Extreme Couponing
 

This program comes on tonight on TLC at 9 PM. If I can stay awake I want to watch it.

I like to use coupons as much as the next person but what I don't understand is how these women get all the coupons they have. One lady says she spends up to 4-6 hours a day clipping and organizing her coupons to get ready for a shopping trip. :eek:

I never printed my own coupons from the Internet because of the high cost of printer ink. And with only one Sunday paper you can only get so many coupons. Are these people buying multiple papers? Do they consider the cost of obtaining all these coupons?

I still use coupons but mostly for cleaning and personal care products. Since I've been eating more non-processed foods and cooking more things from scratch I just don't seem to have the amount of coupons needed to save a substantial amount. Seems like the things coupons are for are things I don't (or can't) eat anymore. Processed foods, things with lots of HFCS and sugar just don't agree with me anymore.

Anyone else watch these programs?

I would LOVE to do what they do, but I also see a ton of work, organization and you must have the ability to keep ahead of those expiration dates. I had a friend who worked in a Veterans home and she took the flyer inserts from all the vets. They were happy to donate them as they didnt use them. She would bring home about 50 copies each week. She rented a room from me, and the deal was that I gave X per week for Groceries, and she gave X per week. Whatever savings she got, she could keep. So, she ended up keeping her money AND mine! She got some great deals.

I am no longer with it enough to keep all of that straight but after my last run to the grocery store I am thinking about it.

Also, arent most coupons for pre packaged things? I want milk, eggs, and fresh veggies or meat coupons not stuff like hamburger helper or canned soups.

I have a hard enough time keeping up with day to day stuff. I don't have the time or the energy for extreme coupoining.

Is it just me or is reality TV running out of stuff to do?

I used to do that and was always so proud of how much I saved, but I've never been able to buy $100 of groceries for 99cents, like some of those extreme coupon shoppers.:eek:

I don't use most of the things that show up on coupons!

We eat fresh here. There are not even many coupons for frozen veggies!

I buy some things at WalMart...there are real savings there on everything, no coupons needed. We also shop Costco.

Sometimes I get the feeling the coupon shows are sponsored by the food industry to get people to use the products!

Alot of the items these people were stockpiling would expire before they'd get a chance to use them. Who on earth saves 100 bottles of salad dressing? I guess if you had a large family you might use up some of the items.

There's no way I'd go dumpster diving for coupon inserts, either. Not only is it not safe.....it's dirty! And that woman took her small child to do that. That is a little extreme.

I didn't watch the entire thing but I only saw one man donate any of his items. He donated 1,000 boxes of cereal to his church's food pantry.

It looked to me like they were going after specific items and not doing regular weekly shopping. One lady bought bunches of Butterfinger candy bars. :confused: I guess the thrill is just getting something free....regardless of it's nutritional content. I think I'll stick with fresh eating.

Dont worry. next season they will have all of the people on the new reality hoarding show. LOL

Oh brother. Since this show aired, I have seen it profiled on The Today Show, our local news on every channel, everywhere. It's the story of the week.

My pastor and his family are sort of extreme couponers. They have a pastor's salary (His DW stays home and home school's their 4 kids. The kid's ages are 4,7,11,14. They told me yesterday their monthly food bill used to be 1,000, now they went shopping for ALL of March for less than $150.00. Now granted she gets helps clipping coupons and looking online from the older kids, but WOW, I also read in the paper that a local shopper buy's $300.00 worth of groceries for $4.88.

I don't know how they do it, as I haven't seen the show, but you bet your butt I am checking it out.

We get $250 of food stamps each month and that never lasts more than 2 weeks. It would be GREAT to stretch it.

I won't be stockpiling it up though, no room.

The best part of the story is something I didn't know, expired coupon's are still good oversea's to our troops for 6 months, I WILL be sending my expired coupons to our boy's (and girls) serving for our freedom.

I used to do massive couponing, but not extreme. I could get $100 worth of food for $30 or so, but not $1. That takes knowing how to balance the double coupon with the store specials, and the store policy of knowing how many doubles they will let you have. At one local store here for every $50 you spend in groceries they let you have 10 cents off a gallon of gast at 2 local Sunoco stores. I admit I clean up on that.

I dont want canned soup, canned veggies, or boxed cereal. I would like the TP coupons, and I wouldnt mind the milk, eggs, and fresh dairy stuff. I hate yogurt (those God knows I keep trying it) and cant remember where I left my cup of tea, let alone a coupon for 30 cents off if I buy 6 of them. That is one thing that kills me about coupons you must buy at least 2 or more of the item now to get and use the coupon. If I had a family of 6 that would be fine, but there is just the two of us.

My neighbor does stuff like this. She is now 75 and has enough TP that no one will ever need TP in this whole neighborhood for the next 30 years. You need storage for it, and to be organized to the expiration dates dont roll past.

Perhaps on the cleaning stuff, but I use vinegar, water, lemon and tea tree oil to clean. Laundry detergent would be good. Hmmm...makes me want to be more organized.

Famous last words...hey ya'll watch this!

They need to do an Extreme Organizing show. Not that I'd watch!

If I were to buy only what was on sale (boxed Mac & Cheese, canned soups, overly processed stuff) and combined what the coupons were for with what the stores put on special I could probably reduce my food bill.....but at what expense? Eating that kind of stuff makes me feel ill. And who knows what all those ingredients that I can't even pronounce are doing to my insides! :eek: I'll stick with my fresh produce....even if I can only afford three apples, one tomato and a bag of grapefruit for the week. I can make them last. :cool: