An interview with Jay, author of ROC Coupons

I have something fun for you today! I recently had the pleasure of coming across a new blog, ROC Coupons. The author, Jay, blogs from Rochester New York about deals he finds, trips he makes to the store, and his obsession with vintage cookware. Besides learning how to coupon, you'll earn lots of other valuable things, too…like how to deal with junk mail. (Trust me, his post is NOT what you are expecting. Read it!)

Inspired by his sense of humor and interested to hear a guy's take on couponing, I recently asked Jay if I could interview him for The Coupon Project. In light of our "getting started with coupons" focus for October, I thought I'd ask him a few questions related to the topic.

ME: Jay, according to your blog, ROC Coupons, you've only been using coupons recently. Did you have any preconceived notions about the people that used coupons or coupons in general?

JAY: Not really because in one way or another I’ve used coupons for things I like all my life. Whether it was a pizza coupon or a Taco Bell coupon, to me that little piece of paper is as good as currency. Why not use it. Now when I tell people that I use grocery coupons they certainly have some preconceived notions. They kinda scoff at it at first. A man can use a pizza coupon but using a frozen pizza coupon for some reason is odd to them. That is until I share with them how much I save. Then all of a sudden they wanna know how I do it.

ME: What prompted you to start using coupons? Did you find the process of getting started difficult or easy?

JAY: There are two factors that played a big roll. The first was the birth of our son 3 years ago. As you know diapers, wipes, formula, and baby food can take over your grocery budget real quickly. A friend recommended getting on the mailing lists for the companies of the baby products we use most to receive coupons. That helped out a lot. The other factor into my adventures in couponing was the loss of my job. I got laid off from my career as a radio talk show producer one year ago. We needed to stretch the family dollar as far as it could go in this economy. So I took the research skills from my work and applied it to grocery shopping. I cut coupons, print coupons, read the ads and read a half dozen quality coupon blogs like The Coupon Project and I’m ready to go. This process was a lot simpler than I thought it would be. There’s tons of information out there on how to save. Make good use of Google blog search and you’ll be amazed at what you can find.

ME: Can you share with me one of your first trips to the store using coupons? How did it go?

JAY: When you save a big chunk for the first time it’s quite a rush. I think I saved $20 my first time out. I quickly noticed sale patterns and coupon patterns and with the help of online resources was soon able to maximize my savings.

ME: Let's say you get to checkout and the cashier is giving you a hard time on a particular coupon you know to be perfectly valid. How do you handle this?

JAY: I’m unemployed and have nothing better to do. Most cashiers will try and rush the transaction and get you to leave. They will lie and make things up to cover their own behind. Don’t let them bully you. I’ll give you an example. Last week at Target they had a sale buy 5 Kashi items and get a $5 Target gift card. I bought 4 boxes of crackers and 1 box of granola bars. I get up to the register and the crackers didn’t ring up at the sale price. First the cashier told me I was wrong about the sale price. I showed her the weekly flier. Then she told me she could change the price manually but that would negate the gift card from showing up on the computer. I could either pay the non sale price and get the gift card or pay the sale price and not get the gift card. I politely told her neither choice was acceptable to me. I wanted the sale and the gift card as advertised and would like to speak to the manager. The manager came over, I explained myself and got what I asked for. Be polite but be stern. If they don’t give what you ask just ask to void everything and come back later.

ME: You recently launched your blog, ROC Coupons. What inspired you to start your blog and what can readers expect to find?

JAY: I was bored. Many of my friends were asking me about my coupon savings after I’d brag on Facebook about how much I saved at the grocery store. So to keep track of everything I do I decided to create ROC Coupons. If something appears on my blog then it’s a deal I personally have done. I don’t put up anything or endorse anything I won’t try myself. You can expect to find the resources to help start saving you more. Most people tell me lack of spare time is what keeps them from couponing. Hopefully my blog is a simple beginner’s guide for those that can only spare a few minutes here and there. Readers can also expect to find a few posts that have nothing to do with coupons but are simply a declaration of my love for Hot Pockets, the world’s greatest microwavable food.

ME: What advice would you give someone who's thinking about getting started with coupons, but on the fence?

JAY: Would you pay $2 for the Sunday paper if you knew there was a $20 bill inside? Of course you would. Now there’s not an Andrew Jackson inside but there but there are tons of coupons that could add up to $20 or more off your next grocery bill. There are tons of savings to be had out there. Go help yourself to some of them.

******

On a final note, Jay asked that I share this interview with you on the one-year anniversary of his layoff. To celebrate the occasion., please stop by ROC Couponsand check it out! Jay, I wish you many more adventures to come…no matter what life briings.