Extreme Couponing

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Amandac6772
Amandac6772 Posts: 1,311 Member
in Chit-Chat
Has anyone else seen this on TLC? I'm fasinated but not sure if it's worth it when you have hoards of products that you may never use in your house taking up space...plus the time it takes. I loved the one where the guy took his products and donated them.

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  • MelHoneyRocks
    MelHoneyRocks Posts: 223
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    The part of this I am not fond of is most of the food is processed. Not a lot of coupons out there for fresh food.
  • kimmerroze
    kimmerroze Posts: 1,330 Member
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    I was reading an article on it, and it said that the majority of coupons and stuff that the extreme couponers buy are unhealthy, and that extreme couponing is only for you if you dont care what you are putting in your body... when i read that it made me think that extreme couponing wasn't for me.

    I want to be healthy, if that means I actually pay for my groceries then so be it...

    I did like the episode where they donated it to the military and stuff like that... what a cool service project if you had the time!
  • betterthanmama
    betterthanmama Posts: 57 Member
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    I keep looking for coupons but all of them are really bad products and have short expiration dates! Where are the coupons for fresh veggies and fruit?!?!

    (cauliflower is more expensive then 1lb of meat... you would think feeding animals would cost just as much as us humans..)
  • theagarcia
    theagarcia Posts: 1
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    I've seen this show and it is amazing how much money these people save! It seems like a full time job though. I did some research and found a website that does a lot of the work for you. Check it out at www.CouponMom.com
    I'm going to give it a try.
  • cdngirl71
    cdngirl71 Posts: 2,707 Member
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    I have watched that show. Crazy all the stuff they buy just because it is on sale. One show that was on this weekend with the twins, they have tons of diapers and they dont' have kids?? Or one who gets cat food but doesn't have a cat. WTF!! I can understand couponing to save money but these people on this show take it to a whole level. Why buy stuff you don't need or use?? If they do all this, why not help out the food bank or families in their community. I know some do though which is great.
  • heathersmilez
    heathersmilez Posts: 2,579 Member
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    I agree with a previous comment, most items those people buying are unhealthy, most of the couponers featured are morbidly obese.

    But for the few who don't buy 200+ bags of pasta and processed dinners good for them, I am so jealous the couponing system in Canada is nowhere near the same level as in the US. Coupons are NOT scanned in, cashiers read each one for what seems like forever and there is no such thing as doubling up on coupons. The US has a larger gap between rich and poor so there does seem to be more grocery sales/coupons there.

    As for the guy who donates a lot of the food he bought, he got to claim $40,000 in donations one year and that probably cost him $1000 - sounds like the IRS should go after him for claiming the retail price not the purchase price or perhaps if there is a loophole the IRS should close it.
  • heathersmilez
    heathersmilez Posts: 2,579 Member
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  • SLaw4215
    SLaw4215 Posts: 596 Member
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    I am with you! I am fascinated by the idea that I could purchased hundreds of dollars of groceries and only pay 8 cents for a full basket of food. I have to say that some of the products these companies are practically giving away would be bad choices for those of us here to lose weight but I also saw a lot of TP and soap products too. I LOVE LOVE the idea of getting free food and donating it to the local food pantries. I am not educated on the subject matter at this point but I am willing to learn if you come up with any web sites that might be helpful in getting coupons mailed to me :)
  • MikeInAZ
    MikeInAZ Posts: 483 Member
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    I've watched it. It's very sad. These people are wasting their lives clipping coupons. What they also don't say (usually), is how much they spend BUYING coupons. You generally don't get them free! I looked at some of these coupon sites, it will cost you $100 or more to get the volume of coupons they've got. These people are sick and are hoarders, it shows in their "Stock pile".

    Also, I'd say 80-90% of what they take home is junk food. I mean, how many bottles of soda does one need? Or how many cans of Spaghetti-O's can you eat? My wife and I choose not to buy most of the coupon items because most of it isn't healthy or anything we'd eat or use.

    I have no problem getting 10 bottles of laundry soap, or 50 tooth brushes. But STOP there, you don't need to keep getting it.

    You are absolutely right! Donate to the food bank. They did say, that one of the guy's donated 1500 boxes of cereal to the food bank, the same guy helped with 1000 packages for the troopers away from home. He also has $150,000 worth of items in his house. Hope it's insured!

    But you can tell there is a sickness there when they say they spend 30 hours a week clipping coupons, dreaming about coupons, spending every minute of the day thinking about it. Then they say "When I look at my stock pile, it gives me such a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction." Uggghh, people, please!

    I'm not against getting a deal. In fact, I usually don't shop without a coupon or getting something on sale. I buy the generic brand instead if it's cheaper... But I'm not going to buy 95 bags of croutons, just because they're 10 cents a piece!
  • JWeaser
    JWeaser Posts: 302
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    I only watched about 15 minutes of an episode on Saturday and was originally interested but then I too noticed the quality of the food they were buying. 93 bags of crutons? Really?? The candy bars and sweets were rediculous!! I am by no means an "extreme couponer" but I pass those coupons by and don't even cut them out to avoid temptation.
    I have never, ever seen a coupon for fresh... well... anything. Fruits, veggies etc. The cleaning supply coupons are good but usually it's only like .50 off and they say "Can not be doubled" must be a geographical thing.
  • Amandac6772
    Amandac6772 Posts: 1,311 Member
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    I did notice that the majority were overweight and that the food products are usually unhealthy. I use coupons but not much, just on items I would normally buy or something new I want to try. I think I will make more of an effort in the future to compare my grocery store sales with coupons to get more of a bang for my buck. I used to feed my family of 3 on around $80 a week now with inflation and trying to eat healthier that has doubled. It's killing us since my husband has been out of work for over 2 years.
  • Loribell23
    Loribell23 Posts: 66
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    I have watched and I don't think I will ever be as wild about couponing as the people on the show, but I do know that it saves money- even if you just use a few coupons a week. I know that it at least helps pay for the Sunday paper every week. :tongue:

    Just want to say that even if you are eating healthy, you can still use coupons! Think about all of the non-food items. Toothpaste, cleaning supplies, razors, deodorant, baby items like diapers / wipes, ect... Healthy people use those items too, right? Plus, there are always coupons for yogurt and whole grains.
  • daybyday
    daybyday Posts: 537 Member
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    I have seen that show. Before I read all of the posts, I'm not sure it's worth it either. I try to buy store brands (which there are no coupons). I do use coupons for cleaning stuff, etc. I'll be interested in the replies you get!!
  • theresnoeggs
    theresnoeggs Posts: 188 Member
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    We coupon here, only buying stuff we eat. I do get a lot of dairy products close to free thanks to coupons. Last time I got two wheels of laughing cow cheese for $2, So two for 1/2 the price of one. :D Yogurt, the kids cheeses they like, etc, oh and tons of frozen veggies as well.

    Last time we saved $101 :D

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