SMRs and AMRs

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

A Sign of the Times

Coupon clipper Erin Libranda of Katy, Texas, after she saved more than $1,000 on a midnight shopping trip to two supermarkets.
Hard Times Turn Coupon Clipping Into the Newest Extreme Sport

By TIMOTHY W. MARTIN
Wall Street Journal

Under a futon in her Charleston, S.C., apartment, Stacy Smith has stashed boxes of soy bars, bags of potato chips, bottles of vitamin water, canned vegetables, soup, barbecue sauce and antibacterial wipes. Her bedroom closet is jammed with soda and shampoo, her bookcase with garlic salt and meat marinades.

The redemption of coupons spiked 27% from 2008 to 2009. WSJ's Timothy Martin has more insight on the craze, which appears to be about more than just saving money.

No, Ms. Smith isn't stocking up for a hurricane. The 39-year-old's apartment is stuffed with groceries because she's one of a growing flock of "extreme couponers."

These discount devotees have formed vast online communities that collectively unearth and swap digital, mobile-phone and paper coupons. The cleverest shoppers combine dozens of coupons and go from store to store buying items in quantity, getting stuff free of charge.

"If you can get 100 packs of toilet paper for free, you're going to," says Erin Libranda, 38. When the resident of Katy, Texas, has amassed enough coupons to buy many months' supply of eggs, she puts tiny cracks in them, adds lemon juice and freezes them.

(More here.)

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