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November 26, 2004 03:41 PM

Meet The Bargain Hunters: Three Everyday Experts Share Their Tips


Excerpt: Many people casually clip a coupon now and again, give the clearance rack a once-over, maybe reuse a piece of aluminum foil in a pinch. But where many consumers surrender their scissors the minute coupon-clipping gets wearisome, "supersavers" like these three are just getting warmed up. For them, saving money is a hobby, a passion, a principle.


Think you're thrifty? Top this:

Malysa Niederkohr of Mill Creek spends $50 a week on groceries for her family of four. Including diapers.

Shelly Watanabe of Burien — a self-described "thrift queen" — once scored a $200 beaded cocktail dress for $4.99.

Mara Phipps of Bothell has a walk-in closet jammed with bargain-priced gifts: toys, 25-cent boxes of Christmas cards and 97-cent shirts from GapKids. Christmas, she says, is done — and has been since July.

Many people casually clip a coupon now and again, give the clearance rack a once-over, maybe reuse a piece of aluminum foil in a pinch.

But where many consumers surrender their scissors the minute coupon-clipping gets wearisome, "supersavers" like these three are just getting warmed up. For them, saving money is a hobby, a passion, a principle.

And for some, a necessity: A basket of goods and services that cost about $100 in the Puget Sound region in 1983 had nearly doubled to $192 last year, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Give Gifts That Give Back (November 28, 2004)
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Tips For Stretching Your Holiday Budget (November 26, 2004)
Savvy shoppers are expected to do comparison shopping online this year. And according to a recent study from JupiterResearch, there are a lot of smart shoppers out there. If the study is correct, online retail holiday sales this year will reach $21.6 billion. A rising ...
Smart Holiday Shopping (November 25, 2004)
While the average consumer expects to spend $702.03 over the holidays, just 4.5 percent more than last year, plenty of us will spend more than we can afford. Are you worried about a debt hangover this holiday season? Here are 5 tips to help you ...
Some Shoppers Find Fewer Happy Returns (November 07, 2004)
WASHINGTON - Darlene Salerno considers herself a loyal customer of the Express clothing chain, shelling out roughly $2,000 for its trendy outfits each year for the past decade. On a recent shopping trip, she bought a tank top, a button-down shirt and some khaki pants ...

Read all 21 posts in the same category of Spending:

Cell Phone Calls In Flight? - Dec 09, 2004
Holiday Tipping - Dec 09, 2004
Tunes Coming To Callers? - Dec 08, 2004
Electronic Ways to Pay Eclipse Checks in Number - Dec 07, 2004
The Trouble With Rebates - Dec 07, 2004
Customers Tire of Excuses for Rebates That Never Arrive - Dec 07, 2004
'Phishing' Attacks Surge In 2004 - Dec 06, 2004
Bush Signs Internet Tax, Special Ed Bills - Dec 05, 2004
The Wide World Of Online Shopping - Dec 04, 2004
Shopbots: Your Own Automated Shopping Assistant On The Web - Dec 04, 2004
Traveler: Know Your Options - Dec 04, 2004
Worried Merchants Throw Discounts at Shoppers - Dec 04, 2004
Regifting 101 - Dec 02, 2004
Health Costs Up 7.5% - Dec 02, 2004
5 Popular Holiday Shopping Scams - Nov 30, 2004
Slick Tips for Holiday Shopping - Nov 28, 2004
Give Gifts That Give Back - Nov 28, 2004
Tips For Stretching Your Holiday Budget - Nov 26, 2004
Smart Holiday Shopping - Nov 25, 2004
Some Shoppers Find Fewer Happy Returns - Nov 07, 2004