The uncertainty of today’s economy has more and more consumers taking advantage of the sales circulars most commonly found in newspapers.

With the help of Atmore Community Hospital the buying public can learn how best to use the inserts, coupons and store sales by offering a coupon class to teach people how to shop more frugally than ever before. The class will be held at 9 a.m. this Saturday, Sept. 11 at the Mayson Auditorium in the hospital.

The speaker for the event will be Frances Chancery who is, perhaps, the best informed person in this area on how to use coupons to help save, not just on groceries, but on a little bit of everything.

Amy Davis, business office manager at Atmore Community Hospital who coordinating the evens, said she has tried Chancery’s tips and says they work.

“I don’t do it nearly as well as Frances does, but I recently saved $195 by following her advice,” Davis said. “A family of four can save as much as $130 to $450 by using coupons and buying during sales. We want to teach people how to use these ideas and coupons to their advantage and use with sale items.”

Chancery has started a blog on the Internet to teach people how to save, and save big, by taking advantage of sales and coupons when they go shopping.

Not only can she show you how to save on your grocery bill, but also she practices what she speaks. Her Web site, located at www.frugalfairhope.com, highlights local sales and explains how to use her tips to spend less for what you have to buy. Most people probably think of grocery stores when they think of coupons, but there is much, much more.

Chancery does her shopping armed with a three-ring notebook filled with coupons and her newspaper. On one recent day, she bought $144 in free groceries and came out $7.32 ahead after taxes, rebates and reward cards.

She loves to tell her story and she is doing that by the Web site and the free workshops she offers. Her Web site receives around 4,000 hits a week, and growing numbers are attending the workshops that now number about 10 times a month in Baldwin and Mobile counties.

“Although some bloggers take $10 to $20 for coupon workshops, I do it for free,” Chancery said. “I do it because I love it and I feel as if I am giving back to my community.”

For those who have not signed up for the meeting on Sept. 11, can still attend the event, Davis said. There is sure to be room enough for one more shopper.