Self-proclaimed "Couponista" mom shops for five on $150 a month
Michelle Reis feeds her family of five on just $150 a month. The full time working mom said she spends her hour-plus daily train commute clipping coupons and looking for deals.
"I'm on the train cutting coupons," she said. "People look at me, but I just do it."
Reis has tallied up her savings over the years. She estimated that in the past six years she has saved more than $45,000. Some of the best deals, she found, are at drug stores.
"It's like a treasure hunt, which makes it fun," she said.
Sometimes the stores even wind up owing her money. That happened on a recent trip to Walmart, where they match other stores' prices. "By the time I used the coupons, they owed me!"
Reis said it is not hard making couponing work -- just takes time, and practice. In addition to working a full-time job she now also teaches couponing classes.