Meet the coupon queen whose weekly shop is ALWAYS free
WHILE many families will be digging deep to pay for Christmas this year, bargain-obsessed Cal Holder expects to be feasting for free.
The 40-year-old gets up at 4.30am every day to scour the internet for the latest deals and has even quit her job in administration to focus on ‘couponing’ full time.
The coupon queen says she now never pays for her supermarket shop – and sometimes even makes money from it.
‘It pays for our everyday expenses,’ she said. ‘I gave up my job around a year ago and have managed to live on my couponing. It is not just about couponing. It is about utilising every other kind of saving.’
Miss Holder, from Birmingham, is so thrifty that her monthly shop usually earns her £15 through cashback deals, where promoters give shoppers money when they buy their products, sometimes in bulk. Her bargain hunting has left her with a stockpile of supermarket products worth around £5,000, which she stores on shelving in the spare bedroom at her flat.
Over the past six years, she has bagged countless money- saving deals, including 176 tins of baked beans for nothing, £17 worth of New Look clothes for £2, and £10 worth of washing tablets for 20p.
Miss Holder also targets supermarkets during rush-hour because she knows that is when people will leave receipts with moneysaving offers in their trolley for her to collect – a practice known as ‘wombling’.
Over the past year, she estimates she has earned £960 by picking up other people’s forgotten receipts. She also saves money by snapping up free samples.
Miss Holder uses vouchers and discounts to lower the cost of her weekly shop and cashback deals to cover the rest of the bill. Often her cashback deals will not only cover the cost of her weekly shop, but will see her given cash at the checkout.
Sometimes her various promotions will not be enough to pay for the shopping, but she monitors her spending on a spreadsheet and always makes sure she comes out on top in the long run.
Last year she covered the cost of Christmas and her New Year’s Eve celebrations with couponing, earning £12 in December while enjoying free wine, crackers and a turkey.
She has already made a promising start to this festive season, buying cut-price selection boxes for £1 and earning back £2 for each one through cashback deals. She is confident couponing will pay for Christmas again this year.
Miss Holder, who says she does not claim benefits, shares her rewards with housemate Simon Bourne, 46, who covers the rent and bills.