Coupon-collecting can be a full-time job

It's almost frightening, the zeal with which some people collect grocery coupons.

A few still use those pastel-striped organizers that divide soup deals from toilet-paper bargains, and, for most, Sunday newspapers remain a major source for savings. But a zealous coupon enthusiast is also alerted to deals on Facebook and Twitter, belongs to an exchange club and is a slave to any number of Web sites that provide printable coupons.

The ultimate goal is shaving hundreds of dollars off the annual grocery bill, but the immediate high is "stacking," which combines store coupons with manufacturer coupons on top of buy-one-get-one-free deals. That's "BOGO" in grocery-shopping vernacular.

"For example, let's say there is a 50-cent coupon good for a 1-pound box of Ronzoni pasta, which usually costs around $1.29. Sometimes they are on sale as a BOGO, which means I can buy two boxes for $1.29. Then I use two coupons worth 50 cents each and get both boxes for only 29 cents!" says Marge Scheidl of New Port Richey, Fla. "It doesn't get much better than that."

Scheidl's enthusiasm over the art of the grocery deal is not unusual during these recessionary times. Coupon redemption was up 23 percent in 2009 over the previous year. According to NCH Marketing Services of Illinois, more than 75 percent of all shoppers use coupons, about 23 percent religiously.

Kati Kiefer turned to coupons in 2009 when her husband's pay reduction took a bite out of the family's budget. She says via e-mail that she routinely saves up to 80 percent on her monthly grocery bill and has started a Web site (truecouponing.com) to teach her system to others.

Kiefer, who has a degree in marketing from the University of South Florida, according to her Web site, claims she has reduced her family's monthly food bill from $600 a month to $250. Not bad for Mom, Dad and four children. She's not just clipping coupons; Kiefer is an expert in understanding the codes on the coupons. A "NED" (no expiration date) is more valuable than a "YMMV" (your manager may vary).

She also espouses every coupon devotee's mantra: Don't buy products you don't use just because they are cheap. Something you hate is still something you hate even at 13 cents a can.

Americans have been drawn to coupons for more than 100 years, the first one attributed to the Coca-Cola Co. in the late 1880s. But it was food manufacturer C.W. Post who made the practice widespread in 1909 when he began giving coupons away for breakfast cereal and other products.