Coupons that is!

I've come to terms with it. I am a coupon lady. I am a young 20 something and I am a coupon lady. I used to sort of be embarrassed when I approached the register or entered a store because I knew that "they knew the secret"... they being the store associates and the secret being that I used coupons, heaven forbid.

I have now come to appreciate my coupon lady status, however. Why? It's simple math. I save money. I just don't mind to clip coupons when I save the kind of money that I do. My informal savings tally just this year is now running into the thousands, thousands! Coming full circle in my coupon lady embrace, I have decided to make the best of my store experiences by doing the following:

1. I enter the stores prepared. No one likes an absent-minded couponer. I try to always have exactly which coupons I am going to use clipped,organized and ready before I get into the register line. Can I get an amen from the customers that have stood in line behind me?
2. I make conversation with the cashier & associates. I have overheard store clerks telling horror stories of their coupon customers. Typically, it has to do with someone being rude and adamant about a deal. I have found far more success when I go into a store, learn the names of the associates (since I'm there so frequently), make conversation, and show a genuine interest in people's lives. This helps tremendously when I need a manager's intervention or special deal. Managers have also told me about upcoming promotions and given me coupons before because they recognized me.
3. I always stay on the up and up. There is a serious difference between someone getting a good deal and someone scamming for a good deal. I am becoming even more conscious about reading the coupon wording and specifics as to make sure that I am within the guidelines set by the stores and manufacturers.
   
   
   How about you? Have you accepted or embraced your couponer status? What strategies do you use when in the store?