‘It’s like an adrenaline rush’: Extreme couponer shares tricks of trade

CHARLOTTE — Lauren Farmer started hunting for coupons when she was in high school to help her save money for college. When she got to college, she used coupons even more.

Now, she’s an extreme couponer.

The UNC Charlotte student pays out-of-state tuition and is in her fifth year as a triple major, so she’s made a sport of hunting for coupons — looking for them online and clipping them out of the paper.

“On average, I save around $1,500 a month,” she told Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke.

Farmer said sometimes she goes to the store and doesn’t have to pay anything and that some stores end up owing her money. She said some will give her the cash, but not all.

“So what I had to do, I had to grab some candy bars, and I think I ended up paying like literal pennies for all my groceries and some candy bars. I was like, ‘What?!’” she said about one of her trips to the store.

Farmer’s TikTok page, @couponingwithcraylolo, recently passed more than 50,000 followers.

“Everyone wants to know the deals and how they can save money,” she told Stoogenke.

Farmer said she was once at a restaurant and a worker recognized her from social media. The woman told her that she had lost her job because of the pandemic when she was seven months pregnant and she couldn’t afford food and other things.

“And she turned to couponing through my channel, and I almost started crying at the table,” Farmer said.

Farmer’s not just an extreme couponer — she’s also an extreme donor. Farmer gives regularly to UNC Charlotte’s food pantry for fellow students in need. She says she drops off $150 each week in toothpaste alone.

“I get so much. I have enough for myself, my family is already stocked up, but I still have so much to give,” she said.

Farmer offers this advice for couponing:

• Don’t assume the generic product is always less expensive. She says often you can buy the brand name with a coupon and it comes out cheaper.
• Consider joining Facebook groups where experienced shoppers do a lot of the legwork for you. Farmer says they’ll tell you what coupon you need and where to find it. Her two favorite groups are “Couponing at Harris Teeter” and “My Publix Coupon Buddy.”

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