ABOUT HER:
Stephanie Nelson is The Coupon Mom™ and has taught television viewers and readers how to save in many areas, including groceries, restaurants, online shopping, gifts, and entertainment. Since 2004 she has appeared frequently on television and radio teaching savings tips, including The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS Early Show, Fox Business, The Mike and Juliet Show, and CNN. Over 1.9 million members belong to her free grocery deals website www.couponmom.com.
Stephanie holds a degree in finance and has ten years of experience in sales and marketing with both Procter & Gamble and Marriott Hotels. In 1995 she retired from the corporate world to stay home with her sons. In 2001 she founded her free website http://www.couponmom.com/ committed to helping consumers save money and feed the hungry by increasing food donations to hunger organizations with the Cut Out Hunger program. Stephanie lives with her husband and two sons in Atlanta, Georgia.
INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT:
Empowered Mommies (EM): Ms. Nelson, thank you again for giving us the opportunity to interview you. You are such a wonderful role model not only as a former marketing professional in corporate America, but also as a mom entrepreneur and shopper advocate. Can you share with us how you began your career and what made you decide to become The Coupon Mom and create your site, couponmom.com??
Stephanie Nelson (SN): I started the site in March 2001 in an effort to teach shoppers how to save money on their own groceries and how to buy bargains for local charities. It was a fun, creative outlet using a hobby I really enjoyed.
EM: In your opinion, what are the classic shopper “types” and where do most moms fit in?
SN: There are 3 types of shoppers, and I think moms fit into every category, depending on their interest in Strategic Shopping.
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The Busy Shopper--isn't a planner, doesn't have time to clip coupons. They're happy if they just find time to get to the store!
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The Rookie Shopper--is willing to spend 30 minutes a week planning a shopping list using sales and coupons if they can save 30% or more.
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The Varsity Shopper--sees Strategic Shopping as a fun game, and loves to combine every possible sale, coupon and promotion to save 60% or more on groceries.
EM: What are the biggest challenges moms face when getting started with couponing?
SN: Landing on a system that makes sense for their personality and schedule. I recommend the "No Clip System" that I teach in my book and on my website to make using coupons easy and stree-free.
EM: You recently published a Book, “Coupon Mom’s Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bills in Half” which has become a New York Times Bestseller. Congratulations! What motivated you to write the book ?
SN: Thanks! I knew that most shoppers wanted to save money, but not every shopper is a "Varsity" shopper. I wanted to write a book that with strategies tailored to every shopping personality. I also wanted to teach readers how to save on healthy food with many other strategies besides using coupons, such as how to save on fresh produce and meat. The book allowed me to teach readers everything I know about feeding a family a healthy diet on a budget!
EM: In a recent appearance on the Today Show, you amazed viewers by being able to purchase $100 worth of groceries for mere cents! Can you explain at a high level your strategy in doing that?
SN: The key is simply matching the store's sale prices with coupons, and buying only the items that are free with a coupon. Because many stores double coupons, it is easier to get more deals at a store that doubles coupons. The other key was to have multiple coupons so that I could buy more freebies. I recommend buying 3 copies of the Sunday newspaper for maximum coupon savings.
EM: On average, how much do you think a typical family of 4 can save with savvy couponing?
SN: It is realistic to expect to save an average of 50% across your entire grocery bill, combining coupons with sale prices and shopping the sale prices in the meat and produce department. For the average family of 4, that is about $75 to $100 per week, which is thousands of dollars a year!
EM: If you had to look forward a decade, how do you hope your website and book will have helped and positively influenced moms?
SN: I hope that these tools will help moms learn simply strategies that become weekly habits, so that their grocery savings ultimately help them fund their children's future. I've shopped this way for 16 years, and that $80,000 in savings will certainly help fund my son's college education.