Georgia Magazine - September 2011 - (Page 24)

¡ M The Coupon Mom: BY PAMELA A. KEENE A mission to help reduce hunger leads to a national phenomenon arietta resident Stephanie Nelson didn’t set out to start a national phenomenon when she began teaching classes about how to save money at the grocery store 10 years ago. She had quit her job to be a stay-athome mom and was looking for a way to give back to her church and the community. “I just wanted to help people save some money while shopping in hopes that they would also help cut out hunger,” says the 47-year-old mother of two teenage sons. “The whole idea was to get people locally to buy a few extra groceries with coupons—so that the food was discounted or free—to donate to North Fulton Community Charities, a mission of the church our family attended. I didn’t know at the time what God had in mind for this project, but I continue to see his work in it every day.” In 2001, she started out purchasing extra food herself using coupons to help the nonproﬁt organization. She began to teach classes locally so that others could contribute to the organization and save money at the same time. Then her minister at Roswell Presbyterian—Richard Hill— suggested she start a website, pointing out that to reach the larger number of people, it would be impossible to teach all the classes herself. About six months later, she had developed the website and gotten a commitment from a student group at Georgia Institute of Technology to help develop a manageable and easy-to-understand software program that could be rolled out nationally. “Still, my goal was simply to help cut out hunger, and I encouraged people to use couponing to buy extra items that they could donate to their area food banks and charitable organizations,” she says. “The concept just continued to grow. I had no idea what was ahead and that it was just a matter of time before Coupon Mom took off.” An appearance on “Good Morning America” nearly seven years ago helped her go national with very little capital. Today, CouponMom. com has 5 million members who regularly receive information about coupons and deals at area grocery and drugstores. Nelson has become the go-to expert for such national programs as “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” the “NBC Nightly News” and other organizations when it comes to saving money at the grocery store. A recent 15-second interview on a major news program resulted in the website crashing with all the people trying to access CouponMom.com. In addition to a very loyal following—and who wouldn’t want to save money at grocery and drug stores?—Coupon Mom’s success depends on timely pricing information for major retailers, such as Walmart, Target, CVS, Kroger and Publix. Additionally, there are six major coupon companies that provide advance notice about their weekly offers so that members can be alerted. The website also includes paid advertisMore online at www.georgiamagazine.org Stephanie Nelson ing placed by retailers and major national brands. The revenue pays for the administrative costs of the business, plus it allows CouponMom. com to provide funding for charities and scholarships, including one for Georgia Tech students. To keep up to date with the thousands of offers each week, Nelson’s team is made up of 14 other stay-at-home moms who cull through discount offerings and build her online database of deals from 43 national stores. Four years ago, her husband Dave left his job in the corporate world to help run the business, which still operates on a shoestring budget. “For a while, I hired someone to help with reading all the emails that we receive each day, but I found that I was losing touch with the people who were loyal to Coupon Mom, so now I read all the emails myself,” she says. “It’s a very personal experience for me because so many people have such wonderful stories and tips to share.” Here’s how CouponMom.com works. Go to the website and register—it’s free. Then, if you choose to, you can receive emails with the top coupon deals. You can go to the website and download coupons or GEORGIA MAGAZINE 24 http://www.CouponMom.com http://www.CouponMom.com http://www.CouponMom.com http://www.CouponMom.com http://www.CouponMom.com http://www.CouponMom.com http://www.georgiamagazine.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - September 2011

Georgia Magazine - September 2011
Contents
Viewpoint
Mailbox
Picture This?
Georgia News
Calendar of Events
Currents
Georgia’s Energy Outlook
A Bountiful Harvest
The Coupon Mom
A Spirit of Cooperation
The 2011 Washington Youth Tour
Georgia’s Higher Learning
Higher education listings
Around Georgia
Ramble around Dahlonega continues
My Georgia
Georgia Gardens
Vince Dooley’s tips on growing hydrangeas, more on artist Steve Penley
Georgia Cooks
Second helping: More apple recipes and fall apple festivals
Snapshot
More Snapshot submissions
Money-saving websites
Gardens plant of the month; Liberty notes
Energy-efficiency tips

Georgia Magazine - September 2011