Coupon mania saves mega bucks

Grabbing the Sunday newspaper has always been a weekend ritual around our house. For me, reading the front-page headlines allow me to satisfy my craving for the latest breaking news.
Catching up on the news for a news junkie like me is nearly the same as a coffee drinker getting their caffeine fix.
But there is something in recent years that has become almost more important to me than reading the news in the Sunday paper. I know this is a shocking confession for a die-hard newspaper person. While some people dive right into the funnies section to get a few chuckles, I immediately grab the coupons for mega savings for my family.
Coupon mania has set in at the Bussler house. It has spread like wildfire and pretty much involves every member of our family, especially the kids. My youngest daughter loves to rip into the coupon section and cut out the best ones.
I know what you’re thinking. A 50 cent coupon and a few $1 off coupons really don’t amount to much. I actually thought the same thing until a few years ago when I began tracking my coupon use. I’ll share a little later what my family saves in a year and I think you’re going to be shocked.
Clipping coupons is a great way to save money on just about everything, including groceries, toiletries, household items, cleaning supplies, dining out and much more. My latest area where I’m noticing incredible savings is office supplies. You name it, there is probably a coupon for it somewhere.
With family budgets being tight, more and more people are looking for creative ways to make their finances last longer and make their spending more cost efficient. Research estimates that there are billions of dollars worth of coupons out there. All one needs to do is grab a scissor and start clipping.
Perhaps what’s most troubling is that research shows only about 1 percent of the 300 billion coupons that are printed in the U.S. each year are actually redeemed. This means we throw away more than 400 billion dollars in coupons each year.
Besides the Sunday newspapers, another great way to get coupons is the internet. There are tons of coupons available just by surfing a couple key websites. Some of the more popular ones are coupons.com, pocket your dollars.com, smart source.com and coupon mountain.com.
Did you know grocery coupons can save you anywhere from 40 to 85 percent of your family’s grocery budget?
Whenever I step foot in a grocery store, my hands are stuffed full of coupons. I often get some weird stares from people as I’m rifling through all my coupons, but it doesn’t seem so weird when the cash register rings up mega savings. 
And now the drum roll, please… the most I have saved in one year of coupon savings is $3,800. This amount reflects only the coupons used and doesn’t factor in the regular store specials of products we purchased.
As you can see, just a little snipping here and there with coupons can translate into mega savings.
It’s a craze that I’m confident our household will always go in hot pursuit of keeping around. After all, who wouldn’t when thousands of extra dollars are being stuffed into your pocketbook?