Nicole Crawley has been couponing since she was 15.
Now, at 28 and a mom of three, she takes money-saving seriously. Over the past two years, she’s saved $2,000 using a couponing app. That can make a real difference in her household, which lives on one income since she’s a stay-at-home mother. High day care costs drove her to stay home with her kids; losing her salary means leaning even more into couponing.
“I still use a lot of the skills and a lot of the shopping techniques to be able to afford the lifestyle that we have kept up,” she said, referring to the money-saving methods she learned growing up in a “very, very poor” family.
Though she now mainly uses a couponing app, she first accrued savings the old-school way: a couponing binder, rifling through the recycling center for coupon inserts, and even collecting coupons from people in her community who wanted to help out.
Those skills are coming in handy in an age when products, especiall those for children and babies, have seen price fluctuations. Tariffs might only increase costs. An April 10 survey of 1,1014 US consumers by market research data firm Numerator found that 83% of consumers are planning on changing up their shopping behaviors in preparation for tariffs, and 48% said that they’ll look for sales or coupons. Crawley said that tariffs are a stressor — she’s been picking up her couponing to ensure that they have staples in their household.
“If prices do increase significantly, which I do see happening, it won’t hit home as hard and as abruptly,” she said.
Couponing to save money on kids’ stuff
When she was younger, Crawley watched TLC’s “Extreme Couponing,” a TV show about people seeking to save as much money as possible and competing to see who can get their bills to be the smallest. While Crawley said the show itself is unrealistic, it did help her launch her own couponing passion.
Crawley said that when she first moved out of her house at 18, she paused her couponing for a little while she got settled. But when her first child was born a few years later, and she was trying to make it on her own, she discovered how expensive baby gear was. That’s when she threw herself back into the couponing lifestyle.
She was able to accumulate so many baby items that she could donate some to her local women’s care center; her hauls included baby soap, lotions, and diaper wipes. She also said she took her couponing ethos to other ways of saving — she utilized thrift stores, and would barter her coupon items for other items she needed, like baby clothes or toys.
Couponing these days looks a bit different. Paper coupons are less common, and retailers will only allow consumers to use a few at a time, she said. Instead, rebate apps like Ibotta are the place to be these days. That app has helped Crawley save over $2,000. She also takes advantage of retailers’ online coupons and online loyalty accounts. One of her most recent household finds: Eight toilet bowl cleaners for $5 at Walgreens. With a universe of deal options, Crawley said she’s been focusing her efforts on diapers, formula, and other baby accoutrements.
Getting discounts and trying out new products
Crawley also capitalizes on a strategy retailers use to potentially hook new customers: She’ll often try new products just because they have a steep discount. When Ragu announced a new kids veggie sauce, she was able to get jars for 25 cents each; it ended up being a hit in her household, and she has 12 jars currently sitting in her pantry.
Crawley is still trying to be mindful of overconsumption — she doesn’t want to just accrue things she doesn’t need for the sake of couponing. She said that she tries to clear some things out when she’s run out of space, or they might not be able to use them before they go bad.
“If I get anything extra that, we might not use this in time, it automatically gets donated to a family in need. I’ll post on Facebook, ‘Hey, who needs this? Come get it,” she said. “Or I’ll take it to our woman’s care center and they’ll dish it out to whoever needs it there.”
Couponing has been worth it for Crawley’s household. She knows it can be daunting to explore, but the work is worth it.
“When you’re planning your grocery excursion with it, making your list, it can be time-consuming,” she said. “You’re checking multiple apps, you’re checking all the coupons, you’re checking the ads, you’re writing everything down. But I think just an hour to sit down and do it and saving the money makes it worth it.”
Do you have a story to share about finding ways to save money? Contact this reporter at jkaplan@businessinsider.com.
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