Extreme Couponing

[lizzy]

Anybody watch this show? I don't have TLC, so I watch it on youtube, but I find it fascinating. Granted, I don't know what I would do with a stockpile of 100 bottles of mustard or Yakisoba noodles, I could do with a mini-stockpile of toilet paper, paper towels, shampoo, etc.

I wish I could figure out how to do this. It's hard b/c I live in California and the stores have conspired here to not do double coupons.

FYI, if you haven't seen it on TV, you can watch it on youtube here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/realityandgameshow

[ilovetchotchkes]

Yeah, stockpiling....

My issue with food coupons is its most of the time for processed stuff that I don't like, can't afford or am allergic to.

:(

I've never seen the show though from my understanding in reality getting $200 for like $2 is an infrequent event.

[IceQueen]

I agree I want to know how those twins got all the free diapers. I don't want a closet full of Mountain Dew or 300+ boxes of Cous Cous, but I would love me some free diapers.

[Guest Anonymous]

Reminds me of Hoarders. I mean do you really need 200 bottles of hot sauce? C'mon!

[Witsec7]

I caught it on youtube a couple of times, and I don't mind stocking up on items I use. But why buy a product simply because its inexpensive due to a coupon? I have a great local close out grocery story. Trust me when Toms toothpaste is on sale at .99 a tube I'll buy three. But I'm not going to give up my FJ time to coupon. Life is too short and home cooking is too tasty :D

[tropaka]

Tonight I watched one woman hoard up at least 5 bottles of worcestershire sauce (and her challenge was to beat her usual monthly grocery bill of $140...yeah, and so a million bottles of sauce and tons of energy drinks does this how?). Was a little peeved to see the announced call Hawaiian Punch "juice"....

I'm sorry but a million containers of mayo, packages of hot dogs, and enough deodorant for a year (oe 5) doesn't seem like a deal to me....

[PraiseSeitan]

I coupon, and I save a lot of money, but I totally DON'T do it like those people. First of all, I don't have a basement to fill up with paper towels and mustard. Actually, I live in a pretty small apartment so I don't stock up on anything that takes up much space, and what I do stock up on is more like a three month supply than the sort of zombie apocalypse supply caches you see on the show. Second, I'm vegan so my processed food, beauty and cleaning product options are all comparatively limited. Third, I live in California, so nobody doubles coupons.

But I do get 50-75% off my grocery/household goods shopping trips on a regular basis by combining coupons and sales, and I manage to get a lot of extra stuff for the food bank and the low income pet food pantry operated by the animal shelter. Typically I fill up the trunk of my car with stuff for each once every month or two. My income wouldn't allow me to do that otherwise, so yay for coupons.

I'd save a lot of money if I never bought a single food item with a coupon, using them for other stuff like razors, paper towels, foil and dishwasher detergent. But the oatmeal, canned beans, pasta, barbecue sauce and such that I get for nearly free certainly doesn't hurt, and it's nice to know that I could fill out a nutritious menu for a couple of lean months by buying produce and little else.

I suspect a lot of people are buying ridiculous things just to have bigger and bigger checkouts for less and less money. I could go to the store and get almost $20 worth of stuff for just the tax, but what would I do with a dozen two liter bottles of that new Dr. Pepper? Those coupons might expire unless I can find somebody who wants the stuff (I might just leave them by the bottle display- I do that with good coupons I won't use) but if I wanted to be on TV and show off my coupon skills for some crazy reason you'd bet I'd use those to pad the bill, even though I have no use for them at all and no desire to get them.

The thing that drives me nuts about the show is the way they try to build anxiety at the checkout scene. It's the grocery store, if your coupon doesn't work and you have to put something back they're not going to send you to Safeway jail.

Oh, and the pregnant lady who was running out of room for her stockpiled stuff but had stuffed her son's closet full of pads. Uh, you aren't going to need those for a while, maybe you should donate some instead of trying to talk your neighbor into letting you pile up more crap on falling down plastic shelves on her side of the garage. I buy razors and pads whenever I can get them for less than a dollar a pack, but I also start rounding up the excess packages to donate as soon as I notice there's not enough room to reasonably store them IN MY BATHROOM.

[slickcat79]

I coupon as well, on a much smaller scale than those whackjobs. One of the couponing boards that I frequent posted this list a few months ago:

http://www.hotcouponworld.com/2011/09/t ... eality-tv/

These are people who coupon as a way of life, and they don't even buy into the show. The most irritating thing about it is that nearly everyone on it is breaking the store's coupon policy with the transactions that they do, but no one else will be allowed to do that. They've even started putting a disclaimer at the start of the show to tell viewers to make sure they check their stores' policies before shopping and not just go by what's on the show. If you have to break your order into 10-20+ transactions to get the deals you wanted, you are probably doing something that the store didn't intend when they wrote their policy.

I sometimes feel like a lot of our fundies should get into this. I know the Jeubs wrote a blog post at one point about why they don't coupon, and it made no sense. They are the kind of people who might actually be able to use those 180 boxes of pasta before they expire. They certainly aren't worried about healthy eating or any other dietary restrictions. Extreme couponing is practically made for them...

[Spider Burps]

I hate the extreme couponers (it's because of those assholes that there are limits of 4 like coupons and new barcodes!). Grrrrr.

I do use coupons, though, and do stock up on certain items but they have to fit where they're INTENDED to go. So, my stockpile of my fiance's bodywash and razors can only go under the bathroom sink with stock of both of our shampoos, soap, toilet paper, tissues, etc. and my stockpile of food has to fit in the kitchen cabinets. As for food, I get all sorts of non-junk foods with coupons! Jelly, pasta, pasta sauce, mustard, spices, salt, salsa, salad dressing (okay, that's kind of junk food), Kashi cereal (also, kind of junk but not as bad as sugar frosted corn O's), peanut butter, canned beans, rice and frozen veggies are some of the things in the cabinets right now that I got for free or super cheap.

I used to be much more dedicated to couponing, but once I moved to NJ I found the stores sucked so I can't take advantage of Safeway/Harris Teeter's buy two, get three deals/super double coupons, etc. The Harris Teeter people in Maryland knew me as "the coupon girl" because I only ever went there when I could be sure I would spend actual money on no more than 5% of my total purchase--and the worst I've ever done transaction-wise is two (one for me, one for my fiance). I feel mean otherwise!

[ADoyle90815]

I think the people on that show have a form of compulsive hoarding, but their stockpiles are actually clean. Now, I admit there are times I've use coupons, but I only buy what I will actually use, or if I have enough room to store them in the room they're intended for, such as toiletries going into the bathroom cabinet.

[slickcat79]

I used to be much more dedicated to couponing, but once I moved to NJ I found the stores sucked so I can't take advantage of Safeway/Harris Teeter's buy two, get three deals/super double coupons, etc.

Luvvvv Harris Teeter. In my last 2 apartments I lived less than a mile from HT, but now there's not one in my town. I still make a point of going if I can take a roundabout way home from work. They also started alternating between triples and super doubles again this year, and I'm able to get free milk every time they do SDs, which is a big plus.

[PraiseSeitan]

Oh, and while I'm complaining about stupid things on the show? Buying gawd's own supply of shitty groceries (and these people REALLY needed to watch what they ate- they were all morbidly obese) so they could take them to Hawaii? From Detroit or wherever it was? How is moving it all possibly going to cost less than getting admittedly more expensive groceries in Hawaii?

[maybeizfundie]

geez. I seriously do not have the time or mental capacity to do that. I am trying to do a little couponing, but my biggest problem is finding enough coupons to make it worth getting them. I don't know where people get 20+ coupons for one item, except that some people steal the coupon packets out of the newspapers. Other than that, you can buy them on Ebay but that lowers the value of your actual savings.

Also, most of the time when coupons co-incide with deals (which isn't often here), it is for stuff that we don't want, or use so rarely the time and effort to get them "free" is really not worth it.

[Knight of Ni]

I'm hoping to one day see coupons for fresh produce. Unfortunately I don't think that's going to happen. I try to avoid a lot of the processed foods that they extreme couponers consume.

[browncoatslytherin]

Reminds me of Hoarders. I mean do you really need 200 bottles of hot sauce? C'mon!

that's what i thought when i first watched the show. they're totally hoarders! they're just a lot neater than the typical hoarder featured on the hoarder shows...

[snarkbillie]

I coupon. I stockpile when I can. I have like 6-8 bottles of shampoo and conditioner right now because there was a sale on and I had coupons to go with it. I rarely stockpile food because it's all processed or we're allergic to it. Mostly I stock up on shampoo, body wash, lotion, conditioner, and medicines. I got 4 boxes of Breathe-right strips on Black Friday for free. I have them in my pharmacy box for when stuffy noses start showing up.

I save about 40% on my grocery bill but that's mostly just store sales and coupons. I'm not stocking up there. Except for when meat is on sale. I'll buy extra then and freeze it.

[ErinIsSik]

I do it on a pretty small scale too. I had a baby in June, so I have a little stockpile of diapers, wipes, lotion, and body wash for him. I also like to keep a small stockpile of staples for months we run short of money. As far as food is concerned, I will only get 4 of one thing, and that's because I know we will use it before it expires.

[Soldier of the One]

I actually have a (potentially controversial) theory that couponing isn't cheaper in the long run. You just end up with more junk than you need. And in the case of food, it's unhealthy and processed stuff.

[SlipmeaMikki]

I actually just started couponing a couple of weeks ago. I think there are 2 ways to coupon. The first is what is on the show "Extreme Couponing" and what a lot of people think when I tell them I have started to coupon. It is stocking up on whatever crap you can find cheap with a coupon, like 10 bottles of soy sauce and 5 bags of potato chips. I know a woman who started couponing this way and it didn't save them any money. They just have an entire cabinet of condiments right now that won't get used any time soon.

The other is how I have started to do it. The only things I use coupons on are things that we already eat or that we have been wanting to try. The stocking up I do is on things like frozen vegetables, pasta, and chicken broth. They are all things I can use and be versatile with. I try out new things, like Slimfast shakes, if I can get them for cheap. But I have become very health-conscious in the past year and am very selective with the coupons I clip. There are plenty of coupons for chips and cookies, but there are just as many for things like Cuties Clementines and Annie's organic mac and cheese. It is all about being selective.

[snarkbillie]

I actually have a (potentially controversial) theory that couponing isn't cheaper in the long run. You just end up with more junk than you need. And in the case of food, it's unhealthy and processed stuff.

It actually can. It depends on what you do though.

[Spider Burps]

I don't get why everyone says that all food you can get with coupons is unhealthy. I've gotten -tons- of free milk and have even gotten awesome deals on organic dairy products. I've gotten fresh boneless chicken breasts, frozen veggies, brown rice, kosher and sea salts, tinned tomatoes, whole wheat (HFCS-free) bread, fruit, whole wheat pasta, and nuts (pistachios) for way cheap.

I spend only $15 a month on papers and I get three every weekend, plus one on Thursdays that oftentimes has more coupons in it. I spend maybe one hour a week messing with coupons (and that includes going through to get rid of expired ones) and save at least $15 with them each time I go to the store. Oh, and I definitely don't have more than I need. I've never had anything I've gotten with coupons expire because I don't buy 200 of said item at any given time.

So, yeah, it can be healthy and it does, in fact, save money without taking too much time.

[koolmom]

I'm not into couponing anymore, but if I see an occasional one for something I use, I keep it and use it for that item if it comes on sale. My big deal is markdowns, which I get all kinds of fresh food and perishables for at least 50% off at my local two supermarkets which have generous markdown privileges. It's great when I have coupons for items found there, too. I don't particularly ascribe to buying scads of items all at once, but if I do find several items cheap, I buy enough to make up what one at regular price would cost, thereby not overbuying any one item, counteracting the premise of "saving money".

Some recent markdown buys I found were: Sugar In The Raw 100 count $1.64

Wanchai Ferry Orange Chicken Dinner Mix $3.00

Della brand Basmati Rice reg. price %7.19, marked down to $2.49

Tazo Vanilla Rooibos Organic Latte Mix (liquid) 32 oz., $2.20.

[Buzzard]

Has anyone seen the "all stars" spin off of this monstrosity? TLC is really losing their shit. I think it was on the 27th and theres a "teaser" on my directv.

[Maul the Koala]

I've heard they have Extreme Cheapskates. TLC is losing it.

[Buzzard]

I've heard they have Extreme Cheapskates. TLC is losing it.

I wonder if there will be a crossover with Boob.