’ll need over extended periods of time, and the restraint to know the difference between stocking up and hoarding an attic full of toilet paper.
Not everyone has the time or interest in this type of Rubix-cube style of shopping, however Spencer’s successes are based on basic ideas that will help you save regardless of your interest in following her step for step.
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