Another extreme couponing question: where do they get all the freaking coupons?

[DawnM]

Is your Sunday paper normally $1? Ours is $2 each if you buy them in the store.

Right now they are having a special for $1 if you buy them to be delivered, but you have to pay up front.

Dawn

I'm not defending her by any means, but the story goes that she gets them from her fellow church-goers, hence from God.

I get 1 paper at home and will buy up to 4 more each week depending on the coupons that come out. I get my local paper at Rite Aid. I get a 10% discount there, and the paper is $1, so for $0.90, I more than make my money back by using just 2 $1 coupons. My parents and grandparents give me their inserts when they're done with them. I have 3 computers to print from at home. I trade on a coupon forum and buy from ebay. Yes it's counter intuitive to "buy" coupons, but I never pay more than 10% of the face value, so I'm still saving 90% of what the coupon is worth.

 

[java]

I kind of get it. They all had a trigger. One was going through divorce, another faced job loss, same with another and so on. Just like boarders, they lose control over their life and this is something they "control".

I couldn't believe the woman dusting her stock, if it's gathering dust it's there too long! And how can a family of 2go through 70 boxes of cereal before they expire?

I do stock up on things we use a lot of like shampoo, laundry detergent and toothpaste. We are Family of 6 and go through stuff. But things that expire, I just don't get it.
Thankfully my store doesn't limit coupons. I average a 50% savings at the store. I buy what we use though. I suppose I could a free shopping but not our weekly one. They also make it clear that these are "special" trips not their usual haul, all saying this is the biggest.

 

[JandT'smom]

I liked the young couple last night who gave almost all of there big haul to charity. I think he said they figured they gave about 89% of what they got away .

 

[KristenF]

Or my favorite. Steal the coupon inserts out of the paper at the grocery and convenience and drug stores. Unfortunately, around here this happens all the time. One Sunday at CVS I literally picked up 16 papers before I found one with the coupon inserts - the ads were all there but the coupons were gone.

OR.... the paper comp. only inserts them randomly. That happens here. You want the coupons you have to order the paper.

 

[KristenF]

I don't watch regularly but one lady had 5000 weekly inserts...She was saying when people ask her where she get so many her reply is "from G*d." I was like either you're stealing them or someone else is stealing them for you-like from a distribution center. This show is ridiculous and stupid to showcase these people. I won't watch anymore.

her church and friends donated them. Nice how you assumed the worst scenario, I always look for the positive before the negative.

 

[XYSRUS]

her church and friends donated them. Nice how you assumed the worst scenario, I always look for the positive before the negative.

5000. That's a lot of church members...I stand by my original assumption and you can stand by yours.

 

[MaleficentRN]

this show should be retitled to extreme psychological problems!

 

[gfamluvsdisney]

Coupons are a wonderful way to save money, but the extreme couponing show mad me want to barf! Really, what on earth can one family do with 100's of bottles of mustard? this show should be retitled to extreme psychological problems! because the show certainly highlighted serious hoarding issues!! really forcing your kid to sleep in a storage room because you have taken over every inch of the house, what is wrong with folks these days? when I see a good deal of something I use on a regular basis I will buy 2-4 and I consider that a stockpile!

You are SO right on! I couldn't agree more...

 

[amylynne01]

Is your Sunday paper normally $1? Ours is $2 each if you buy them in the store.

Right now they are having a special for $1 if you buy them to be delivered, but you have to pay up front.

Dawn

I live in a small town with a few paper options. I could buy the Boston Globe for some ridiculous price - no thanks. The medium city paper is $2.75 on Sunday, but the small city paper with the same inserts is $1.00 on Sunday. So I have a subscription to that one and pick up extras if I want. Since I don't actually read the paper, I don't care which one I buy as long as it's cheap!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I watched a show from yesterday.

The woman buys 30 newspapers and this costs her $2000 per year . She has FIVE computers, so prints the on-line 2 print limit coupons on each computer, allowing her 10 uniquely numbered coupons to redeem per item. Then if she still doesn't have what she needs, she will buy inserts.

And she snatches newspapers from foreclosed properties where she is pretty sure noone lives there. (I find that odd that a foreclosed family would have kept the newspaper running.).

But then she has a garage full of what she claims is free product--so, not bad I guess.

But I was horrified at the expense she went to to get the coupons. I get that she is saving--but again, her stuff isn't free. She spends money to save money. So technically--NOT free.

 

[Jacoby 46]

I don't buy Sunday papers or use clipping services! I get mine from a recycling bin as well! It isn't a dumpster...it is just a HUGE plastic tub that people throw their papers in at the recycling center. I go three times a week and get TONS of inserts from there. I don't climb in it or anything like that, it is level with my waist, so I just look and and grab as many as I want! There are always so many inserts just sitting there and I am amazed that people just throw them away! One of the benefits of living in a small town is that I don't have to fight with a bunch of other couponers to get them either! LOL I think I am probably the only one who does this!

 

[mrodgers]

There are always so many inserts just sitting there and I am amazed that people just throw them away!

Could be that there isn't any of the coupons for stuff that people use. My mother sent me the pack of coupons she gets in the mail. All went in the garbage. We've tried to coupon buying newspapers. After spending $2 for a newspaper and getting $1.00 coupon from it several times, I quit buying the newspaper. If I bought the paper to read, the coupons would probably end up in the garbage. I have just never seen any decent coupons for something we would buy.

That goes for the internet as well. The same coupons are available week after week after week after week. I've been looking at the sites for several months now. I've already printed 2 of the not so many coupons we can use months ago. I never see anything different from all the coupon sites other than either the coupon I printed now as an ad for something or listed as already printed.

 

[Kycha]

DH bought 2 Sunday papers today. One was our usual Lexington paper, the 2nd was from the next county over. I was surprised to see that the coupons are so different. I got a Smartsource insert in each paper. But there were about 6 or 7 completely different coupons in each insert.

Anyway, to the OP, I had a friend that would go to her local convenience stores on a Monday and get all the unsold Sunday papers. Where she lived, the stores were required to cut out the top portion of the front page to return to the newspaper to show they didn't sell it. Then the store would typically just throw out the rest of the paper. My friend became friendly with each stores manager and they would hold the unsold papers for her. She would just make her rounds, every Monday to those 8-10 stores.

 

[Tinkerbelle32]

I also will not watch this program. I love to save money by using coupons as well, but to me this is just organized hoarding. Don't get me wrong, I love to stock up, but who needs 75 bottles of hot sauce. I saw the tail end of the program last week when the lady bought 100 small packs of millstone coffee all using $2.00 off coupons making them free. If I'm not mistaken the coupon was for $2 off the reg. sized bags of coffee. I have several of those coupons myself. I guess I just don't get why the program puts these people in the spotlight when some of the methods used aren't quite ethical, or even legal. Just my .02.

 

[Jacoby 46]

Could be that there isn't any of the coupons for stuff that people use.

Some of the coupons I keep because we can use them, but most of them I trade for coupons I can use. If people throw their coupons away because they can't use them, by all means...it is just more for me to trade with!

I still think it is a small town thing though...we only have one grocery store and their prices are SKY HIGH and they don't take Internet Q's. I shop an hour away at a place that is lower in price, doubles coupons up to .99 and takes Internet printables! I always find a bunch of coupons I can use!

 

[DawnM]

Is this like a public place?

The only recycling bins I know of here are individual ones at homes.

The trash guy gets all the recycling stuff and I have no idea where he takes it.

Dawn

I don't buy Sunday papers or use clipping services! I get mine from a recycling bin as well! It isn't a dumpster...it is just a HUGE plastic tub that people throw their papers in at the recycling center. I go three times a week and get TONS of inserts from there. I don't climb in it or anything like that, it is level with my waist, so I just look and and grab as many as I want! There are always so many inserts just sitting there and I am amazed that people just throw them away! One of the benefits of living in a small town is that I don't have to fight with a bunch of other couponers to get them either! LOL I think I am probably the only one who does this!

 

[Jacoby 46]

Is this like a public place?

The only recycling bins I know of here are individual ones at homes.

The trash guy gets all the recycling stuff and I have no idea where he takes it.

Dawn

Yes, it is a public place...it is the recycling center. It is mandatory in my town to recycle newspapers, bottles, cans, glass and cardboard. It is all in one place and you just go and throw it in the appropriate bins! The newspaper bins are all under one roof and along with bins for newspapers, they have one for magazines as well

 

[Jacoby 46]

Yes, it is a public place...it is the recycling center. It is mandatory in my town to recycle newspapers, bottles, cans, glass and cardboard. It is all in one place and you just go and throw it in the appropriate bins! The newspaper bins are all under one roof and along with bins for newspapers, they have one for magazines as well

I should add that you can have your garbage/recycle things picked up by the garbage man, but it costs quite a bit and since I live so close to the recycling center, I just drive over and get rid of them myself! Like I said, small town!

 

[Amii]

My library has a coupon swapping box. I don't buy many things that there are coupons for. When I do look for a coupon there are always multiples. Maybe you could see about starting one at your library if they don't already have one.

 

[Nicolepa]

I couldn't believe the woman dusting her stock, if it's gathering dust it's there too long! And how can a family of 2go through 70 boxes of cereal before they

I just bought a bunch of cereal this weekend. The earliest use by date was December, most were for Feb or April. Even at December they only need to use 2 boxes a week. If you eat cereal every day that is easy. My husband goes thru at least 2 boxes a week by himself. As a family we go thru at least 5 boxes a week and only 3 of our 5 members really eat it.