The truth about extreme couponing...

[hpfan100]

Why would you say it was fraud?

I'm talking about the woman from TLC's show mentioned earlier. I just don't see the math working. The bounty paper towels were 17.99 a package and she had 2 or 3. I've never seen coupons for more than 1 or 2 for that item. I read that article and it got me all fired up about her. I wasn't talking about any one else or their shopping choices.

I'm all about saving money...coupons are quickly becoming my friends.

 

[beansmom]

Lol, just making the point that it might be easier to allow the poor person to pick their own choices with a discreet gc, or at least offer something if use fir their bodies!

well, i certainly admire your thoughtfulness but i've never seen a coupon on a discreet gift card. Anyone is more than welcome to decline our offer...altho no one ever has. Most are quite grateful for the food. I think they've even said 'wow, i can eat all week now'.

 

[mrodgers]

There's no way I would run down to the store and do that for a friend, and I would be embarrassed to ask someone to do that for me.

There is a huge difference between...

"I am going to be on a TV show and I will need to call you acting like I am desperate and need you to come help me out at the store because they aren't going to let me process my stuff as one order or person..."

and....

"I'm at the store and I need you to come check out for me so I can save a couple of dollars..."

 

[GinnyEmma]

Hmmmmm, nazis...rounded up huge groups and killed them for their beliefs or heritage. Me...concerned about the well being of my friends. Nice analogy. So are you comparing yourself to the Jewish people killed by my disagreement with you?

 

[Marionnette]

There is a huge difference between...

"I am going to be on a TV show and I will need to call you acting like I am desperate and need you to come help me out at the store because they aren't going to let me process my stuff as one order or person..."

and....

"I'm at the store and I need you to come check out for me so I can save a couple of dollars..."

BINGO! I can't imagine any of my friends calling me to drop everything that I'm doing so that I can stand in line at the resgister for them. Pick them up when their car breaks down? Yep, I'm there! Stand in line at the grocery store so they can save $10? Fo'geddaboutit!

 

[GinnyEmma]

Awww, you forget, it is all about them. Screw the rules, other people in line, other people who might want a product. Surely a friend wouldn't mind spending their time and their gas money to help. Maybe they'd even give a noodle bowl in payment!

 

[delmar411]

The thing is, you COULD do a no-expense trip IF you bought only your coupon-able items . . . and then went back the next day for your other stuff. That'd mean you'd go home without, perhaps, your bread and cheese or other necessities, but you'd have big bragging rights on your first trip . . . if you didn't tell about your second, regular-priced trip.

I'm not recommending it, just saying that's how these super-couponers make their trips appear to be essentially free. 'Cause we all know their families aren't living on mustard, so they've gotta be buying some meat and vegetables at some point.

When people say $300 of food, the viewer thinks, "Oh, that's about two weeks of food for my family! Great!" But it's not $300 of well-rounded food -- it's a bunch of the same stuff.

Exactly! I didn't think that was a secret? No one lives off mustard or candy bars alone!

It's not interesting to have a couponing show and then not have the person do an amazing shopping trip.

That's the whole reason they show just one trip. It takes a while to collect up all the coupons, match to a sale, get permission from the store to do this shop and film it, etc etc.

 

[delmar411]

Actually, some of the manufacturers have caught on and offer different coupons for different parts of the country. I do live in an area that offers double coupons up to a dollar.

As a result, you'll get the coupons that offer $.50 off any one item. We'll get the coupons that offer $1.00 off any two items. Making our coupons useless for doubling, and for you to get savings on two items, you need two coupons.

And then couponers just get the .50/1 coupons from the other parts of the country. It's not much of an issue to get them.

Also for printable coupons the same concept applies. Some zip codes get better coupons. So you put in that zip code to get the better printables. There are a few sites that keep track of the zip codes to input.

 

[basketkat]

well, as I see it.

I have been an avid couponer for 30 years. It is NOT possible to get free groceries every week nor is it possible to have a completely rounded diet free with coupons.

Yes, there are meat, dairy, produce coupons out there...but fewer and farther between than processed foods. You can save more on cleaning supplies, pet food and HBA than anything else.

As we see from the debacle this week regarding fraudulent couponing, it's just NOT possible to do LEGALLY.

It is, however, possible to trim your bill by 25-50% or more on good weeks while still providing a healthy diet to your family. Yes, I feed my family canned stuff sometimes and poptarts and even the occasional microwave burrito. I'm not asking your opinion...just stating a fact.

So...to all who are interested, take what you can from the couponers and save what you can. Every dollar saved is a dollar, right? The rest who don't want to...then DON'T. But stop passing judgement on everyone who is different than you. It's a big world...room for plenty of diversity.

ANd now...I'm off to eat an orange that i had to PAY for.

Well said!!!

 

[leahjade]

The episode that I saw was the woman's MONTHLY trip not weekly. And she did have produce and dairy in her cart and was able to get that free since many of her coupons were for higher amounts than the items she bought so she had leftover to put towards healthier food.
I don't understand all the hostility towards people who are trying to save money.The woman I saw had a family of six so she wasn't hoarder - they go through a lot of food. And what they don't use was given to the food bank.
I'd rather support people like these women than the scores of people I see in line paying for their junk food with Access cards that my tax dollars are paying for. They are using their Iphones wearing their designer clothes meanwhile working folks are buying their groceries.

 

[beansmom]

The episode that I saw was the woman's MONTHLY trip not weekly. And she did have produce and dairy in her cart and was able to get that free since many of her coupons were for higher amounts than the items she bought so she had leftover to put towards healthier food.
I don't understand all the hostility towards people who are trying to save money.The woman I saw had a family of six so she wasn't hoarder - they go through a lot of food. And what they don't use was given to the food bank.
I'd rather support people like these women than the scores of people I see in line paying for their junk food with Access cards that my tax dollars are paying for. They are using their Iphones wearing their designer clothes meanwhile working folks are buying their groceries.

many stores do not allow for an overage with coupon useage so those that can, good for them. But it's not something any couponer can count on. None of my local stores allow an overage.

 

[LadyBeBop]

And then couponers just get the .50/1 coupons from the other parts of the country. It's not much of an issue to get them.

That's true. I've traded or bought .50/1 coupons. Not that hard. It's just the concept that the double coupon parts of the country will get the $1/2 coupons.

Also for printable coupons the same concept applies. Some zip codes get better coupons. So you put in that zip code to get the better printables. There are a few sites that keep track of the zip codes to input.

Did not know that. Do the better coupons go to those parts of the country that don't double?

 

[KigerKat]

I wish there was a show where people planned out a menu for 2 weeks (or even a month) and then had a coupon "guru" help them lower their cost. I would much rather see a realistic depiction of how couponing can help lower "real" food costs than watch people go on ridiculous shopping trips and come home with 64 bottles of Gatorade and 150 Butterfingers.

I would appreciate a show like this. One that shows real people how to plan and properly use coupons.

 

[DawnM]

Our store won't allow that anymore. You get a certain number per registered store card, not per person.

Dawn

There is a huge difference between...

"I am going to be on a TV show and I will need to call you acting like I am desperate and need you to come help me out at the store because they aren't going to let me process my stuff as one order or person..."

and....

"I'm at the store and I need you to come check out for me so I can save a couple of dollars..."

 

[KigerKat]

There is a huge difference between...

"I am going to be on a TV show and I will need to call you acting like I am desperate and need you to come help me out at the store because they aren't going to let me process my stuff as one order or person..."

and....

"I'm at the store and I need you to come check out for me so I can save a couple of dollars..."

True...a lot of what happened on that show does not happen in real life at all. I'm sure the stores only allowed those types of orders to take place because they were getting a little bit of free advertising.

But still, even if my friend was on tv, I wouldn't go down there to do it. I feel those people have hoarding problems and being on tv only encourages their behavior.

 

[DawnM]

I couponed today for the first time in many months. I did NOT get the huge hauls, although my store isn't doing the triples or super doubles right now either.

I also bought things that were on 50% to 66% off. Chicken was .49 per pound and I stocked up for example. I also bought some produce.

Editing.....that should teach me not to rely on memory for calculations. I am looking now at my receipt. I got $271.78 retail pricing for $71.87. So, I got over 70% savings. Not too shabby, esp. since I didn't use coupons for every item in my cart.

Dawn

 

[delmar411]

Did not know that. Do the better coupons go to those parts of the country that don't double?

I'm not sure where in the country they are. I just plug in the zip code. LOL

 

[eliza61]

Just watched the show, and I turned it off. This is about the dumbest 30 mins of tv ever invented.

Sorry, 150 bottles of mustard? Am I supposed to be impressed? give me a break, 90 cans of processed, fake chicken noodle soup?

Well I guess it takes all kinds but the only impression I got of these gals is that they are border line compulsive obsessive.

 

[NYCDiane]

But I think that's the whole "extreme" thing. If it were normal, the ratings would be low. People want to see "extreme" anything.

Exactly ---- would they get millions of viewers watching a regular family saving $30 or $50 on their grocery bill through coupon use? No way! They'd rather watch someone with 3 or 4 carts full of pasta, mustard, gatorade, cereal, and soup pay $6 for $300 worth of stuff.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I use coupons all the time. I buy relativly healthy stuff, and only stuff I will actually use, my total was $24 and some change, and I saved $47. I was happy with those savings. But, I wouldn't go out and get 100 jars of mustard just because they were three, I would get two or three.

And I hate the lady who used coupons for stuff she didn't buy, it really just makes her a cheater. Not to mention the fact that what she did is a crime.