To cut costs, clip coupons

A team of nonscientific researchers finally has discovered the one thing that can distract the nation from Britney Spears: coupons.

According to the Omniscient Oracle of Google, since 2008, the number of searches for coupons has outstripped those for the pop culture train wreck.

Clearly, a lot of people are saving money through coupons.

"A lot of my readers are now out of work. A lot of my readers are trying to make it from day to day," said Ashley Nuzzo, who runs the blog Frugal Coupon Living.

She started couponing a year ago when she decided to stay home with her new baby and the family had to live off her husband's salary. The blog began as a resource for her friends and family who demanded to know how she found her phenomenal deals: Ashley estimates she saves $1,000 a month on groceries and toiletries.

Traffic to her site exploded as the economy tanked. Then Dr. Phil asked her on his show in February, and she has been swamped ever since. We persuaded her to share some of her couponing secrets:

Don't spend it right away

This is the cardinal rule of couponing, Nuzzo said. Wait for a sale or other promotion and then double down by using your coupon as well. For example, Ashley found a $4 coupon recently for a razor that normally costs $9.99. Not a bad deal. But Nuzzo held on to her discount for a few weeks, and the razor went on sale for $4.99. She cashed in and got the item for 99 cents.

Stay organized

Nuzzo enters all of her receipts into Excel and tracks her monthly expenditures as well as her savings. Not only do she and her husband refrain from charging purchases on their credit card, they also don't use their debit card. She said cash keeps her accountable and is harder to hand over to a salesperson.

Set a bar

As a rule of thumb, Nuzzo refuses to buy anything unless it is discounted by at least 70 percent or costs less than $1. "I think of what I used to spend on different products, and I'm just shocked," she said. "If the economy changes, I'll just save the way I continue to save and just have more money in the bank."