Does it pay to be coupon crazy?

After seeing the television shows about people getting hundred of dollars in products for only a few dollars using coupons, I wanted to try it for myself.

I started in the newsroom, looking through coupons that I found in the store's magazines as well as coupons found in the Sunday paper.

These are the deals that are easy to find. This is as far as most people go, but some of the best deals are found online.

Couponing websites like INGoodCents and Bargain Briana show deals combining store coupons with manufacturer's coupons.

One example is two boxes of Natures Valley granola bars that were initially 2/$5. After stacking a few coupons, I got that price down to 2/$3.25.

When walking up and down the aisles, multiple other deals can be seen. However, impulse buying on items you don't need leads to higher totals at the checkout.

The biggest way to maximize your savings is using store cards. Walgreens and CVS offer an extra bonus. These's stores cards offer rebates for certain items that you can use towards future purchases.

If you do your research and a little bit of clipping, you'll see the savings with every scan.

In all, I spent $35, but I saved $30 dollars and have almost $7 in rebate money to use towards future purchases.

One of the biggest things I noticed was that it pays to buy in bulk. Unfortunately, this is not always practical to do when you live by yourself.

Overall, I would definitely say it's worth it to clip coupons, although good deals can be found everyday at discount stores like Big Lots and Aldi's.