A young mum who managed to knock £134 a week off her supermarket shop through coupons has revealed how everyone else can access the discounts, too.
Ashley Leverett, 29, said she's so good at finding the bargains that her husband has even nicknamed her "The Coupon Queen".
The mum-of-one who also works as a waitress said she's slashed her weekly grocery bill by nearly £7,000 a year, simply by using money-off vouchers.
Ashley, of Seneca, South Carolina, USA, who has a daughter, Mila, three, has such a knack for spotting the best savings, that she has even amassed 4,600 followers to her Instagram account, devoted to what she calls 'The Craft of Couponing.'
She now hunts for them on the side - and makes a career out of helping others find amazing deals on household and personal products, including detergents, shampoos, trainer nappies and food.
"I work weekends at the Red Lobster seafood restaurant in Anderson, but spend the rest of the week couponing.
"I travel for up to 300 miles a week to shop at the stores where I can cash in coupons.
"But I've got down my weekly supermarket bill from around $200 (£152.47) to just $50 (£38.12) - saving around $7,800 (£6,898) a year, so it's worth it."
Ashley said she first got into coupon-hunting during an episode of Extreme Couponing - which features skilled shoppers who use coupons to make tremendous savings - often accumulating large quantities of goods.
But instead of taking customers through them, she said she shares them on social media for everyone to benefit.
"Social media is a great place to start to learn how to coupon," Ashley explained.
“If you use the ISO (In Search Of) Coupons hashtag, you’ll find all the different couponers who are out there sharing their tips and advice.
“I have a network of couponing friends all over the States now. We swap tips and swap coupons, but to get the most out of doing this you have to learn the lingo.
"Then you need to find out which stores are coupon-friendly, google their coupon policy because some stores place a limit on how many coupons you can cash in per person or per shopping trip and be prepared to travel to the stores that will take the coupons you’ve collected.”
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Interacting with other enthusiasts on social media also teaches those interested in learning more about the language of couponing, according to Ashley.
"Take dedicated couponing," she said. "This means doing your research, homework and planning.
"Then there are the three types of coupons - manufacturer/brand coupons; store coupons and competitor coupons.
"You need to work out what you can use, and when, to buy as much as you can for as little money as possible.
"Sometimes, I’ve used a combination of all three different types together and come home with money in my purse that the store has actually paid back to me!
"We call this stacking - using a combination of coupons together - and it’s something I’ve now mastered, so I get more than one discount on the same thing.
"I have a coupon binder for my vouchers.
"The inserts are baseball card sheets, which are perfect for your coupon collection, because you can slip each coupon into the individual slots.
"It’s a good idea too to print out a store’s coupon policy and keep that in your binder to take with you when you shop.
"I get really excited when I have enough coupons to come home with a really big haul,” she said.
"I recently came home with over 100 packs of training pants for Mila which, with my coupons, were 99 cents (75p) instead of $1.99 (£1.50) per pack - saving me $100 (£75.)
"I’ve also stockpiled 50 bottles of a decent branded detergent, which I could not have afforded without my coupons. "
Now Ashley's husband is so proud of his thrifty wife that he boasts about her couponing skills to family and friends, calling her ‘The Coupon Queen.”
And, despite her tender years, Mila is in training to follow in her mum's footsteps, as she can already spell Ashley’s favourite grocery store Publix.
Ashely said: "My mum was a keen couponer and I caught the bug, too, so it makes sense that Mila will, as well!"
My top 5 couponing tips
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Use social media to find couponing groups and learn the lingo.
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Use couponing hashtags to find great deals.
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Collect newspapers as a source of coupons.
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Get organised and create a file where you can keep all your coupons.
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Learn store policies to get the most out of your coupons.
