I have been a cashier for a major grocery chain in my area for many years now. I have noticed a HUGE increases in coupon use in the last couple years. It used to annoy me when people had a stack of coupons for ever one of their 50 items, that is not the case anymore. Our store does the "catalina" coupons as well to offer even more savings. We also double coupons up to 50 cents as well as offer our own store coupons online to be combined with manufaturer's savings coupons. I think it is great when I see people save so much money! I read one response of a person complaining about coupons being for processed, salty, fatty foods. That is not the case. Many coupons are for prepackaged meals and snack food, but if you really get into taking the time to hunt for coupons, there are many out there for nearly every product you can think of. In addition to that, many people just simply can't afford organic and whole foods. They are nearly double the price as the non organic and processed foods. And it seems more and more I see people who are on government food assistance and are still at the grocery line having me void items off their bill because they don't have enough funds to cover their purchase. If you can afford to buy only the "good" foods then that is great, but many people wouldn't have enough to feed their families for the month that way. Using coupons really helps stretch the dollar at the register. In addition to food coupons, there are a lot for household items such as toilet paper, soaps, cleaning products, etc. I recently purchased lysol disinfectant wipes that were on sale plus with using both manufacturers and store coupons only spent about 25 cents a package. And with flu season, I have been religiously wiping down everything with them. Another example is for charmin toilet paper. A 12 double roll pack on sale for 5.99 plus a manufacturer's coupon for 1.50 and an "off your next purchase" catalin coupon for 3.00. I paid about 2.00 for the toilet paper and that is something everyone uses. Overall, I think that using coupons combined with sale items is a great way to save money. It may take a little time to gather the savings, but it can really pay off. Also, for those who seem "embarrassed" by using them or worry about what the next person in line may think..... don't! Many many people use coupons.... even the people who can afford not to. In this day we can all stand to save some money. It really does add up and to me at least, when I can walk out of the store and see on my receipt that i have spent $40 and saved $60 between sales and coupons, it makes me feel excited! And when its coming out of my pocket, that means I can have more money to do something or buy something just for me. Or, if you prefer, save it. :)