Holy Couponers at Queen of All Saints harness deal-finding passion to benefit St. Vincent de Paul

On the first Tuesday of the month, a group of women gather in the Queen of All Saints basement to divide their spoils.

Some triumphantly place bottles of shampoo on the table. Others offer packs of razors, toothbrushes, toothpaste, children’s pajama sets, school folders, deodorant and mouthwash.

Then, they compare notes: How did they save as much money as possible on their purchases?

The Holy Couponers are a ministry of the St. Vincent de Paul Society conference at Queen of All Saints Parish in Oakville. The women funnel their passion for finding deals into an act of service, deftly navigating sales, coupons and rewards programs to buy items to be given away through St. Vincent de Paul home visits and other ministries.

“We have a group couponing chat, and whenever anybody has a good deal, they put it on there. And then we all divide and conquer,” Sue Martini said.

On March 4, Mary Simmons brought several items she bought at Walgreens that month, using Walgreens cash — earned reward dollars — and “rolling” rewards, where the reward earned on one purchase is then used to buy something else. First, she used Walgreens cash to buy Crest toothbrushes, on sale for two for $7, she explained. Then, she used the reward dollars earned to get Garnier shampoo and conditioner; then, Colgate toothbrush and toothpaste; and finally, two bottles of Axe body wash.

Without rewards or coupons, the purchases would’ve added up to about $24 plus tax. “I did not spend one penny,” Simmons said proudly.

Many of the women spent years clipping paper coupons as they raised their children, using the savings to help the family budget. Georgette Grman became so invested in getting good deals that even after her own family’s needs were met, she was pained to see more savings go to waste.

Now, through the Holy Couponers, “it just brings joy to be able to give it to somebody who needs it,” she said.

Paper coupons were king when the group formed in 2013. Members put out baskets in the back of church to collect spare coupons from parishioners, group leader Shirley Francis recalled. “It was like — who was going to make it to church first?” to grab the coupons to go shopping, Francis said, joking that it was extra encouragement to attend daily Mass.

Now, the deals are found in smartphone apps. Bern Fischer is the queen of iBotta, an app that offers cash back when you save offers and submit receipts from grocery and other stores. Since Fischer started using the app a little more than 10 years ago, she’s earned more than $10,000 back, she said. (Other similar rebate apps used by the group are Aisle and Fetch.)

St. Vincent de Paul members are always in need of men’s razors to give out, for example. Fischer found a recent deal and sent it in the group chat: Razors were on sale at Walgreens for $5.99/pack. There was a digital coupon for $4, and you could get $3 cash back on iBotta — a net gain of $1 per pack.

“It’s a $1 money-maker, so we all tried to run out, and then we all came in to the meeting with our razors,” Grman said.

Besides the rebate and rewards apps, the members also spend time browsing websites and social media to find out about new deals. Martini and Simmons scour TikTok pages for coupon tips, and Grman follows several YouTube accounts that post how-to videos on current deals and coupons. Fischer keeps up with Facebook and Instagram Reels on the topic.

The Holy Couponers are one of several ministry offshoots of the Queen of All Saints St. Vincent de Paul Society, conference secretary Kathy Schmidt said. Others include the the Holy Haulers, who pick up and deliver donated furniture, and the Sluggers, who travel to disaster-stricken areas or local projects to offer manual labor.

“Our conference has over 100 members, and that face-to-face contact (on home visits) is not necessarily everybody’s cup of tea. But these different ministries feed into the mission,” Schmidt said.

Francis participates in conference meetings and keeps track of all the needs that exist so she can direct the stored items to the best places. “Whether it’s a neighbor in need, or whether they’re talking about another nonprofit that needs something done like Criminal Justice Ministry, we know that what we have back here is going to be able to benefit that group,” Francis said. “So really, we are invested in every activity that goes on through St. Vincent de Paul and through the parish.”

If the items aren’t needed for St. Vincent de Paul activities, Francis will find another place where they can be used. The parish has a relationship with the St. Anthony of Padua food pantry; if there’s a good deal on cereal, the couponers will buy several boxes to donate there. Other miscellaneous purchases have gone to St. Patrick Center, Criminal Justice Ministry and more.

As the March meeting wrapped up, Francis recorded all the products in a log, then brought them into “the cage,” an area in the basement with rows of storage shelves filled with items to be given away. As she walked up and down the rows, she pointed out which items were destined for which groups, drawing on the running inventory in her head of who gave what, when, for whom. And if she notices a high-need item were running low? She knows who to text to guarantee the best deal.

“This gives me a purpose,” Francis said. “I know what’s needed, and I have no problem asking.”

As the ladies gathered their coats, there was already talk of the next best deal: Walgreens was having a sale on Ziploc bags, a useful item for putting together hygiene kits to be distributed. Several members planned to stop by and grab some on their way home.

Mary Simmons spends time nearly every day finding deals and shopping, she said. It’s an enjoyable hobby, yes, but when she thinks about the people who will be able to use what she’s buying?

“It’s an act of love,” she said.