One of the hottest search topics in 2009: coupons

Mashable just published Yahoo’s list of top searches for 2009, and the economy related searches naturally caught my eye:

Top 10 Economy-Related Searches for 2009

1. Coupons
2. Unemployment
3. Stimulus Plan
4. Cash for Clunkers
5. Student Loans
6. IRS Refund
7. Foreclosures
8. Government Jobs
9. Bernard Madoff
10. Health Care Bill

Interest in coupons is way, way up – just look at this chart from Google showing the popularity of the term “coupons” over the past several years.

Clearly there’s always a surge of interest in coupons around the end of the year (Christmas shopping has a lot to do with this), but take a look at the jump this year. There is way more interest in coupons than ever before. Here’s some other interesting data. People are clearly interested in saving money – here’s the trend for how to save money on groceries:

People are always wanting to learn how to budget, but overall it’s got an upward trend:

If you’re reading via email or RSS and can’t see the charts, click on over here to view.

Is that data reflective of trends in your family and friends, too?  When did your interest in saving money and using coupons start?  Was it out of necessity, or did it just sound like fun or a good thing to do?