Coupon Mania: One Family Claims To Save $1,000 A Month

June 19, 2007 — -- For Miranda Hicks, grocery shopping isn't a chore -- it's a challenge.

"I walked out of a grocery store not too long ago with 22 bottles of shampoo and did not spend a penny," she said.

It's her against the supermarket, and she wonders just how much she can save.

In fact, on one recent trip, a cashier told Hicks she saved $113.15. The Dallas-area wife and mother of two is a self-proclaimed "coupon queen."

"There's no reason to try and tell a lie, because I'm absolutely obsessed," she said. "I'm addicted."

Her quest begins every Saturday at 8 a.m. She purchases 20 early-edition Sunday newspapers. Miranda and her husband, Michael Hicks, then sort, clip, stack and file thousands of coupons individually by name brand and product into three-ring binders.

"I thought it was kind of crazy at first, sitting at the table cutting coupons," Michael Hicks said. "I went to the store with her the first time and purchased my first items with my coupons and saw the savings on it, and I was hooked ever since."

For the Hicks family, its obsessive coupon cutting means huge savings.

"I save between 70 and 100 percent each week," Miranda said.

It all translates into about $1,000 a month.

The Hicks are not alone. An estimated 142 million Americans used coupons last year. But of the more than $330 billion in discounts offered by companies, only $2.6 billion were redeemed.

But Miranda and Michael Hicks seem to be making up for the rest of us.

"It's well worth it," Michael said. "That's why we do it every day."