USU student to appear on couponing TV show
Ramen Noodles. Macaroni and cheese. SPAM. When short on money, these foods can seem like a budgeting students’ only hope for a full stomach. But there are tricks to beefing up a diet without breaking the bank.
Many college students have little money to spend. Nicole Masco, a junior majoring in exercise science, makes the most of her limited funds by scouring stores for coupons, sales and rewards. Masco is so efficient with her couponing and sale searching that she will be appearing on a TV show called “Cheapster.”
Sponsored by Zion’s Bank, “Cheapster” invites one student from 13 different universities across Utah and Idaho to compete in a competition to see who is the most creative and crazy when it comes to being frugal. The winner of the competition wins $10,000 for their school as well as $10,000 for themselves. CheapsterTV airs in November and will feature several episodes as the contestants go through different challenges to become the champion.
Masco shared some of her strategies as she prepares for the competition.
“A coupon is worthless unless it accompanies a sale,” Masco said. “Many times a coupon is only slightly better than the regular price and is just a way to get you to buy something brand name rather than a generic brand. Usually the generic brand is still a better deal, even after a coupon.”
Pinchingyourpennies.com is one resource Masco uses to help her find the best deals. After selecting your state, the site lists several stores for you to choose from. Once you select a store, deals are rated on a five-star scale, with the best deals receiving a perfect five-star rating. Additional coupons are listed and links to those coupons are provided.
“I plan my sales and then plan my meals around the sales,” Masco said. “You have to be patient and wait for sales to show up.”
Buying in bulk is another way Masco said she gets the most out of her money.
“When you see a good deal, stock up if it isn’t perishable.” Masco said. “Buying bulk items saves you a lot in the long run. You don’t take as many trips to the store which means you save time, gas and money.”
According to Masco, the best items to buy in bulk include toiletries, canned goods, pasta noodles and frozen food because these items have a long shelf-life.
“I use a lot of perishable food as well,” Masco said. “So it’s important to keep your eyes open for when bread, milk and produce are on sale.”
Masco said that a lot of good deals are on “waste items such as junk food. You don’t need these items so unless you can get them for free, don’t waste your money. If you haven’t bought something before but it happens to be on sale, don’t give in. If you haven’t needed it before, you don’t need it now.”
Some stores offer rewards programs that allow you to redeem points for discounts on gasoline. At one point Masco redeemed points and received a full dollar off the price at the pump.
“My husband and I filled both our cars from being totally empty as well as several tanks of gas because of the great deal,” Masco said. “With gas prices the way they are, it really helped our budget for that month.”
“I don’t have time to do the 30 hour coupon planning that they do on TV,” Masco said. “If I had 30 extra hours a week, I’d just get another job to get more money.” Masco said she saves 25 percent on each shopping trip with her efficient system.
Some websites have coupons available online such as coupon.com and grocerysmarts.com. In order to print these coupons from home, you must install a program from the website. Your printer then becomes your couponing ally.
“Nicole has saved us a ton of money,” Nicole’s husband and recent USU graduate Rylar Masco said. “It’s really nice to have someone so frugal to help us save for our future. She even couponed for our wedding.”
– kylekheywood@gmail.com
Twitter: @heywood_kyle