Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 8, 1992 TAG: 9201080043
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Los Angeles Daily News
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium
JOIN A CLUB FOR SAVINGS, REBATES AND A HOBBY
It took Brenda Farrell a year, but she finally saved enough with rebate checks and coupons to buy a typewriter that, appropriately, was half-price at $300.Now, manufacturer rebate checks go into her Individual Retirement Account. "I've had other hobbies," the 40-year-old printing saleswoman said, "but I never had a hobby that brought in money."
Every third Tuesday of the month, she joins nine other members of the Simi Valley Refunders, a club of coupon users. Simi Valley is a suburban city northwest of Los Angeles.
They not only seek to save 30 percent to 50 percent of their grocery bills, but go after manufacturers who they feel fall short of promised deals.
As an example, Mary Lindberg, club president and founder, received a $12 rebate check last week from a winery. She was part of a letter-writing effort that started almost two years ago when the winery didn't honor rebates from several club members.
Lindberg started the club 15 years ago when she saw a newspaper article about manufacturers' promotions, including coupons. "I thought, wouldn't it be great to get together with other people and trade?" she said.
So she recruited among friends and supermarket shoppers. She even had her club listed in a newspaper's community events section.
A meeting typically lasts 90 minutes to two hours. Members swap coupons, talk about manufacturers' deals, supermarket promotions and other sales. There is no fee for joining.
Connie Mneimne, a 33-year-old chef and member, said she started clipping coupons nine years ago. "I got started because I was broke," she said. "I was newly married, had a new baby and didn't have the money to buy what I wanted. So I made my money stretch as much as I could."
Now clipping coupons is a habit. "Once you see money coming off your bill, I don't see how people can resist it," Mneimne said.
Farrell got her start when she was living in Philadelphia. "I could never get anybody to get on the bandwagon with me," she said with a laugh. "People thought it was cheap to use coupons."
But Farrell, who moved to California in 1966, remains a staunch convert. "To me, coupons are cash," she said. "If I have a 25-cent coupon in my purse, I've got 25 cents. This is money in my hand."