Coupon Queen gives advice to save money
By Jason Maddux, Capital Newspapers
The reign of the Coupon Queen started with diapers.
"When I was pregnant with my second son, I realized I was going to have two kids in diapers at the same time," said syndicated columnist Jill Cataldo, whose feature will appear every week in the Dells Events, starting today. "I was hearing about all these other coupon queens buying diapers for pennies." See page A15.
So about three years ago she started learning about not only coupons but pricing cycles in stores. Now, the Huntley, Ill., mom of three is published in about 60 publications across the country. She has been featured in the Chicago Sun-Times and nationally on ABC and CBS news programs.
She always had used coupons, she said, but she was using them the "wrong way."
Through trial and error, she tried many things.
"It was very eye-opening," she said.
She teaches classes on coupon usage, and her column is an extension of that. It's not only about coupons, she said, but about price cycles.
"It always bothered me go to store one week cereal is $1.99 and the next week it's $3.99," she said. "Is there any order to which they change? Yes, there is. It's a cycle, and it's predictable."
Some products even are cheaper on certain days of the week, she said.
The worst thing you can do, she said, is use coupons the same week they are issued. Those products often cost more that week.
"If you keep coupons a few more weeks, we can get things even cheaper," she said.
Some stores allow the use of store and manufacturer coupons at the same time, which can lead to even more savings.
Those who take her class can save "30 to 50 percent guaranteed easily," she said, and the column is a way for a wider audience to learn how.
Don't worry about stores losing money when you hand over your coupons, either, she said. They "absolutely" want you to use them.
"They get reimbursed for coupon plus 8 to 12 cents over the coupon," so they are drawing in business, she said. "They are still gong to get their full price."
Her classes have become what she called "rock concerts" because 100 to 200 people show up, and they book up quickly.
"It just shows how interest in this topic is growing," she said.
Newspapers are the source of more than 85 percent of coupons, she said, and newspapers are near and dear to her heart: She has a journalism degree and formerly was the editor of her hometown weekly paper.
"Keeping up with mail has become a job in itself," she said. "I try to write back to everyone who writes me."
She also answers reader questions in her column.
"They can get up to speed very quickly with this," she said.
Her life experience and studying prices and coupons are all the training she needed.
"The number of people doing it and doing it well is a testament to how well it works," she said. "It's shopping smarter."