Money and time are tight for Ashley Siers of Adam’s Run. With a 30-minute commute to work the third-grade teacher and mother of three has a lot on her plate – literally – and a full pantry, freezer and wallet to boot. By carving out two hours a week to plan, she has successfully cut her family grocery budget in half using coupons.

She has saved $1,159 in six weeks.

“It’s not hard, and people don’t believe me. My friends think I’m obsessed.”

Believe it – it works

Teri Bennett of Johns Island developed a couponing system and now teaches a group workshop that simplifies the process. The mother of two says using coupons makes sense to her, and her system helps her save about 80 to 85 percent – sometimes 90 percent – on everything she buys for her household.

“This week, I got $69.72 (worth of groceries) for 68 cents. I know it’s crazy. I had milk. I had orange juice – good stuff. Once you get a system down, it’s a lot less time consuming. Now that I’m in the swing of things I don’t have to spend near the amount of time I used to.”

Bennett teaches the class to save participants the time and frustration she encountered when she first started using coupons. For her, finding coupons on the Internet was the most time-consuming task. It took her almost three months to become proficient.

“… it took me a lot of time to figure out exactly how to maneuver a site because I’m not that computer-minded.”

The technique

Siers took Bennett’s class last November and since has reduced her food budget to about $300 per month for her family of five. Siers says it’s key to remember not to buy items unless they are on sale – and always use a coupon.

“It’s also important to realize when to stop … don’t buy what you don’t need and save for what you do need.”

If she’s able to get an item at a rock-bottom price or for free and doesn’t need it, she still buys it and donates it to a food bank or gives it to a friend. Because Siers has limited time, she only shops at one grocery store; yet she still is able to save a lot of money.

Bennett’s technique is different. She has a little more flexibility and time to shop.

She shops sales at a variety of stores including drug stores and discount department stores and uses coupons everywhere. With stores located close together, she says it doesn’t take up much time or gas.

“When I’m organized and I have my list ready and everything’s together, it does not take me that long to shop. My time up front is spent at home getting things together.”

How it works

Successful couponing requires knowing where to find coupons, organizing them and knowing how to store the food you purchase.

Jenny Martin is founder of Southernsavers.com, a Columbia-based Web site that rapidly has become one of the most popular havens for couponers in the Southeast to go for information about grocery store sales. Martin says that finding coupons isn’t hard. They are easy to find in the newspaper, on the Internet, in stores, on packages and many other places. She says one way to get coupons is to call the manufacturer directly, and it will often send coupons in the mail.

“You don’t even have to mention you want coupons. You can just say ‘Isn’t the weather beautiful today?’ And they’ll send coupons to you.”

Get as many coupons as you can – and hold onto them even if you don’t use that product.

How to organize coupons is a personal choice, Martin says, and people shouldn’t feel obligated to be super-organized. It is not necessary to go overboard clipping each one out and filing it in a binder.

“I don’t even keep a coupon binder. I keep my inserts whole and deal with the ones that I need for that particular trip. That’s low stress for me. I don’t have hours to work on a coupon binder.”

Use corresponding coupons when the items are on sale. Martin says buy-one, get-one-free sales are some of the best times to use coupons. She recommends shopping every week because store sale cycles run in six-week increments. She always knows what’s on sale at her favorite stores.

“I do want to try to run in even if it’s just for those few sale items. I don’t want to miss a week.”

One way to save on items is to stack coupons, Bennett says. An example of stacking is using a drug store circular that contains store coupons along with a manufacturer’s coupon. Putting both coupons together on the same product will bring the price down considerably.

In order to save big, Bennett says shoppers must forget about brand loyalty. Otherwise, when that brand goes on sale, stock up.

“If you want to save 50 to 60 percent, stay with the brand names. A name brand item on sale with a coupon will beat a store brand price every day.”

Her family has been able to try a lot of new and different products: “… things I never would’ve spent money on before. When they’re on sale or I’m paying a quarter for it, I’m more likely to try it out.”

Bennett uses the stockpile technique, which means she stocks up on sale items and takes advantage of buy-one, get-one-free sales. She uses coupons on top of the sale products to get rock-bottom prices and stocks up a six- to eight-week supply.

“Some places will tell you a 12-week supply, but I find it hard to stock that much stuff. In a normal house, I don’t know where you’re going to store that much supply. You’d have to get really crafty.”

If she purchases any excess or items she doesn’t need or use, Bennett donates them to local charitable organizations.

“When I’m getting them really inexpensively and I’m already in the store, I might as well use my time for that, too. I really love that part of it.”

COUPONING WORKSHOPS

Want to learn the strategies of using coupons? What better way to start than with the local experts? Topics include locating coupons, organization, proper usage, storage and more.

TERI BENNETT

Charleston Baptist Church

13 San Miguel Road, Charleston

Feb. 25 at 6:30 p.m.

RSVP Required

Cost: $10

Call 556-4673 to register.

If interested in hosting a workshop, e-mail teribennett@comcast.net.

JENNY MARTIN

Southernsavers.com

Cost: $10 per class

Visit www.southernsavers.com/couponing-workshops for class schedule. For information about hosting a workshop, e-mail workshops@southernsavers.com.

MARIBETH KELLENBENZ

Jewish Community Center, West Ashley

Feb. 9 from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Cost: $10

Class includes savvy couponing tips, a Sunday newspaper, a coupon divider and refreshments. To RSVP or ask for more information, e-mail maribeth@rosenltc.com.