Extreme couponing

[kimblebee]

I’m watching this show on TLC and it seems like this is a new form of addiction. They get a rush from saving so much, and when the high wears off, they start clipping again.

I get that it’s good to save money, but who really needs 90 cans of tomatoes? The average person would never use that in their lifetime. And, that’s probably on top of the 400 cans they already have. It seems like a waste in the long run.

 

[MamaLema]

It’s the thrill of it. They spend hours a day doing it. Some of them clearly have some mental issues.

 

[starvenger]

I get that it’s good to save money, but who really needs 90 cans of tomatoes? The average person would never use that in their lifetime. And, that’s probably on top of the 400 cans they already have. It seems like a waste in the long run.

In a way, it's kind of funny you say that because, apart from fresh meat and produce, these extreme couponers were probably best prepared to ride out the ups and downs of this pandemic. They've already been operating on a super-tight budget so they know how to be thrifty, and they've got supplies to last them a few months.

As for the show itself, it was popular on TLC for a hot minute. They did highlight some people that did this with the express purpose of helping out others in the community, so that was nice. But it had to be budgeting that got them into this to start, and now they can't stop. It might be an addiction for some, but I can't see it being the case for all.

Also, I wish that they did something like that here in Canada, but I doubt the Big 3 chains will ever offer discounts that allow for the type of advantage couponing we saw on the show.

 

[fly girl]

I have watched those shows, and I'll admit it is fun to watch them buy 8 carts of stuff and pay $1.30. But yes, all the hoarding. Most of the stuff they keep has a shelf life, I can't go through 75 bottles of ranch dressing in a year. LOL

I have watched a few where they give to food pantries and charities. That's awesome! I am all about that.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Reality TV isn't reality. The show was fake. The show told people to make their stash big in order to get on the show. Some of the coupons on the show were counterfeit. The show paid a fee to the store to take them. The show also paid fees to stores to violate their own acceptance policies limiting number of items as well.

 

[robinb]

I’m watching this show on TLC and it seems like this is a new form of addiction. They get a rush from saving so much, and when the high wears off, they start clipping again.

I get that it’s good to save money, but who really needs 90 cans of tomatoes? The average person would never use that in their lifetime. And, that’s probably on top of the 400 cans they already have. It seems like a waste in the long run.

I tried regular coupon clipping a couple of times. I ended up buying things that I would normally not buy and then were eventually thrown out. For instance, I don't use too many pre-packaged foods (other than canned tomato products and beans) so the money I spent for Suddenly Salad with a coupon was completely wasted. In addition, my local groceries don't double so there is no way I could do something like extreme couponing.

As for the extreme couponers, I think they do it for the thrill of "saving" money and building a collection of products.

 

[Southernmiss]

There have never been coupons available in my area like the ones that were featured on that TLC show.

It's been off the air for a few years now and I have not heard of anyone extreme couponing in ages.

 

[starvenger]

Reality TV isn't reality. The show was fake. The show told people to make their stash big in order to get on the show. Some of the coupons on the show were counterfeit. The show paid a fee to the store to take them. The show also paid fees to stores to violate their own acceptance policies limiting number of items as well.

Hmm. That makes sense, considering some of the shenanigans we see on other TLC shows.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I used to do some cvs couponing back in the day for toiletries and household products. I had about a years supply of razors, shampoo, conditioner, detergent, soap, etc. Back then I had a house with a full basement so storing stuff was easy. I worked full time and had two small kids so it didn’t consume my time. It took me 20 minutes of prep and it was easy since most of it was through regular coupons and CVS rewards.

I never did it with food since all coupons are on foods we don’t eat. Way too much processed food. We eat traditional Puerto Rican dishes in our house so the food deals never worked for us.

Now i really don’t know many people who coupon. It’s so much easier just to follow deal hunting pages on social media and buy things when they’re on extreme discounts. I just bought 240 Febreeze Glad trash bags on amazon for $11 yesterday. I bought 24 - 25 oz. bottles of seventh generation dish soap for $21 on amazon a few months ago. They post a lot of Walmart deals too. This is what most people I know do.

I don’t go overboard since our storage space is our attic and it’s a pain to get up there. So I only buy what I can store in our extra closet. And again only toiletries and household items. Right now I have a good amount of dove soap, tampons, hand soap, sunblock, detergent, dryer sheets, Lysol wipes (bought before covid), neosporin, lotion, hair products, etc.

 

[ashley0139]

Reality TV isn't reality. The show was fake. The show told people to make their stash big in order to get on the show. Some of the coupons on the show were counterfeit. The show paid a fee to the store to take them. The show also paid fees to stores to violate their own acceptance policies limiting number of items as well.

Yep, exactly this.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

I hate that show. So many reasons! Like a PP said, behind the scenes, TLC was paying the stores to violate their own policies, which was totally unrepeatable for any other shopper.

A 20 minute episode of an extreme couponer hurling insults at the manager because they won't give her a dime in exchange for her 2653 coupons, 12 cases of toothpaste and not charge her sales tax? Nope, everyone wanted to see the couponer jumping up and down while she loads the toothpaste into her minivan and flipping through her massive stash of coupons!

In Canada, all the fine print in any of our grocery deals, coupons, etc. all prevent extreme couponing. You cannot find a deal better than what the big companies provide to us ; we are just not that large of an economy.

And I am very on the fence about the "donating it to a charity" component. I had a past experience where a woman got so hooked on the feeling of donating and "getting a deal" that she spent tens of thousands into debt and her husband decided to file for divorce. We had to find the receipts from her donations and provide them to the divorce lawyer as proof of her "unstable behaviour" - husband's goal was to prevent her from taking the automatic 50% of marital assets. I don't know how the court case played out, but I do remember having to become a security guard and dragging donations back outside and reminding her that we had repeatedly told her, "We are reserving our right to refuse your donation!" it's one thing to give to charity and another to drive your household into debt as a result of allowing your mental illness to go unchecked!

I haven't used coupons in so many years because I rarely am brand loyal to things like cleaning products. LOL Stores don't issue coupons for "cheese" or "milk", it's a BRAND that offers the coupons for their brand only.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I hate that show. So many reasons! Like a PP said, behind the scenes, TLC was paying the stores to violate their own policies, which was totally unrepeatable for any other shopper.

A 20 minute episode of an extreme couponer hurling insults at the manager because they won't give her a dime in exchange for her 2653 coupons, 12 cases of toothpaste and not charge her sales tax? Nope, everyone wanted to see the couponer jumping up and down while she loads the toothpaste into her minivan and flipping through her massive stash of coupons!

In Canada, all the fine print in any of our grocery deals, coupons, etc. all prevent extreme couponing. You cannot find a deal better than what the big companies provide to us ; we are just not that large of an economy.

And I am very on the fence about the "donating it to a charity" component. I had a past experience where a woman got so hooked on the feeling of donating and "getting a deal" that she spent tens of thousands into debt and her husband decided to file for divorce. We had to find the receipts from her donations and provide them to the divorce lawyer as proof of her "unstable behaviour" - husband's goal was to prevent her from taking the automatic 50% of marital assets. I don't know how the court case played out, but I do remember having to become a security guard and dragging donations back outside and reminding her that we had repeatedly told her, "We are reserving our right to refuse your donation!" it's one thing to give to charity and another to drive your household into debt as a result of allowing your mental illness to go unchecked!

I haven't used coupons in so many years because I rarely am brand loyal to things like cleaning products. LOL Stores don't issue coupons for "cheese" or "milk", it's a BRAND that offers the coupons for their brand only.

Yes I’m very brand specific so even when I did coupon at cvs it was nothing extreme because I didn’t buy things just to buy it. I only bought it if it was something we legit used.

Same thing now. I buy on amazon what we use and like. Dove soap, tide or gain detergent, Lysol wipes, Venus razors, etc. Some things I’m not brand loyal But most things I am.

 

[scrhsa]

I remember a program in the late 70's that had a lady on there that would either get her groceries for free or spend $1 or less. She was SO proud. But her freezer was packed with stuff from years before and she couldn't eat it fast enough and she had all kinds of stuff she didn't like. But she saved money. She wasn't even passing the savings on to friends and family like they do now. I know a lady who does it and will sell it cheap and still make a profit. She pretty much put her dd through college doing that(and making bows). Even as a very young teen I was thinking that was the most selfish thing she could be doing. Because of that program I have always had iffy feelings using coupons to this day. I like a good deal but come on!!!!!

edit: I have/do use some coupons or in store deals but I always found cheaper deals buying store brand. We were quite poor through most of our marriage(single, military income) so I could figure out where and how to get the deals.

 

[MamaLema]

In Canada, all the fine print in any of our grocery deals, coupons, etc. all prevent extreme couponing. You cannot find a deal better than what the big companies provide to us ; we are just not that large of an economy.

Yup. I once had a lot of coupons and once I used $10 worth, they said that was the limit. Also most coupons in Canada say 1 per customer. No way anyone can extreme couponing here.

 

[mom2rtk]

My mom was an extreme couponer. I just can't. I refuse to collect coupons at all because of it.

 

[kimblebee]

Reality TV isn't reality. The show was fake. The show told people to make their stash big in order to get on the show. Some of the coupons on the show were counterfeit. The show paid a fee to the store to take them. The show also paid fees to stores to violate their own acceptance policies limiting number of items as well.

Say it ain’t so!!!

 

[barkley]

but who really needs 90 cans of tomatoes? The average person would never use that in their lifetime

i remember watching this show first run and thinking the people featured were the most over the top the production company could find. that said..........90 cans of tomato products is not an exorbitant amount for a household to go through over the course of a year. we're a household of 3 and between the different types of canned tomatoes we regularly use it comes to just shy of 110 cans a year. nope.......not an extreme couponer (actually don't use coupons other than safeway's online click it ones) but i started keeping track several years ago when i moved to an area that does yearly case sales and i realized that i could save 30-50% on canned goods by buying them yearly vs. as needed (don't think they will be doing it this year at minimum).

 

[Nayan]

I watched that show and shook my head. Coupons today are so different, like 15 cents off if you buy three. I find store brands are sometimes much cheaper but I do have my favorite brands and I will buy those regardless of cost.

 

[ronandannette]

In a way, it's kind of funny you say that because, apart from fresh meat and produce, these extreme couponers were probably best prepared to ride out the ups and downs of this pandemic. They've already been operating on a super-tight budget so they know how to be thrifty, and they've got supplies to last them a few months.

As for the show itself, it was popular on TLC for a hot minute. They did highlight some people that did this with the express purpose of helping out others in the community, so that was nice. But it had to be budgeting that got them into this to start, and now they can't stop. It might be an addiction for some, but I can't see it being the case for all.

Also, I wish that they did something like that here in Canada, but I doubt the Big 3 chains will ever offer discounts that allow for the type of advantage couponing we saw on the show.

You and @MamaLema beat me to it but yeah, coupons just don't work like that here. And although it's a little OT and of no interest to our American friends, am I the only one that HATES having to update the Loblaw's/SuperStore app every time you shop in order to get the discounts? Grrrr.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

The extreme couponer shows killed coupons and deals. So many places started setting limits on how many coupons you could use per item, and a lot of places stopped the 'cash back' if the coupons caused you to gain cash back.

I used to be able to find tons of coupons, with expiration dates for a year or more. Now, they all expire in 3 weeks, and the items never go on sale while the coupons are good. I used to be able to hit sales w/coupons and save 50% on my receipts. I really loved when Winn Dixie had B1G1 on the frozen veggies, because they ALWAYS had a coupon in the extra coupon inserts for $1 off one bag, and no limit on # of coupons per purchase.

broccoli/cauliflower/carrots $2.25 a bag. Two bags B1G1 = $2.25 minus $1 off coupons = 1.25 for 2 bags.

corn/peas/green beans/mixed veg $1.25 a bag. Two bags B1G1 = 1.25 minus $1 coupon = .25 for 2 bags.

I really miss those coupons/sale mixes. We go through 60ish bags of vegetables a month (minus when we do takeout or have fresh veggies), so I really did take advantage of those sales when I could.

Now they have limits on number of coupons.