CLIPPING TO SAVE Couponers enjoy substantial savings at stores By Laura Araujo
Melissa Garcia, “Consumer Queen,” helps others learn how to save money.
Melissa Garcia, “Consumer Queen,” organizes her coupons in a binder.
Garcia says 30 minutes to an hour a week spent organizing and clipping coupons is all it takes. Photos by Hayley Leatherwood
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hopping with coupons is nothing new. In fact, according to Melissa Garcia of Edmond, Okla., owner of the nationally recognized Consumer Queen blog, coupons have been around since the late 1800s when the Coca-Cola company gave away tickets for free soft
drink samples. The use of coupons grew in the 1930s as many families struggled to put food on the table during the Great Depression. It’s no surprise that in today’s economy consumers are turning to “couponing” to help stretch their budgets. Two successful couponers share their strategies and retailers weigh in on the practice as well.
The Consumer Queen
Garcia is an avid coupon shopper who once purchased $1,880 of groceries for only $19. What her family didn’t need, she was able to donate to help a women’s shelter and her church. She regularly shops with coupons, purchasing everything from chicken and pork to organic produce. “There’s a misconception about couponing that you can only get junk food, but that’s not true,” she says.
For Garcia, it all started 17 years ago, back when American Online instant messenger was popular. She was a newlywed and money was tight. One day someone messaged her and asked her to join their online coupon group. As a result, Garcia began using coupons when she went grocery shopping. “We were a group of ladies trying to help each other save money, telling each other where the deals were,” she says. “At first I was saving 25 percent, then 50 percent and then 75 percent. Then one day Homeland paid me to take home my groceries.”
Family and friends were constantly calling Garcia to ask where they could
go to save money. She decided to do something to help them and in 1996 she created an online message board called
morestealsanddeals.com. People from all over Oklahoma started sharing deals with one another. The online forum became increasingly popular and she was picked up by local media. The Jack and Ron morning radio show on Oklahoma City-based KISS FM invited Garcia to be on their show; she has since become a regular Wednesday morning guest. Channel 9 News out of Oklahoma City ran a feature on her and dubbed her the “Consumer Queen”—and it stuck. Garcia transitioned from the message
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