Make America Coupon Again

Words by Carmen Macri 

It’s been more than a decade since “Extreme Couponing” aired on TLC, but the hunt for deals is still going strong — the tactics just look a little different now.

Couponing might seem like a relic from the early 2000s—something your mom did with a binder and a stack of flyers—but honestly, it deserves a comeback. Prices are up, paychecks aren’t stretching as far and saving a few bucks here and there isn’t just smart — it’s necessary. Gone are the days of spending hours clipping paper coupons at the kitchen table (though I’m not knocking it); now, there are apps, influencers and Facebook groups doing most of the work for you. All you need is a little patience, a Wi-Fi connection and maybe a notes app to keep track of your haul.

And beyond the savings, there’s something oddly satisfying about the hunt. Scoring a BOGO deal or finding out you can stack coupons on top of a clearance item? Feels like a tiny win in a world full of overpriced everything. Plus, with social media making it easier than ever to share tips, tricks and screenshots of your cart total dropping from $80 to $12, there’s a whole community of savvy shoppers out there turning couponing into a lifestyle — and it’s about time we joined them.

Growing up, one of our family rituals was gathering around the kitchen table with the weekly coupon inserts in hand—my brothers, my parents, and me, all calling dibs on the best deals we could find. Nine times out of ten, those deals took us to Winn-Dixie, where we’d pile into the car and race through the aisles like bargain-hunting bandits, grabbing every BOGO we could. At seven years old, I was bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and laser-focused on anything loaded with sugar and preservatives (not much has changed, except my driver license).

As we got older, the couponing tradition started to fade, and truth be told, we were never particularly great at it. Compared to the couponing legends who turned grocery store hauls into viral videos and science projects, we were amateurs at best. But for a while, clipping those coupons felt like a sport — and we played with heart.

There was a time when it felt embarrassing to coupon, don’t ask me why, but I think we all went through that awkward phase where everything was embarrassing. But luckily, I, along with everyone else in their 20s, grew out of that, and now saving money is all I can think about. And while I usually involuntarily throw away the Money Mailer, there are new ways to coupon. One of the most popular is the app Honey, it does the dirty work for you—scouring the internet for deals and coupon codes, then automatically slapping the best one on at checkout while you sit back and feel smug. However, this is only for online shopping, not grocery shopping, which is usually where all of our money goes every two weeks. 

Couponing influencers are everywhere these days — scroll through just about any platform and you’ll trip over a dozen of them. But one I follow religiously is Torok Coupon Hunter. With over 3 million followers, she’s constantly dropping deals on groceries, household essentials and anything else you’d normally overpay for. She’s on top of clearance events at big-name stores, walks you through finding and stacking online coupons like a pro and even shows you how to preserve your stockpile once you’ve hauled it home. I’m not exaggerating when I say she’s saved me hundreds of dollars—probably more.

Mami Couponz blew up by spotlighting cheap finds at big-name stores like Target, Ikea and Whole Foods. Her signature move? “What $5 can buy you at ___?” — and somehow, it’s always way more than you’d expect. She knows her way around inflation and thank god she is sharing it with the rest of us. And then there’s Livy Coupons, who pretty much floods your feed with every deal known to mankind—when it’s happening, where to find it and what to expect. Like I said, it’s all about knowing where to look and who’s worth the follow.

And to keep things local, there are a bunch of Facebook groups worth digging into—like Jacksonville Couponing Mama, who shares deals specifically happening around town, or For Cheap or Free Jacksonville, which has over 167,000 members swapping secret steals, flash deals and sometimes just giving stuff away for free. It’s basically a gold mine if you know where to look. And let’s not forget about Facebook Marketplace, which basically sponsors my entire apartment. Couch, coffee table, TV stand, kitchen chairs, rugs, art — literally everything in my place is courtesy of a good scroll and a quick pickup.

Make America coupon again!