Riverview Man is a Super Saver in National Contest

An avid coupon collector from Riverview is hoping to become the next Super Savings Man.

Eric Siglin is one of four finalists in a national contest with one of the largest providers of online and newspaper coupons, RedPlum.

Siglin was chosen from more than 540 entries nationwide. The winner of the contest will receive a Grill Guy Prize Pack featuring a gas smoker; a $100 Omaha Steaks gift certificate and a $100 Restaurant.com gift certificate.

However, Siglin’s chance of winning rest in the hands of his Facebook supporters. The finalist who receives the most Facebook votes by June 26 will be declared the winner.

Siglin is hoping that will be him.

“It’s really exciting that someone’s taken notice of all the effort I put into saving money,” said Siglin.

Siglin was nominated by his roommate, Dan Catalon, who marvels at Siglin’s ability to save money by clipping coupons.

“My roommate Eric is definitely the Super Savings Man,” said Catalon. “When the Sunday papers come, he spends hours sifting through the coupons.  He carefully matches the manufacturer's coupons with the grocery store sales, coupons in the mail and ones online. Eric keeps all his coupons sorted between manufacturer's and store coupons. He is very good at checking the expiration dates. When we go the grocery store he is more than prepared, filling the shopping cart with bargains. He always gets rain checks when they are out of what he wants.  His savings on receipts is as much as 50 more or more.”

Siglin said it’s a habit he got into as a kid, watching his mom save money with coupons.

“When I was growing up, my mother did most of the grocery shopping so she kept an eye on circulars and Sunday newspapers,” he said. “I’d often go to the grocery store and, by watching her, I learned early on how to save money. It was a valuable lesson that has really been helpful in these tough economic times. Plus, it’s also become sort of a game for me.”

Siglin spends two to three hours a week clipping coupons from circulars as well as searching for coupons online for products he regularly uses.

“The RedPlum website often has coupons aren’t in the circulars,” he said. “More and more of the various manufacturers have come up with direct promotions to consumers like me, and I just sign up for their notices.”

He said it’s not as time intensive as it may sound.

“It doesn’t really impact my schedule too much,” said Siglin, an IT professional for 26 years. “I usually do it on Sunday night while I’m watching television.”

He also makes a grocery list before going growing shopping based on special discounts the grocery stores are offering.

“I have an idea of what I want to buy based on the circulars,” he said. “So, instead of having steak, I’ll have pork chops because they’re on sale.”

The reward, he said, is in the savings.

“Generally, if I’m making a planned trip to grocery store, I’ll save 25 to 40 percent by coupling coupons and advertised specials,” he said. “It really shocked my roommate the first time we went grocery shopping together.”

To vote for Siglin, visit RedPlum’s facebook site.