Coupon crash course: Inside LoveLiveSave's quest to save people money

CANTON TWP. – In the midst of recent widespread economic uncertainty, one Canton woman is sharing her expertise in an effort to save people money.

How? By couponing.

Mandy Morckel, 36, is the owner of LoveLiveSave, a business that teaches people how to effectively use coupons to stretch their dollars. With gas prices remaining at increased levels and fears of a recession becoming more realistic, that's important as ever.

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Morckel said she easily saves hundreds of dollars per month on groceries and other household necessities and has heard the same from some of her clients. She's even couponed her way to a free iPad Mini and is working on a taller task: couponing her way to a free Disney World vacation.

But normally, she said, she invests her savings back into her business to reach as many people as possible.

Making the most of hard times

A veteran couponer with 13 years of experience, Morckel got involved because it was an activity to do with her mother, Barb Resch.

"It was just something fun to do, and it saved money," Resch, 61, said. "It was kind of like an equal balance between saving money and the thrill of the hunt, the game of the coupon."

Morckel began to consider the idea of teaching others to coupon at the beginning of 2020. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck and markets worldwide suffered, she could see her neighbors and peers were struggling. Thoughts of starting a couponing company became even more serious.

Then, in September 2020, they became a necessity. When Malvern-based Colfor Manufacturing burned down, Morckel's husband lost his job. It was a few weeks before Christmas, and with a 2-year-old son, the couple fell on hard times.

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Morckel realized her family wasn't the only one struggling. She floated the idea of teaching others to coupon in a Dollar General Facebook group, and she received "a resounding yes."

Immediately after, LoveLiveSave was created.

Couponing in the 21st century

Morckel began her couponing career exclusively with paper coupons. She began using online coupons through the years and soon recognized how online coupons could be much more viable to the average person.

"Ten-plus years ago, the focus was only on paper coupons. Now, the big focus is on digital couponing," Morckel explained. "You don't have to cut anything out and you save a whole lot of time."

She also said that more people are utilizing rebate apps and websites like Fetch Rewards and Ibotta.

According to SpendMeNot, a finance and savings website, digital coupon redemption grew by 27% in 2020, a year in which more than 142 million adults used digital coupons in the U.S.

In 2022, digital coupons are projected to account for 80% of all coupon redemptions, according to consulting firm Juniper Research. Those coupons could translate to more than $90 billion in savings across the world, according to RetailWire, an online retail discussion forum.

With recent shifts in the couponing industry, Morckel has adapted. In addition to teaching her clients to utilize online coupon sources, she expanded her business to several social media platforms, including YouTube and Instagram. At its peak, her TikTok account garnered more than 165,000 followers.

Resch said her daughter has turned couponing into an art form through her various couponing pages. She also believes Morckel gives away a lot of the couponing tips and tricks for free, but that isn't always the case.

Making money from saving money

Morckel's YouTube videos are monetized, meaning she gets a small cut of the ad revenue generated from people watching her videos. She also makes money through LoveLiveSave's Patreon account where users can choose a $5 or $10 per month membership to get unrestricted information on coupons.

Though she hasn't done it in a while, Morckel plans to create and sell coupon-themed stickers and T-shirts to earn some extra cash. But for her, it's not about the money, it's about helping others.

"I can't tell you how many times I've gotten messages from single moms saying 'I can't believe where I would be today if you hadn't taught me how to coupon diapers,'" Morckel recalled. "It has kind of become my purpose."

She noted, using diapers as an example, that the central reason people should be couponing is to buy things they actually need. Mostly, she devotes her efforts toward finding common household necessities like toothpaste, paper towels and trash bags.

"I can teach you how to get free stuff all day long, but if it's not things your family actually needs, I'm actually doing you a disservice," Morckel said. "I specialize in focusing on things that people actually use."

Contact Ryan via email at rmaxin@gannett.com, on Twitter at @ryanmaxin or by phone at 330-580-8412. 

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Canton's LoveLiveSave offers tips and tricks to best use coupons