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Use coupons to lower the bottom line.
By Kathy Lovin
Lt. Joanne Golden started clipping coupons as a teen. Her parents made a lot of sacrifices in those days to send her to private school so she wanted to help them make ends meet.
Looking at newspaper ads for the stores where they shopped and cutting out coupons for the items on their grocery list, she became so good at finding deals that she’d go with her mom to the supermarket and tell her before they left the house, “only bring $25, because that’s all we’ll need.”
This money-saving habit has served her well as a Salvation Army officer.
She and her husband Lt. Christopher Golden are the commanding officers of The Salvation Army in Inglewood, Calif. Among other programs, they have a daily sack lunch for seniors, homeless people, day laborers and struggling families that costs about $30 per day for up to 75 lunches!
And, it’s no ordinary lunch. Christopher Golden is committed to giving his guests something nutritious and delicious every day.
Some of the food is donated, including bottled drinks are from the local Rotary Club and fresh fruit from the food bank. But the rest is purchased using a clever coupon-clipping strategy.
I witnessed the money-saving genius in person.
First, Joanne Golden went to the Target website to find store coupons on lunch staples like sandwich bread, deli meat, sliced cheese, as well as plastic bags. Then, she clipped the manufacturer coupons for some of the items on her list to multiply the savings. But before we headed out, she grabbed her Target RED Card, the store credit card, for an additional 5 percent off her purchases.
With the Goldens at the wheel of the shopping cart, the couple got just what they needed. They compared prices and discussed each purchase. When they found a great deal on a product but only a few left on the shelf, they called in a Target manager to try and fetch more.
Everything in their basket, including the unexpected deals on school and art supplies, came to $112.89, with special values, coupons and the Target RED Card discount. Combined with donated drinks and fruit as well as bags of chips they bought at Costco, their purchase will feed lunchtime guests for well over a week!
From salvationarmyexpectchange.org
