The Holidays seem to have a way to leave families with an empty wallet after cooking big meals and buying all those gifts, not to mention holiday travel.

Especially after new reports this week say holiday sales were up this year largely because of higher prices.

But how can families overcome the financial gap without dipping into the pockets too deep? Some say coupons can help. But the use of coupons does take some strategy.

Robert Weagley is the University of Missouri Chair of the Person Financial Planning Department. Weagley says before clipping through those large newspapers, you need to start with making a plan for saving.

“They should be doing that(saving) without worrying about coupons,” Weagley says.  “By using coupons you can actually expand you budget constraint.”

He says coupons have regained in popularity in recent years after hitting a peak in usage in 1999. The Internet helped propel the use of coupons through group offerings, giving consumers the chance for big savings if the purchase as a group.