In April, we asked readers to send in their receipts from coupon savings over the course of the month. We would tally these coupons and award a $100 gift card to the individual who saved the most using the coupons found in The Mirror and its inserts.

A number of you sent these in. We tallied the results and found that Federal Wayans know how to use coupons to their savings advantage. Based on their submissions, here are some of the results:

• The average monthly amount spent per reader was $616.79.

• The average monthly coupon savings per reader was $413.06.

• This resulted in an average savings of 67 percent.

The winning reader had a savings of an astonishing 85 percent. Paying only 15 cents on the dollar at places as varied as Walgreens, Rite Aid, Petco and Bartell won Meladee Smith of Federal Way a $100 gift card to the retailer of her choice — Albertson’s.

Smith had several transactions that were noteworthy. For a $28.77 purchase, she had coupons valued at $28.77 for a 100 percent savings. This occurred several times. At Albertson’s, she was able to purchase $133.50 worth of groceries for only $24.92. This is a savings of $108.58 or 81 percent. “Your paper is invaluable to finding great deals in the stores,” Smith said. “In fact, just yesterday I clipped a coupon from the front page of a past Federal Way (newspaper) for $5 off any purchase at Simply Paws. There was an 8-pound discounted bag of dog food for just $5.”

The coupon usage was varied depending on each reader’s submission. Another reader sent in coupons from Macy’s, Winco and Safeway, and a number from Target. The Safeway savings averaged 100 percent, Winco averaged 93 percent, and Target was at 80 percent.

The purchased items were equally as varied. Reader submissions had substantial savings on spices, allergy medication, raisins, soda, candy, baking items, health and beauty aids and salad dressing, to name a few.

It is important to note that individual transactions weren’t large in nature. An old adage is that it takes money to make money. This is apparently not true when coupon shopping. Smith’s winning average transaction amount was only $23.11.

So, what do you think? Is this a program that you would like see occur every month? Drop me a line, and based on your responses, we will determine whether to extend The Mirror’s $100 couponer of the month program. I can be reached at publisher@federalwaymirror.com.