About

About
Updated: March 25, 2012

Who is the prodigious, extreme couponing ninja known as “shuriken?”

I’m a 28 year old graduate of the University of Washington and a resident of Seattle.  I have a background in economics and business administration with the majority of my work experience in tech.  I currently work in finance–where I have been for the last two years.  And, yes, I’m a guy–an anomaly in couponing.

I have been couponing and finding deals since November ’04 (almost 7 years now) after I camped out with friends for Black Friday during my junior year of college.  This was the first experiences where I actually ended up with more money in my pocket than I started with while shopping!

Unlike most couponers, I do not simply coupon at grocery and drugstores.  In fact, that isn’t where I got my start:

Originally, I started using coupons to purchase and save on big ticket items such as: electronics, clothing, etc.

In 2006, I launched a lucrative drop shipping venture, which I managed for about two years.  The core competency of the business was to ship directly from manufacturer to the consumer to save on shipping; to have a positive cash-flow cycle; and, to save on holding and inventory costs by eliminating a brick & mortar presence (by definition, “drop shipping”).

However, I took this a step further and made use of coupons and promotions to further increase my profit margins on the goods that I sold.  On some items, I could do better than pure profit because I was getting the items free, earning rewards, and reselling them.  When it got good, I was earning a 5-figure income every month.

In 2008, when the market tanked, businesses started tightening up, and margins grew slimmer and slimmer, I decided to get out of the game.

I had done a few freebies and money maker deals here and there, at drugstores like Walgreens, but it wasn’t until the recent four years or so that the prospect intrigued me and I decided to branch out and use my skill sets to coupon at grocery and drugstores, on a consistent basis.

I started small, at first.  I gradually grew to what you see today: couponing at an EXTREME level.

Q&A with My Fans:

Q: What do you look like?
A: I’m 6′ and slim-built.  Have brown eyes and black hair.

Q: Where can I find a picture of you?
A: Sorry, at this time, no pics.  I’ll upload one when I reach 50k fans on Facebook.

Q: Do you think it’s important to follow ethical guidelines?
A: Yes, it’s important to follow ethical guidelines, but I do not believe in controlling or policing people by telling them what do to.  Everyone is free to make their own choices and face any resulting repercussions and consequences.

Q: Where do you get all of your inserts?
A: I’ve developed connections and sources through my years in couponing.  This is one barrier every serious couponer has to overcome!  To start out: you can ask friends/family to save you inserts and buy a few extra papers a week until you decide that you want to commit and take this to another level.  You can also find coupon and couponing resources here.

Q: What do your family and friends think of your love of couponing?
A: My family is very supportive and they’re amazed that I can save so much and make money doing this.  My friends think it’s awesome; and, I’m known as the “deal king,” “coupon guy,” etc. in my circles.

Q: What meals do you prepare and what do you eat?
A:  I can cook and prepare just about anything.  I’ll make a post with recipes and pictures of my creations sometime.

Q: If you were a tree, what tree would you be?
A: Money tree?

Q: Who is your favorite character on The Office?
A: Dwight K. Schrute.  Easy.

Q: What song do you sing in the shower?
A: Nyan Cat!

If you would like to ask me a question, then feel free to ask me on Facebook or email.  You may see your question answered here!