Introducing Joyce House – The Coupon Diva

Food, Frugality, Household, Tips 1 Minute

I very rarely watch morning television, but several weeks ago I saw a unique report/interview on the TODAY show that sparked my interest and got me thinking. Matt Lauer interviewed Joyce House, better known as the “Coupon Diva” about her tricks of the trade. What’s so special about Joyce, you say? She’s made quite a name for herself in Philadelphia, helping other shoppers not only save money while shopping for groceries, but to get commonly used items for free. Too good to be true? Think again…

Some of the tips the Diva shared with Matt:

  • If you forget to use a coupon, you can come back to the store for up to 30 days to get your money back.
  • If an item scans incorrectly at check-out, you can often get it for free.
  • Know your grocery store’s coupon policy inside and out.

If you think cutting coupons takes too much time – Joyce says “you haven’t been broke enough.” In today’s economic climate, many are hearing her all too well. Joyce says that people are not utilizing all the resources available to them to get a lot of very common grocery items absolutely free.

Her last grocery bill? Joyce purchased $71 in groceries for a mere $11. And that doesn’t even come close to the times the store owed her money!

This got me thinking – can I achieve these same results and how easy or difficult is it?

UPDATE: If you’re interested in getting more information about saving money on groceries by using coupons, check out my new Grocery Coupon Challenge series, which started January 2011. Follow along as we learn how to use coupons together! 

If you want to watch the video from the TODAY show, I’ve embedded it below:

 

Published by Peter

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26 thoughts on “Introducing Joyce House – The Coupon Diva”

  1. I would love to see someone be able to do this while still buying organic or products without icky ingredients like high fructose corn syrup or tons of sugar. Every time I check out what people buy for next to nothing after coupons, it’s always seems to be food I would not eat or feed my family. I would LOVE to learn how to do this though for the food that I do eat. I mean you never see coupons for things like coconut milk or free-range eggs. Maybe I will conduct an experiment as well. I always trying to do coupons, then it falls to the wayside. I think the statement, “you haven’t been broke enough” nailed it on the head.

    1. Good point – I haven’t seen these specialized coupons either. But I’ll keep an eye out and definitely share my sources if I see something. Maybe it’s not that they’re not available, but that they’re much harder to find. After all, healthy food is still a “niche” market and wouldn’t make it into the Sunday paper too often.

      1. How can I get pasta coupons etc online? I’m on a budget with my two checks and would like to start couponing again with help…

      2. Also, We have a Super Wal-Mart here and I use those recycle bags, would they be able to charge just 5 cents to use our own bags? How does that work…?

      3. I’ll be getting more into grocery coupons this year (2011)! I hope to be able to answer some of your questions soon.

    2. If you buy all of your toiletries with coupons for next to nothing it leaves you extra money to buy healthy food, organic, this is what I do.

    3. Hi Mama Bird!

      I just wanted to say that there are DEFINITELY coupons for organic, free-range and “out of the ordinary” items. We have 3 people in our household who have dietary restrictions and I am still able to use coupons during every trip. Soy, rice, and almond milks are all purchased with coupons and are usually under a 1.00. Organic eggs are a staple here as well and those coupons are often featured in the sunday paper. We even use coupons for the special vitamins we need to take daily. I recently saw coupons for organic meats, including grass fed beef. There are even sites that now cater to those who want to shop as healthy as possible but still use coupons. Just google the words “organic” and “coupons” and they’ll pop right up. I hope that helps!

    4. I agree with you and also the lady stating that if use coupons for toilet paper you have money to buy the healthy products. BUT, it isn’t fair. I think that healthy people should have coupons just as all the people who buy past, sodas, sugary treats….:)

    5. I have found some coupons for organic foods. The best way to do this is by going to the company’s web site or emailing them and asking for coupons. It’s a little more work but it’s worth it if you want to save money on quality foods!

      1. I’ve had some good luck searching on manufacturer’s websites for coupons recently. This might be the trick!

    6. Mama Bird you are right a lot of the Free food you get with coupons is junk but for me clipping is worth the savings when I can find great deals on the good stuff. Which come around more often then you would think. One tip is to go to the Manufacturer’s website to see if they have online coupons on their site & if they don’t, write them telling them how much you love their product and they just might thank you with coupons.

    7. You can find coupons for organic items (try a google search). This week, I found coupons for Horizon organic milk and one for eggs (of any kind). These aren’t in your weekly paper, though, so you have to look online and print them out.

    1. Start off with Sunday coupons and online printable coupons..I have to wait til next month to order my inkjet for my printer my hubby got me to start saving more money from coupons. I get two checks a month and food stamps. So, starting this spring I hope to save more money…

  3. I wanna learn how to do what Joyce does, I love that she doesnt buy what she doesnt need. PLEASE Joyce start a blog or something to help us! All hail coupon diva Joyce!

    1. Joyce definitely needs a website! As I get more into couponing, I’ll compile a list of resources that we can all use to save some $.

  4. Hi I just saw you on extreme coupons on TLC channel I live in south west philly.
    I recently had a heart attack and I fell behind on some bills I had to go on stamps to eat I was wondering if u can teach me how to save like you do, so I can use my extra $$ to pay hosptial bills and house bills.

  5. Hi Joyce:
    Just saw an article of you and it was talking about saving with coupons. I am really interested and have alot of questions. One of the questions I have is how you have to buy wo items price just to ket something free. Do you always buy things,you don’t need just to get something on sale?

  6. I am so interested in learning how this all works!!! I try and use my coupons but it is nothing like what Joyce saves when she goes!!! Help please!!!

  8. My girlfriend’s husband has lymphoma and they eat nothing but organic and she coupons and saves well over 50% each time just on food. Try Mambo Sprouts for good organic coupons as well as the manufacturer’s sites. We are supplementing more organics into our house than ever due to coupons.

  9. I saw Joyce House on Extreme Couponing . Does she have a website ? She really seem like the type of person that would make a great teacher .Does she have couponing workshops or classes?
    If not she should really think of doing that. I use coupons all the time , i managed to pay 50% less on most my trips and even get free stuff . But i only buy what i use monthly .
    One of the ladies on Extreme C. was just stack piling pasta and things in several rooms she should really think of donating to food shelters and people taht could use them .Theirs alot of need in this country and others .

    1. I think she does everything you’re talking about (good for her!). I’ve linked to her new website in one of my comments above.

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