Extreme couponing

[okeydokey]

I hated going to CVS to pick up something on sale and every time the shelves were wiped clean because one person took it all. So selfish. I was glad when stores started limiting things.

 

[hereyago]

I’d love to see an updated where are they now episode.

Y’all have any extra toilet paper?! Lol

 

[monkeydawn]

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.

I am a couponer. I was always more into the drugstore rewards games rather than the grocery aspect, although I would do small grocery trips during doubling or tripling events. I stopped with the drugstore game last June when we lost our last Rite Aid. Right now CVS just has poor computer programming and customer service that refuses to right that poor computer programing. An the deals arent there to justify the trips into town for Walgreens. I keep an eye on both stores though and have gift cards to each from prior deals that will allow me to buy back in for nothing. Back in the day my weekly budget was between $10-25, this included all groceries, cleaning supplies, HBA, gas and small wants. It did not include the morgage, utilities or large appliance purchases. I did a few years at $25/ week and then decided to see if I could do an average of $10/ a week for a year (I could). I enjoyed it very much and probably spent 20 or so hours a week on average on this as a hobby. At the time I was a moderator on a popular couponing board and responsible for one of the drug stores weekly write ups. Much of that 20 hours was spent on my on line duties.

Even having not really couponed for 9 months before we went into lockdown I still had a lot of stuff that has really come in handy. Unfortunately I hadnt purchased TP in several years so I was just reaching the end of that stockpile but I had planned ahead enough and picked up a pack at Costco thats easily a six month supply for us. But it was super nice to not have to worry about getting cold medicines, hand sanitizer, wipes, etc. when the shelves were empty. Plus we have enough of staples type food still (a lot of stuff is still really good to eat after the X date) that kind of shopping in minimal for me. It's the fresh foods that was killer to me.

Any time I see that show all I can think about is if those people spent half the amount of time they spend couponing at a minimum wage job they would end up farther ahead and keep the economy churning.

I paid less total for my food, cleaning supplies, HBA and gas than most people pay in taxes for those goods. I really doubt a minimum wage job for half the time I spent couponing, 10 hours a week, would have been as fruitful.

And couponing does create jobs. A store moves more inventory when there are couponers, thereby getting more worker hours allotted*. More product is moved from the manufacturers, meaning that those that make and move the products are employed. Coupons are a BIG reason a lot of people still get the print newspaper so that helps their numbers. And the employees at the clearinghouse wouldnt be there if no one was redeeming the coupons. Legit couponers contribute to the economy.

*At Walgreens the Beauty Advisors would basically beg me to come in on Saturdays to wipe out any deals that were left in the store as long as I rang it through them. Their hours were dependent on how many sales rang through their registers and they loved seeing me on Saturdays. Most store managers were pretty happy to see me then too.

I hated going to CVS to pick up something on sale and every time the shelves were wiped clean because one person took it all. So selfish. I was glad when stores started limiting things.

The drugstore game is hard sometimes because of the limited inventory a ds will keep on hand. If a ds only stocks 3 items in the best of times and you need 2 to do a deal, where is the blame really for the low stock. The absolute best was when a store manager had enough foresight to see that having a loyal couponer shopping his store was a great benefit to the store and would allow a couponer to place a special order.

Most legit couponers werent there to keep everyone else from getting a deal, that came more into play with the rise of flea markets and resale of coupon obtained goods. It may feel like semantics to those not in the game but there really is a difference in the mentality. Couponers only want enough for their family and maybe really close social circle. Resellers want as much as possible. Now, yes I did resell and donate some stuff but sometimes the drugstore game required some really wacky purchases or brands we didnt use in order to keep the fake drugstore rewards rolling. But my main concern was keeping a decent sized fake money bankroll so that when deals I needed came along I could get them, even if it meant burning some fake money. My main concern was not to get as much of everything as I could to resell it.

 

[CdnCarrie]

Is this show still on? I thought it was off the air years ago!

 

[kaytieeldr]

Reruns. All day today, but at least once a week.

 

[Communicore1991]

You can also watch all of the episodes on the TLC To Go app. That's where I've been watching them.

 

[ronandannette]

I tried ranch dressing a few weeks ago for the first time to see what the hype was all about. It was so gross!

Sorry to go OT but how is that even possible? It’s like saying you’ve never tasted ketchup or had a popsicle. How have you managed to avoid it?

 

[Donald13]

Is this show still on? I thought it was off the air years ago!

Yes and no. It’s on in re runs. The show ended in 2012

 

[kimblebee]

Sorry to go OT but how is that even possible? It’s like saying you’ve never tasted ketchup or had a popsicle. How have you managed to avoid it?

Besides ketchup, I don’t like dressings and sauces. I hate gravy and all dressings. It’s the gloppiness (even though ketchup is like that and I eat it like a vegetable lol). I don’t eat salad because I don’t want to eat just plain lettuce. I recently bought some vinaigrettes to try, so we’ll see how that goes.

 

[karen4546]

I used to coupon. It would take hours to match the coupons to the store sales papers. I would not buy things that we normally would not use UNLESS I knew someone could use them. For example, at CVS if you buy Polydent for $6.99 then you get back $6.99 in extra care bucks. I would give the Polydent to my dad and use the $6.99 to buy something for my household.

I also have three daughters and buying feminine products for the four of us could be very costly. And of course, they would only use certain brands. If I could save $2/box then that was great. Same with toothpaste, mouthwash, dish and laundry detergent, body wash, toilet tissue, paper towels, Febreeze, Pledge, Mr. Clean, Lysol, headache meds, heartburn meds, cold meds , diapers, wipes, etc.

I don't coupon anymore unless I click the coupon for an item on Amazon or the occasional product has a coupon on the package.

The savings could be substantial but IT TAKES SO MUCH TIME. All my children are grown and now I have six grandchildren.

 

[ronandannette]

Besides ketchup, I don’t like dressings and sauces. I hate gravy and all dressings. It’s the gloppiness (even though ketchup is like that and I eat it like a vegetable lol). I don’t eat salad because I don’t want to eat just plain lettuce. I recently bought some vinaigrettes to try, so we’ll see how that goes.

You. Hate. Gravy?!? How is that even possible? What kind of Canadian doesn't eat poutine? And to never know the joy of a perfect ceasar salad? I can't even.

 

[kimblebee]

You. Hate. Gravy?!? How is that even possible? What kind of Canadian doesn't eat poutine? And to never know the joy of a perfect ceasar salad? I can't even.

It’s just the thought that it’s flavoured fat that just doesn’t appeal to me at all. Never has, never will.

I’ve only eaten poutine once because it was made with duck fat (although I didn’t know it at the time) and it was really good.

 

[CGB]

Thirteen years ago, my family went back to Disney and we were hooked. In order to afford the vacations more often, we got serious about our family budget and debt. I decided to try couponing and it just happened to be at a time when couponing was really hot. I joined Teri's grocery game forum and learned a ton. Not just about double coupons and sales rotations, but also how to focus on our income and how we were spending it. It wasn't long afterwards that I found this forum and learned so much from the people here. Within a few years, I paid off our credit cards, paid for our kids' college, and began attacking our mortgage. I credit both forums with teaching me how to be more financially responsible and getting that act together.

Today, I roll giftcards at Target and clip coupons but no where near what I used to do. I do still keep a stocked pantry with items bought at their lowest possible price.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

Sorry to go OT but how is that even possible? It’s like saying you’ve never tasted ketchup or had a popsicle. How have you managed to avoid it?

I guess we can rule her out as that person who would go on rants about her RANCH and SERVERS, with RANDOM capitalized words...

My son didn't get ketchup or spaghetti sauce until he was about 4; and only did pizza when we went out to a pizza place. I just didn't want to deal with the mess; the place we lived at the time had white carpeting (ugh) everywhere, including the kitchen and baths (double ugh). We skipped the ranch because we wanted him to eat veggies without a 'crutch'; the girls would only eat veggies with ranch for years, and it was such a pain. They outgrew it eventually, but for about 4 years, it was rough to get them to eat their veggies. He's 16, still eats his salad without dressing (but will eat a ton of it), avoids spaghetti sauce like the plague, but loves his ketchup. LOL

 

[Aladora]

You. Hate. Gravy?!? How is that even possible? What kind of Canadian doesn't eat poutine? And to never know the joy of a perfect ceasar salad? I can't even.

Another poutine-hating Canadian! (Although I do like gravy)

 

[ronandannette]

Another poutine-hating Canadian! (Although I do like gravy)

I'm not a big poutine fan either; I've had it on occasion and for sure the gravy is the best part!! Honestly, I'm not sure who decided poutine was an iconic Canadian thing. IRL it isn't. I just threw it in to my example because it's become kind of a cliché.