TLC Extreme Couponing

Ok... I have been thinking about this post for some time now and after it was brought up at my class last night, I think it's time to address the issue of "TLC's Extreme Couponing".  If you haven't seen this yet, it airs again on January 15th at 10pm or January 16th at 1am. 

Now, down to the nitty gritty.  I saw some good things in this show and some things that frankly were really embarrassing.  Let's break it down by "Extreme Couponer". 

• The first gal, Amanda, her method is to go to several stores on Monday and spend 6-8 hours walking through the stores looking for good prices on items.  Then she goes home and matches the coupons, and will then spend another few HOURS shopping and checking out at the grocery store.  It was early on in the show that I wanted to start screaming at the TV!  PLEASE USE GROCERYSMARTS!!!  By simply clicking on the links at the side to the store(s) you want to shop, you will save LOADS of time.  We even match the coupons for you!  I only spend 2-3 hours a week couponing which includes filing coupons, creating my shopping lists, clipping my coupons, AND shopping.  I actually enjoy spending time with my kids and my hubby, so I'm not willing to give up this tool to maybe save on a few more items.  
•  Joanie, or The Krazy Coupon Lady, is one of my favorites!  I started looking at her site when I first started my couponing adventures.  When you see her stockpile, she has about a year's worth of items on hand.  That is SMART couponing.  You just never know what can happen in your life and to have at least a 3,6, or 12 month supply is such a blessing!  However, she is the dumpster diver for coupons.  That's where I draw the line.  We get such a good deal on our newspaper subscriptions it's silly!  For less than a $1/paper/week, I get 5 Sunday papers delivered to my home.  I do have a few friends and neighbors who will give me their coupons they get in the mail, but that's about it.  I feel like that is plenty of coupons to sustain our family of 7, and create a pretty decent stockpile. She also uses the binder method of filing her coupons which terrifies me.  I much rather just put my whole inserts in a file box and let the Grocery Smarts list tell me when to use my coupons and exactly where I can find it!
• Joyce also get's coupons from her neighbors, but it looks like she may even resort to a little thievery.  I would never, never, never take coupons off of someone's porch because I thought they weren't home or weren't going to use their paper!  Another thing that caught my eye with this gal happened when she checked out.  Notice how she gave the cashier her coupons first, and then her rewards card.  The reason she did this, I'm sure, is because some items probably would have cost less than the coupon amount if the rewards had been applied first.  For example, let's say toothpaste is on sale for $1.00, but with your card it's only .75, but I have a coupon for $1 off.  If I gave my store card first, there is a good chance that my coupon wouldn't be accepted because it's value is MORE than the price of the item.  We don't have to worry too much about this sort of thing in Vegas since we don't get double coupons here, this situation would be pretty rare that after the coupon we were owed money.  Take a look at her total when you see the program.  Her sales tax is - $1 something.  She clearly knew how to work the system.  I do sometimes give them my reward card last, just for kicks! It's so fun to watch the dollar amount on the screen just disappear!
• Finally, there was Nathan.  Again, more work put in than necessary.  If he had GrocerySmarts lists, he wouldn't have to spend so much time figuring out the bottom line deals.  His stockpile is the epitomy of "extreme" and I don't mean that in a nice way.  Seriously, 10 years worth of deodorant and soaps is grossly excessive.  I look at these kinds of things, and I can't help but wonder what is missing in his life that he feels the need to have {and keep} so much STUFF! I DO however, like the idea of donating the items.  You will notice that when you have a good stockpile going that it is so fun, and easy, to donate to any sort of group that may come your way.

On a side note: there comes a point when enough is ENOUGH! If you feel comfortable with a 3 month storage, that's great!  If you have room to make it a full years worth of food and supplies...even better, but guess what!?  When you start using those items, you can replace them when that item goes on sale again, because it WILL!  AND you will have another coupon to save again, and again!! 

As a whole, I totally agree with the rush you get from a good couponing excursion.  I do my shopping at night without the kids and lots of other shopping "traffic", but I typically have a hard time going to sleep on those nights because I am so thrilled with my savings.  I noticed though with a few of the TLC-ers that it seems like they don't have a whole lot of other things in their lives to help maintain a healthy balance in life.  I LOVE coupons, but I also LOVE my family, I LOVE being active in my kids school, at church and in the community.  Please, please, please, make it a goal this year to keep a good balance in your life!  

*that's all - stepping off my soapbox now*