May 24, 2012
MIAMI, Fla. (SUBMITTED) - Everybody loves to save money, but one South Florida woman has got it down to a science.
She's known as the coupon queen and she's cashing in, in a big way.
For Mary Pat Pankoke and her mother Billy Gacka clipping coupons is not just a hobby, it's a way of life. They've got shelves upon shelves of products purchased with coupons to prove it.
"The retail price on this (motion to a number of products on the shelves) is close to eleven hundred dollars and with coupons, using coupons before taxes, we paid $6.85," Pankoke told CBS4's Gwen Belton.
Sure, purchasing over 300 brand name products for less than seven dollars sounds too good to be true, but it isn't. Through the use of coupons from multiple newspapers and from the internet, Pankoke and her mother have mastered the art of saving money.
"For us, because we deal in volume, we buy extra Sunday papers, that's one of the tricks," said Pankoke.
Money saving tips and tricks are highly sought after, so for the past year Pankoke and her mother have been sharing their secrets through public classes.
"We've had employers bring us in to do meetings for their employees," said Pankoke.
Judy Raleigh and Pat Dorsey said they swear by what they've learned.
"It's a rush to go out and save over a hundred dollars on one shopping spree," said Raleigh.
Pankoke said what makes her system work is simple math and savvy shopping.
"Most of these products were free," said Pankoke motion to the products on the shelves. "Kraft dressing, we walked in and they were on sale at Publix for $1.50. We had coupons for $1.50 off, so they were free, just free."
Pankoke said it's important that when you find good coupons, you need to hang onto them if you don't need them right away and then wait for a sale.
"You want to be able to take advantage, buy ten dishwashing liquids because they're not going to go bad, buy paper towels because they are not going to go bad," said Pankoke. "Stockpile them when you can get them for free."
Whether it's clipping coupons from the papers or surfing the net for online coupons, Pankoke said her system does require a time commitment for those who really want to find the deals and save money.
(Copyright 2010 by CBS 4 News Miami. All Rights Reserved.)
You can find Mary Pat's link below.
