Extreme Couponing

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melzteach
melzteach Posts: 550 Member
edited September 2024 in Food and Nutrition
I started watching this show on TLC several weeks ago. A few observations I've made while watching the show are there are:
- a lot of health/beauty and laundry/cleaning items
- a lot of non-perishables
- of the non-perishables I see a lot of high-fat, high-sugar, high-sodium, processed (bad-for-you) foods
- I do not see a lot of fresh produce, meats, dairy

I've always bought generic, clipped coupons and shopped at multiple stores in order to keep my grocery budget in check. Do any of you do "extreme couponing"? I live in south Texas and don't have stores that double coupons or have customer appreciation cards. I live in the country and have access to/ shop at: Dollar Tree, Albertson's, Wal-Mart, and HEB. I'm very interested in it but right now don't have the space because were renovating. How do you do it but with healthy "good-for-you" foods? How do you store your haul?

Replies

  • xxjacqueline
    xxjacqueline Posts: 97 Member
    I don't do it but I've seen the show. You are right, you never see foods that are good for you. I never noticed that. They do have massive quantities of things. I couldn't imagine having that much stuff laying around. I don't have the space for it at all.
  • IKnowICan
    IKnowICan Posts: 86
    I love that program ....I've been watching also & wondering the same thing....I'm curious to know :tongue:

    At least we can save on those non-perishable items but geez where to store that stuff??? I really don't even have storage for my towels let alone 4,000 tubes of toothpaste lol:grumble: :noway: :laugh:
  • rsparks38
    rsparks38 Posts: 51
    I have wondered if it would be more helpful for some of the folks on the show to have the teams at "Intervention" and "Hoarders " step in. If I am not going to use it, why would I buy it? Also I would feel guilty about having all of that readily available junk food for my stepkids to get into. I hope I haven't offended anybody! Even nonperishables have expiration dates. With that being said, kudos to those who give to charity on the show.
  • christina_michelle
    christina_michelle Posts: 225
    I liked the guy who did it for the army!! He made gift bags with like shower stuff and yummy foods in the can ( baked beans)
  • Lauriee2014
    Lauriee2014 Posts: 183 Member
    Hello

    You might see if you have a co-op in your area. I live in Massachusetts and some local towns have them. A group of people come together to buy in bulk, then break down the portions once it comes in. Say, you buy 30 lbs of fresh, organic tomatoes.. for 10 ppl who have ordered 3 lb. Or 25 lb bags of whole grain wheat or brown rice is ordered and divied up into stay fresh bags.

    Each co-op is probably a little different, but how I've seen it work is- each individual is required to work a certain # of hours. Some unload trucks... others weight and separate cheese, rice, etc. Others pack the orders.. others work on the pre-order side, collecting orders/e-mails.. placing the order, etc.

    Along with fresh produce and grains, you can buy cheese, organic meats, fish, health & beauty items, including Vitamins, hand soap, etc. from companies like Jason Cosmetics, Avalon.. just to name a couple.

    A brochure goes out each month.. where the prices are broken down for you. If you order 1 lb of rice it's this much.. 3lbs. this much, etc.

    Also, I used to live near a Whole Food Market and kept "tabs" on items on sale. When canned beans went on sale cheap, I stocked up. Same with grass fed beef tips, etc. And they will package the meat in small portions if you ask.

    Hope this helps! :flowerforyou:

    PS as faar as storage goes, some people have an additional freezer in a basement or garage for the frozen items. Flour, rice, etc. they put in a fridge.. or shelved, if it was going to be used soon.
  • k2d4p
    k2d4p Posts: 441 Member
    I liked the guy who did it for the army!! He made gift bags with like shower stuff and yummy foods in the can ( baked beans)

    That one was awesome. He had the ladies crying as they were making the gift bags for the troops. I normally don't like the show, but that one was really good. I received a gift box from a church when I was deployed and it really does lift spirits to get boxes in the mail. I give MAJOR props to that guy!
  • downtome
    downtome Posts: 529 Member
    I wish Oregon wasn't so cheap and did double coupons!
  • melzteach
    melzteach Posts: 550 Member
    I wish Texas grocery stores offered double coupons or customer saver cards or something like that.
  • leslielove
    leslielove Posts: 251 Member
    Albertson's has a Preferred Card for those of you in Texas. /its not routine for fresh items to have coupons, that's why you don't see them being purchased.
  • SunnyDuckz
    SunnyDuckz Posts: 59 Member
    I've done the 'extreme couponing' thing. I haven't kept up with it lately though... because yeah~you can't get a lot of quality foods. I stocked up on canned beans, tomatoes, veggies, etc. and we won't have to buy toothbrushes, toothpaste or floss for years to come lol.

    There are lots of opportunities for cheap/free candy and junk food though and I pass up those deals :)

    We eat a lot of fresh, organic foods so most of our grocery $ goes to that. I do like having enough soap and shampoo to last us a long time though. I will never pay full price for that stuff again!
  • melzteach
    melzteach Posts: 550 Member
    Albertson's has a Preferred Card for those of you in Texas. /its not routine for fresh items to have coupons, that's why you don't see them being purchased.

    Thanks!
  • nurse_christieyne
    nurse_christieyne Posts: 231
    You have HEB.. I miss them.

    They are constantly having meal deals that give you free items if you purchase such and such. They are a great place to shop and save tons of money. They have their own products and they gaurantee you like it or your money back. I used to feed a family of 4 (2 very healthy eating men) on about 80 to 100 a week. I love HEB... I wish we had one in Arizona.
  • mpfand
    mpfand Posts: 98 Member
    I liked the guy who did it for the army!! He made gift bags with like shower stuff and yummy foods in the can ( baked beans)

    That was the best episode! I wish more of them were like that. Most of the episodes just frustrate me because I can't figure out how anyone can use 46 bottles of mustard (even if you do have the space to store them) before they go bad!
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