Extreme Couponing

Extreme Couponing


So, I’m watching this show on TLC called Extreme Couponing and all I can think is “Holy shit.”

Couple #1

Bought over $1071, Only paid $52

The first couple shown was overweight. Now I’m not saying anything negative about them being overweight (hello, I’m a fatty myself), but perhaps the reason this couple is overweight is the fact that in 6 hours of grocery shopping they bought not 1 item that wasn’t canned, boxed, or full of preservatives. Nothing fresh, no vegetables, no fruits, no milk. I hesitate to say the word couple because the only thing the husband is guilty of is letting his wife have this crazy ass addiction to couponing. She has even overtaken his man cave with her “stockpile” of groceries. This woman admits that despite having a full time job and 2 children she spends 70 hours a week looking up coupons and deals online. She spends hours in the store not buying things, but writing down the deals in the 2 groceries and 2 pharmacies she shops at. Hours. She sees nothing wrong with running out of her house at 11:30 at night to purchase something on sale so she can get a good deal. The show said they had enough toilet paper for 40 years and yet she continues to purchase more. She bought 125 boxes of pasta and at least 50 boxes of those noodles that are like ramen. How on earth are you going to eat all that? She admits she is addicted to shopping. I would shoot myself if I was in the store with this woman. She had 9 shopping carts and it took 4 cashiers to ring her crap up. She complained about it and complained because people were giving her nasty looks. I’d give her ass a nasty look too. It took 2 cars and she used plastic bags. I thought my head was going to explode. I hate plastic bags and think they should be outlawed and to watch all that waste…I shudder.



Coupon #2

Bought over $638.64. Spent only $2.64

This is a young couple in their late 20’s. This woman’s couponing addiction has turned their garage into a mini grocery store. She dumpster dives and thinks nothing is wrong with having her 4 year oldish son in the dumpster with her looking for newspaper circulars. Apparently dumpster diving is a weekly family outing for her and her son. Her husband did seem to think this behavior may be a little off, but didn’t really say anything when she came in to the kitchen with her plastic bin of garbage coupons. Her couponing “book” weighs 8lbs. 8lbs and she carries that huge ass binder to the store several times a week! She won’t buy anything if it doesn’t have a coupon. This woman talks about how store items typically go on sale every 3 months so she buys 3 months worth of sale items…in her world this equates to 40 jars of pasta sauce. Now I love pasta, but there is no way I could eat 40 jars of pasta sauce in 3 months.

Woman #3

Bought over $230.38, Spent only $6.92

At least this woman uses hippy bags…now she also goes to all her neighbors every morning and asks them for their newspaper circulars and coupons. And she bought fresh foods so I can’t say anything bad about her (even her neighbors seem to like her). Her use of coupons seems normal. And she was funny because she stops people in the store and tells them how to coupon. I need her as a teacher for couponing.

Couple #4

In 3 orders, in 1 grocery trip bought over $769.27, spent only $56.76; bought over $974, spent only $35.55; bought over $4000, spent under $150=In total bought over $5743 and only spent $241

This couponer is a male. He has enough deodorant to last 150 years. One hundred and fifty years…why on earth do you need 150 years worth of deodorant? And yet he continues to buy more. He buys 10 newspapers a week. His entire garage is full of his “stockpile.” He is married to a woman, but I feel his heart lies with the other team. He is the most feminine “straight” man I’ve ever seen on tv. He donates the free items to the food bank at his church. Thank God. He had to special order cereal because he got so many boxes. He bought 300 toothbrushes, 60 bars of hand soap, and 1100 boxes of cereal. This family is also paying off their debt and that is always admirable. So, even though I think his extreme couponing hobby is a little weird I give him mad props for helping the food bank.

I’m sorry, but I’m just not willing to devote rooms of my house to hoard groceries, nor am I willing to devote hours of my time to find coupons (and certainly not to paying other people to cut coupons for me as 2 of these families do). Most of our grocery purchases are fresh items, not canned or boxed items. It seems like these people are purchasing items on sale just to purchase items on sale like an addiction (which I’m not willing to do). They get a high from getting a ton of groceries for little to no money. I can honestly see how there could be a certain competitiveness or sense of accomplishment in that, BUT again what are you going to do with all that stuff???? There is no way in your lifetime that you could even use half of it. If you are having to throw away expired groceries than really that is just wasteful. Plus our grocery doesn’t double coupons and all these families went to groceries that doubled coupons.

So, what’s my verdict on extreme couponing??? Crazy, crazy, crazy!!!! Paul on the other hand is intrigued. Lol

If you have to devote 70 hours a week to couponing…it may be time to seek professional help. If your “stock pile” of groceries has overtaken 4 rooms of your house and your entire garage…it may be time to seek professional help. If your addiction to couponing causes you to neglect your husband and children…it may be time to seek professional help. If you think it’s acceptable to dig through a dumpster in search of coupons that other people have thrown away…it may be time to seek professional help. If the items you purchase will expire before you could ever possibly eat them…it may be time to seek professional help.