NEDERLAND, Texas — It's no secret that grocery prices across the nation have been rising steadily.
Since 2019, grocery prices have shot up 25%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Southeast Texans have been feeling the strain of high prices as much as anyone, so a Nederland woman tried some ideas on how to cut down on costs.
Mistie Layne-Gengo, of Nederland, considers herself an "extreme couponer" and takes advantage of offers like a digital coupon from Dollar General that lets her take $5 of a purchase of $25 on Saturdays.
"I saw women getting $30 worth of stuff for $4," Layne-Gengo told 12News. "I'm like there's no way. I did it and it's true, just with digital coupons,"
What started out as a casual curiosity for Layne-Gengo, quickly became an extreme hobby.
"It's hard to pass up a deal where you walk out of Walgreens with $30 worth of stuff and Walgreens paid you $7 to do it," she says.
Now, the Nederland woman helps others by selling items that she has stocked up on at a discounted price.
"Very interesting, I've never seen it in person you know," said Gaven James, of Port Arthur, after browsing through some of the discounted items Layne-Gengo was selling from her driveway this weekend. "You see it online a lot, but you don't really see it around. I mean, there was a lot of stuff. And it's amazing you know, the prices that you can get these types of stuff for."
Layne-Gengo suggests that beginners follow social media influencers and join Facebook to get started.
She notes that there can be a lot involved such as knowing about the coupon rules, clipping digital coupons and doing some research.
Extreme coupon users need to go online and look at all the deals and then make sure the items they're going after are in stock locally because out-of-stock items can throw off the whole deal, according to Layne-Gengo.
"It's definitely a system you have to learn," Layne-Gengo says.
Using store apps like the Family Dollar and Dollar General apps are the easiest way to start saving she says.
A barcode scanner on the app allows shoppers to scan an item and alerts them if there are any deals on the item.
Layne-Gengo demonstrates using the Dollar General app to scan a $4 air freshener. The app then shows her that there's a deal for $4 off.
"If you clip this coupon you get $4 off of that product which makes that product completely free," Layne-Gengo says.
You can also find savings on the CVS, Walgreens, and H-E-B apps, where you are able to stack up on coupons and save more money.
Stacking her deals allows Layne-Gengo to save even more she explains.
There's often a $5 off of $25 or a $5 off $30 deal on Gain laundry detergent that she says can be "stacked" with the Dollar General Saturday $5 off $25 deal.
Another way to save is to download a rebate app, to get paid to shop.
Apps like Ibotta, Fetch and Checkout 51 can let you know if you've got any rebates available by simply scanning in your receipt.
"If it matches something that's promoted on that website they pay you money," said Layne-Gengo.
Layne-Gengo offered 12News an example of how much money she saved with these tactics on Saturday.
"Yesterday, I went to H-E-B. I got a turkey for free because Ibotta paid me the money to get it back," she explained. "I got Kings Hawaiian rolls, Cool Whip, I got frozen vegetables. All of that right now for Thanksgiving Ibotta's giving you a reimbursement.
She explained that she paid for her items in the store, scanned her receipt and got $23 back before she even got out to her car in the parking lot.
While the savings may seem small at first, Layne-Gengo says that couponing can save you hundreds a month in total.
"You have to learn to use your resources, that's the thing," she exaplins.Our economy is so inflated right now, but I feel like there are ways we can offset it, but we have to learn how to do it," said Layne-Gengo.