Coupon Skills Keep Family Prepared And Helps Others In Need

Creating a budget with coupons built in can be a key tool to having everything the family needs when money gets tight.

That is according to Macon County UCHRA Office Specialist Donna Griffith. Griffith said when she teaches her coupon class, it is about setting priorities and creating a stockpile.

Griffith said when coupon skills are utilized, no one has to go without.

“Where’s the next meal coming from or I don’t have snacks for my kids for after school,” Griffith said. “But they can also donate to their local shelters or maybe a senior in need who is living on fixed income or a family member who suddenly takes ill. The whole purpose is have enough stock for your home and then pay it forward.”

Griffith said two key ways to make the most of coupons are to focus on stores you visit most and let websites that aggregate coupons do the work for you.

“Consider their budget for their groceries and you can use food stamps and coupon as well, some people think you cannot but you can,” Griffith said. “Secondly, one really good pharmacy store like a Walgreens or a Rite-Aid. You don’t want too much on your plate because you can be overwhelmed. You don’t want to be running around like your head’s cut off, you want to budget your time as well.”

She said during a time when shelf shortages can happen, prepare yourself with items you have to have. Griffith said you’ll have items when you need them most, without paying full price

“These are things that you know that you’re going to use every month, so my philosophy is this, buy it while it’s on sale and do not clear the shelf,” Griffith said. “Leave it for the person behind you so they can get their blessings for their household. At the same time, be prepared because for an example this pandemic a lot of people wondered where’s the toilet paper? But if they had been doing it while it was on sale, they’ve already got enough at home.”

Griffith said that mistakes people often make with coupons are missing the expiration date, not realizing there is a limit on the coupon or checking if it applies to a specific product size. Griffith said she tries to hold her free coupon classes twice a month in Macon County.