The Coupon Mom's Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bills in Half: The Strategic Shopping Method Proven to Slash Food and Drugstore Costs [Bargain Price] [Paperback]

Stephanie Nelson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 29, 2009

A book that pays for itself! The creator of couponmom.com, with 1.6 million subscribers and counting, shares her strategic money-saving techniques for saving big while living well

Americans are hungry for bargains these days, but one woman has developed the ultimate strategy for enjoying a feast of savings. Taking the nation by storm, with appearances ranging from The Oprah Winfrey Show, Today and Good Morning America, Stephanie Nelson has shown countless women and men how to save thousands of dollars by becoming savvy coupon clippers-without sacrificing nutrition or quality. Now, in The Coupon Mom's Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bills in Half, Nelson demonstrates all of the tricks of the trade-beyond coupons and tailor-made for a variety of shopper lifestyles. Whether you're a "busy" shopper and have only a small amount of time each week to devote to finding the best deal; a "rookie" shopper who is ready to put more effort into cutting bills; or a seasoned "varsity" shopper who is looking for new ways to get the deepest discounts possible, this book offers techniques thatw ill make it easy to save money at any level and on any timetable.

Extending her Strategic Shopping protocols to mass merchandisers, wholesale clubs, natural-food stores, drugstores, and other retailers, Nelson proves that value and variety can go hand in hand. With meal- planning tips, recipes, and cost-comparison guides, as well as inspiring real-life stories from the phenomenal Coupon Mom movement, this is a priceless guide to turning the checkout lane into a road of riches.

Editorial Reviews

Review

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Stephanie Nelson, AKA The Coupon Mom, has been featured widely in the media-from The Oprah Winfrey Show, Today, and Good Morning America to The New York Times, Ladies' Home Journal and The Seattle Times. She holds a degree in finance and has worked in marketing at Procter & Gamble and Marriott.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Avery Trade (December 29, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1583333681
• ASIN: B003TO6DAA
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #53,536 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #52 in Books > Business & Investing > Personal Finance > Retirement Planning
  • #67 in Books > Education & Reference > Consumer Guides

More About the Author

Stephanie Nelson, AKA The Coupon Mom, has been featured widely in the media-from The Oprah Winfrey Show, Today, and Good Morning America to The New York Times, Ladies' Home Journal and The Seattle Times. She holds a degree in finance and has worked in marketing at Procter & Gamble and Marriott.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

193 of 201 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Second Place in Review of Three Coupon Books January 10, 2010

By Coupons4President

Format:Paperback

I am a mother of three trying to cope with cutbacks in our family income. I got wind of couponing from some of my friends and after browsing many coupon websites, decided I needed to read some books to learn more as quickly as possible! I read three books: The Coupon Mom's Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bills in Half: The Strategic Shopping Method Proven to Slash Food and Drugstore Costs, Pick Another Checkout Lane, Honey, & Shop Smart, Save More: Learn The Grocery Game and Save Hundreds of Dollars a Month. Each book was very different, so I thought I'd share my opinions- I hope they can help you!
Let me first say what each book had in common: they all promoted their own coupon websites and they all taught about how to get coupons, organize them and shop with them to save on your grocery bill. The Coupon Mom gave a thorough analysis of couponing, but in my opinion the book's topic was more on frugal budgeting. It spent way too much time stating the obvious and talking to me like I was a five year old.

If you're looking for a basic review of how to grocery shop/a cookbook, this may be for you. The author do cover in depth about how to cook around your new budgeting system: suggests budget breakfasts like 1 cup oatmeal with 8 oz. milk ($0.20), 2 pieces wheat toast ($0.20), 8 oz. orange juice ($0.16). One whole chapter is devoted to saving on each of the following: meat, produce, dairy and treats.

The Best reason to buy this book: It is thorough and orderly. It covers the topic in depth.... It also discusses organic products in depth and contains a valuable appendix with companies that mail coupons in response to an E-mail request via their website.

The best reason to pass on this book: It's dull and gives too much information for my taste. I mentioned a chapter devoted to produce, dairy, etc. The dairy chapter contained tips like "making your own yogurt or using nonfat dry milk." Ack! If I needed to do so, I would do it, but I prefer to buy my yogurt, hopefully cheaply with coupons. This book had the broadest approach to grocery shopping in general, which for some, may be appreciated. For a Mom in a hurry like me, I don't necessarily need to read obvious tips like, "don't shop when you're hungry". Read more ›

47 of 49 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Books OK, but Website March 6, 2010

By Ralph Blough

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

My wife bought the book. She didn't find anything really new and has used coupons for years. Her biggest complaint is that the website wants you to sign up with other sites for coupons. Best thing to do is get a disposable email address for the sign-ups. You are selling your contact info for the discounts.

Couponing and the book will work. Number one rule is that you have to do it! The more effort you put into it the bigger the return. How much extra work do you want to do? How valuable is your time?

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Strategic Shopping January 22, 2010

By Rebecca of Amazon HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

In the past few months I've read seven books on saving money at the grocery store and have been able to save $20 to $40 on each shopping trip. While each book gave new ideas, "The Coupon Mom's Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bills In Half" is probably the most comprehensive.

Stephanie Nelson begins her book by explaining various shopping styles and then makes a convincing case for shopping at wholesale clubs. She then explains how you can save when you buy meats, organic foods, dairy products and beauty products.

While a lot of this book is about clipping coupons, some of the information is more about a back-to-basics approach. Do you really want to wash your own lettuce, repackages bulk meats, make your own tortilla chips, make milk from powdered milk and shred your own cheese? I know I don't but I could be saving even more money if I was willing to give up some convenience foods. I also won't be giving up my Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract for the 16-ounce bottle at Costco. Yes it is cheaper but there is a great difference in flavor. Yes I've done some taste tests with the cheaper vanilla.

So while you read this book you can take all your personal preferences into consideration. Sometimes saving a few pennies just isn't worth the inconvenience. I will say however I use her advice about using baking soda to scrub pots and pans.

Some of the most valuable information in this book is the websites where you can find printable coupons. There is a list of websites in the back of the book. There is also some information on how to use the author's website which I found to be useful.

One of the things I think is amazing is how Stephanie Nelson can remember all the prices of all the foods she is buying.... She saves even more money when she finds a price discrepancy.

While this book is helpful I'd encourage you to also buy the following books:

Cut it Out and Start Saving: A Guide to Effectively Using Coupons and Obtaining Money from Unexpected Resources

Better Groceries for Less Cash

Shop Smart, Save More: Learn The Grocery Game and Save Hundreds of Dollars a Month

Greatest Secrets of the Coupon Mom

How to Receive Free Groceries

20 Grocery Store Savings Ideas: Grocery Coupon Savings Tips For Those Grocery Shopping On A Budget

~The Rebecca Review Read more ›

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great new information January 9, 2010

By Colorado Carole

Format:Paperback

I am a moderate coupon user, and the book did have new ideas for using coupons that I didn't realize. I like the idea of emailing companies to get free coupons, and the list of companies and the websites that will send coupons is really helpful. I also like the detailed chapters on other ways to save besides using coupons--like what the best deals really are at warehouse clubs and even how to save on organic food. The book was also really easy to read. Well worth the money in my opinion!

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredibly Helpful Book: From OverSpender to Frugality Blogger! December 2, 2010

By HeaterAS

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

There was a time when I would walk up to the checkout at the grocery store and pray that my bill would PLEASE be under $200...Pretty please? That's $200 a week. You see our budget was $150 a week, but it was unrealistic for us. I could never stick to it. So I would pray for $200. $50 more wouldn't make that much of a difference right? Wrong.

I had wanted to get into the whole coupon game for a long time, but every time I started I would get so overwhelmed. Or I would go on a health kick and think that there is no way we could eat healthy and use coupons. I mean coupons are just for junk food! Right? Wrong.

There was a shift in how we handled our finances in our household and all of a sudden that $150 budget I had set up for groceries? Well, I was suddenly being forced to stick to it. Which meant I really needed to rethink how I grocery shopped.

I have to be honest here, it was more her website that helped me initially, but when I picked up the book and read it through... it all came together.

So much so that I myself am now somewhat of a coupon queen. I even have my own frugality blog (linking it here seems spammy though...you can google family friendly frugality to find it), where I share great deals and money saving tips. Oh how my life has changed because of the Coupon Mom!

If you are down on your luck and struggling to make ends meet, or just need a bit of help with your grocery bill...I suggest you buy this book. It will MORE than pay for itself. If you can't afford the book, check out her site. She has most of what is explained in the book on her site as well.

From grocery store flunkie to frugality blogger...if that's not a testimonial to the power of this book...I'm not quite sure what else could be!