Schuyler Falls woman cashes in on couponing

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Allicia Peltier organizes her coupons at her home in Schulyer Falls. Peltier brings a box filled with coupons with her on each grocery shopping trip. They help her save between $200 and $300 per month on her bill. P-R Photo / Matthew Hamilton
Allicia Peltier and her newborn daughter Leaha review Peltier's stockpile of food that she has purchased on recent grocery shopping trips. Peltier has begin couponing as a hobby, enabling her to buy large amounts of food for a small price. She saves between $200 and $300 per month on groceries by couponing. P-R Photo / Matthew Hamilton

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July 20, 2011

MATTHEW HAMILTON Press-Republican The Press Republican Wed Jul 20, 2011, 03:28 AM EDT

SCHUYLER FALLS — Allicia Peltier's addiction began with a tube of toothpaste.

It has since grown to cereals, canned pasta, soda and anything else she can get her hands on for only a few dollars.

But don't worry, the Schuyler Falls woman's addiction is a healthy one — especially for her wallet.

Peltier is one of millions across the country to take up couponing as a hobby only to find that she is hooked. She doesn't just use one or two coupons each time she visits the grocery store; she brings a little box bursting with colored newsprint offering buy-one-get-one-free sales and money off on a variety of items.

"If I didn't have my coupons, (my grocery bill) would be $600 a month," she said. "I keep it at least under $400 (with the coupons)."

free toothpaste

About four months ago, Peltier decided to try couponing for the first time. As she looked through the Sunday newspaper, she came across a coupon for $1 off Crest toothpaste and decided to clip it out.

"I'm walking down (a) Price Chopper (aisle), and I see that they have Crest toothpaste on sale for $1," she said. "I had a coupon that was for $1 off, so I got it for free.

"After that, I pretty much asked everyone who had gotten that Sunday paper for their inserts so I could get a bunch of free toothpaste."

maternity leave

Since her daughter, Leaha, was born two months ago, Peltier has begun couponing more because of the extra time she spends at home while on maternity leave. Though she is relatively new to the game, she spends an average of five to six hours a week finding and clipping coupons.

Peltier gets coupons from the Sunday Press-Republican, but she also gets them from a variety of websites, such as coupons.com and couponbliss.com. She even picks up the Troy Record on occasion because that paper carries the P&G Saver with a variety of deals.

Peltier also gets tips on coupons, shares and even trades them with the members of Facebook groups she has joined, including the local North Country Couponers group and on company Facebook pages.

"I have a lot of products that I've saved on online," she said. "I went from having no interests on Facebook to having so many I can't even count."

shopping trips

Four times a month, Peltier buckles Leaha into the car and drives to Price Chopper, her store of choice, to pick up the latest deals. She makes one large monthly trip, as well as three smaller forays to pick up fresh foods and anything on sale she may need.

It's on the monthly trip that she spends the most time in the store, taking roughly four hours just to shop.

"I spend at least a half-hour to an hour (in the checkout line)," Peltier said. "It's kind of tedious, but it's well worth it in the end when you see that you have a $400 grocery bill and it's down to $300."

Her last trip netted her $118 in savings, a receipt roughly 2.5 feet long and a healthy addition to her ever-growing stockpile of foods and products.

She said stores, Price Chopper included, are generally very receptive of her coupons and cashiers don't have a problem with her using the little blue box to its full potential.

big savings

Peltier doesn't just save on her grocery bill but her gas bill as well. Price Chopper offers a program based on dollars spent there that gives discounts on full-tank fillups. Peltier and her fiance, Tim LaPoint, have just one car, which he uses to go to work, so she uses her gas discount to fill up her mother-in-law Michele LaPoint's car after borrowing it for her shopping.

Just now, she's entitled to $1.10 off per gallon.

As for the $200 to $300 she saves on her grocery bill, Peltier doesn't spend it on herself, but her fiance and her favorite person to spend on, Leaha.

"Couponing, for me, is just a way to save money for my family because I do have a baby. Saving money is kind of important because I like spending money on her."