Every summer, Waterford Lakes resident Melisha Kreppein takes a vacation with her husband and five children. But last January, when her husband’s bonus was much less than expected, it looked like they wouldn’t have the funds for a trip. Eager to find a way to make the trip happen, Kreppein went over her budget and found that she was spending upwards of $300 a week on groceries—the equivalent of a mortgage payment.

As a stay-at-home mom who runs an eBay business, Kreppein spends a great deal of time on the Internet and decided to research ways to save. She admits that at the time she thought it would mean eating a lot of macaroni and cheese; but by being more aware of her spending, buying items on sale and using coupons Kreppein cut her grocery bill in half and saved enough in five months for her family to take that vacation. She estimates that she now saves more than $7,000 a year using the techniques.

Excited about her new shopping method, Kreppein started sharing it with friends and posting deals she found on Facebook. She says, “So many people told me ‘I wish I could just sit down with you and you could teach me all that you’re doing.’ That led to a class.” Kreppein held her first “Clipping and Saving” course on January 13 at Eastpoint Fellowship and received immediate positive feedback. “Within seven days of my class I had seven people come back to me; they’d saved over $400 combined!”

Kreppein plans to host another “Clipping and Saving” class, and introduce a second class about saving on things besides groceries, in the near future.

Following these tips may seem like common sense to some, but Kreppein says people don’t often scrutinize spending on necessities. “You don’t think about it, it’s food, you have to have it. If we hadn’t gotten to the point where we wanted something we couldn’t afford, I’d still be spending way too much money on food.”

In the current economic climate, more and more people are realizing the value of taking the time to save on groceries. There are a growing number of “couponers” in East Orlando—and across the nation. Kreppein says, “I think saving and being frugal has kind of become more of an ‘in’ thing than it used to be. People want to hold on to more of their hard-earned money, and I welcome the opportunity to help them do that.”

It’s been a real blessing to take something that I needed for my family and use it to help other people.