With the economy’s dip, and our expectations of comfort at an all time high, people have done everything they can to save money and maintain the “basic” comforts. There is even a show about people who spend all their time saving money using coupons. But all of this work does pay off, people are saving upwards of 90% of their grocery bill.
Using coupons would be a great math activity, and would be very useful in other instances. It can be used to practice addition and subtraction, and even more advanced math. For instance, some coupons say save $1 on three cans of soup. The price of the soup has to be multiplied by three then $1 is subtracted. Plus there is tax.
Also, many coupons have small print. This can teach following directions. And many students are not prepared for the real world when they graduate high school. Most parents are supporting their children for longer, so they are not on their own, but managing a grocery list and coupons can help prepare them.