HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla — Grocery shopping can be overwhelming these days as the price of food goes up.
A lot of you have told us you're looking for new ways to save money. One of those ways could be coupons! While it may take a little extra time, experts said you can save a lot of money in the long run.
"I am a mom of four. So, I have a 14-year-old, 11-year-old, and three-year-old boy, and we just had a 6-month-old girl. So, there's lots of food and diapers being spent money on," Alana Vandagriff, couponer, explained.
Vandagriff said she gets the most bang for her buck using digital coupons.
"I would say confidently, I'm saving 40 percent of our budget using coupons, whether it be rebate apps or just plain coupons," Vandagriff explained.
She said she mainly focuses on BOGO deals to really stretch her dollar.
"In the past I could almost do $300 for the month. That was before our rising costs of food and groceries happened so now I try to stay a little realistic and spend $200 a week," Vandagriff added.
Coupons can seem intimidating at first so experts recommend choosing one store to begin with. Download their app and the digital coupons will be applied at check-out.
"When it comes to like the toothpaste and the shampoo and the deodorant that you're buying, saving 80% should be your bare minimum when it comes to pantry staples like pastas and breakfast foods. 50% is doable. When it comes to foods like produce or cheese or loaves of bread. It's more difficult and so maybe we're only targeting 25% on those items," Joanie Demer, co-founder of Krazy Coupon Lady, explained.
Demer said you're long-term coupon goals should include multiple stores opening you up to more deals. A Publix hack; if a BOGO item is old out, Demer said you can ask for a rain check.
"If the Publix store runs out, I can go to customer service and ask for a rain check. They'll give me a little slip of paper that actually entitles me to that buy one get one free price for 30 days," Demer said.
