Sharing the art of saving
By BRETT ROWLAND - browland@nwherald.com
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| Jill Cataldo checks her grocery list Monday while shopping for a few sale items at Dominicks in Crystal Lake. Cataldo, a mother of three, is commonly known as a "coupon diva" who teaches others how to save at the grocery store in her classes. (Justin Edmonds – jedmonds@nwherald.com ) |
LAKE IN THE HILLS – Jill Cataldo gets a lot of attention at the supermarket.
Cataldo, a 35-year-old mother of three from Huntley, is one of a rising number of so-called coupon divas who have turned saving at the grocery store into an art form.
Diapers drove Cataldo to become a maven of saving. Three years ago, she heard in the news about the extreme savings available by using coupons. Cataldo then started her own system and her practices led her in 2008 to teach a “Super-Couponing” class at the Huntley library, where her husband, Doug, works.
Cataldo’s first class, combined with a global recession, launched her on a whirlwind tour of speaking engagements in the Northwest suburbs. It also led to a nationally syndicated news column and weekly Chicago radio spot. On top of that, Cataldo still manages to teach three or four coupon classes a week and be a full-time mom for her children – Angelica, 13, Ben, 4, and Will, 22 months. She also has her own Web site, www.supercouponing.com.
All that, and Cataldo still has time to practice what she teaches. On Monday, Cataldo purchased $70 worth of food from Dominick’s in Lake in the Hills for $6.77. During a trip around the store carrying a small file of coupons, Cataldo filled up the cart with bottled water, pet food, Pop Tarts, ice cream, frozen pizza and dozens of other on-sale items.
When Cataldo’s cart was half full she was stopped and thanked by another mother, Amy Roberts, who has taken one of the super-couponing classes.
In her classes, Cataldo teaches about coupon secrets, mistakes to avoid, products that can be obtained free, how to get paid by stores for shopping, and how to use Internet coupons.
“I’ve noticed huge savings already,” Roberts said. “It’s like a game.”
Cataldo doesn’t see a 90 percent savings on every trip to the store, but said she saves about $100 a week. That’s about $5,200 a year.
As Cataldo’s own story illustrates, the popularity of coupons – in newspapers and on the Internet – has skyrocketed as saving replaced spending amid persistent economic doldrums. One of Cataldo’s free classes was broken up by the police when the number of attendees far surpassed the available space at a library.
“My coupon classes are like mini rock concerts,” she said.
And Cataldo is not alone.
Stephanie Nelson, an expert saver from Atlanta, has 1.3 million members on her Web site, www.couponmom.com. Nelson has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show and her strategies have been featured on TV and in newspapers across the country. In the last year, more than 500,000 people joined the site.
The Sunday newspaper is filled with coupons, and there are a number of Internet coupon sites, such as www.ebates.com, www.retailmenot.com, www.thecouponclippers.com, www.couponsurfer.com and www.coupons.com.
Taking advantage of store sales and effectively using coupons isn’t as difficult or time-consuming as it might seem.
“Everyone can do this. It’s not hard, and it’s fun,” Cataldo said. “You can learn this in an hour, and it will only take you about an hour a week.”
In order to minimize time and labor, Cataldo said she usually shops only once a week. And she doesn’t spend the whole week clipping coupons. Cataldo gets her coupons from newspapers, store circulars and the Internet.
“I only clip the coupons I am going to use before I go to the store,” she said.
Where Cataldo shops depends on the sale. She has no store or brand loyalty.
“I go where the deal is,” Cataldo said.
Rule No. 1 is to make a list. That way shoppers can avoid impulse purchases, and it helps them stick to buying only items that are on sale, Cataldo said. It also is important to plan purchases to coincide with coupons and sales.
Another trick is to buy products at the lowest sale prices.
“You have to learn the sale cycles,” Cataldo said. “When frozen pizza is at its cheapest price, you know it will be about 12 weeks before the price comes down that far again. So I try to buy enough to last us until it is again at the lowest price.”
Cataldo studied other coupon methods and then developed her own through trial and error. And her saving isn’t limited to the grocery store. She has ways to cut costs on clothes, restaurants, and goods of all kinds.
“I don’t pay full price for anything,” Cataldo said.
Being a coupon diva also means having a good relationship with the local food pantry. Cataldo once bought 50 boxes of cereal for about $5. To this day, she still has a lot of cereal at her house. But Cataldo isn’t afraid to buy too much, especially when the per item price is less than two quarters and the product has a long shelf-life. Any excess food is donated to the Grafton Township Food Pantry, a nonprofit organization not affiliated with the township government.
“Jill Cataldo is such an important part of our charitable organizations here, especially the food pantry,” said John Rossi, Grafton Township supervisor and president of the food pantry. “And the more she spreads her knowledge, the more donations we get.”
Cataldo has worked with food pantry volunteers and taught classes to food pantry users. More than 200 people attended her event there, Rossi said.
Two weeks after that class, a local family that had relied on the food pantry to make ends meet was making its own donations to the pantry employing Cataldo’s system. Cataldo said the thanks she received from that family made her efforts worthwhile.
Most of Cataldo’s classes are free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.supercouponing.com.
