Not Quite Extreme
May 3, 2011
The kids saw the show Extreme Couponing on tv about a week ago. They immediately wanted to know why we didn’t clip coupons. I don’t really have an answer for them other than it seems like a giant pain in the ass. And most of the times that I have seen coupons they have been for things that I don’t even buy, like highly processed foods.
I think my kids were fascinated by the show because they saw people with stockplies of soda and cereal and assorted treats.
My teenagers volunteered to have the food stored in their bedrooms, I’m sure with visions of snacking their nights away.
So this past Sunday I bought a newspaper and the kids happily clipped and sorted coupons.
They came home from school Monday afternoon and immediately asked if I had used any coupons. And you know what? I had!
I used a bunch of coupons at both CVS and Walgreens and came home with lots of deodorant, toothpaste, and razors. And to be honest at CVS they actually paid me money to take stuff home.
The kids were disappointed.
I don’t know why they don’t want to snack on deodorant and toothpaste.
RSS feed for comments on this post.
I love when that happens, CVS is a great place to save money. Last year I saved over $5000 couponing and it was only I stuff I use! Yes, this show is extreme and most people can’t do what those people do. Too bad this show isn’t showing people HOW to do it and focusing on more on the donating these people do instead of making them out to be crazy hoarders.
May 3rd, 2011 at 5:54 pmI am a Krazy Coupon Lady….
Freeing up money on the razors, toothpaste and deodorant free’s up more of your money to buy the good, wholesome food that you want. (Not exactly what they had in mind… but
)
There are coupons for whole foods as well. You might have to take the time to find them online and print them out, but they are there.
I went to the store yesterday - (not a big trip - only 8 items) and got 4 bottles of bodywash, 2 packages of Kraft cheese singles and two packages of pillsbury grand biscuits - between coupons and the store sales (cause thats the only way to save the amounts those people on the show are saving) - I only paid $3.48. Saved $17.89.
Around here, one pack of Kraft singles regular price is $3.99.
Yeah. I like the power of coupons. As long as you buy what you usually buy anyway and pair it with a sale, you will always save big.
May 3rd, 2011 at 6:03 pmI completely agree with you and the processed foods. When I look through the coupons each week there is nothing there that we eat!
May 3rd, 2011 at 6:22 pmWe gave up on coupons when my oldest came down with food allergies. it was just tough to find coupons for the things we could purchase.
I just can’t understand your kids disappointment…. at least you bother to use a few coupons!
May 3rd, 2011 at 6:32 pmWhat no AXE?
May 3rd, 2011 at 6:36 pmhahaha I love it. My kids love that I’m doing this whole extreme couponing thing on BlogHer - they are fascinated by being paid to buy deodorant, razors, toothpaste and… candy bars. Oh and don’t forget the makeup. $7 mascara is pricey for a teenager - I buy it for $1.50 now and she’s in heaven.
May 3rd, 2011 at 8:17 pmThis post made me laugh out loud and then I had to read it to my husband, who had been teasing me mercilessly about my sudden interest in coupons after watching the Extreme Couponing show … until he came with me to CVS on Monday and we too got paid to take things out of their store!
May 3rd, 2011 at 8:40 pmThat show made me so anxious! The hordes of food and such is the reason I don’t coupon - and probably why I won’t watch that show again either. I feel it is not too great a leap from hording cereal to becoming a star of hoarding buried alive.
May 3rd, 2011 at 9:50 pmLove it! I watched that show in awe…but I am not sure I have the energy to go from store to store or sort them all, I barely remeber my recycled bags each time!
May 3rd, 2011 at 10:28 pmI think I would coupon more if someone did the work for me! or I clip the coupons and someone do the shopping. I’m terrible about doing both ends of a task. Either I make the grocery list or shop, I hate doing both! So… go for it, saves you time!
I enjoy your blog. You say lot of things that I feel the same way about. I only have one child (not my choice) but would love 7 (is it 7?) kids of my own. What a great family you have! : )
May 3rd, 2011 at 10:57 pmLOL! I can just image the look on your kids’ faces when you showed them what you purchased with coupons!
That is such a crazy show and I agree, most coupons are for processed foods which we don’t eat.
May 4th, 2011 at 2:52 amditto for me I wonder what they are going to do with the 100’s of candy bars they buy and what do they spend on fruit milk eggs and meat
May 4th, 2011 at 6:56 amThat’s awesome! I never clip coupons either. Or use them. Because they seem like such a pain. And the diaper ones are always for the brand I can’t stand.
May 4th, 2011 at 7:14 amI find coupons a huge pain too - at least the food ones. Like you said, they’re usually for the highly processed, expensive stuff I don’t buy. And I frequently buy generics, which are usually still cheaper than the name brand even WITH a coupon.
May 4th, 2011 at 8:41 amOh Chris - I saw that show recently. If you think clipping a few coupons is a pain in the ass (which I agree with)you should watch the lady I saw, who shopped $650.+ worth of stuff, (four grocery carts) and couponed it down to $0.00 (yes zero) paid out. Then there was the bagging, loading it into the car, unloading it at home and putting it in the two car garage she had set up like a store with shelves around the perimiter. And of course you must FIFO the products you bought so all the old jars of sauce had to come off the shelf to load in the new 40 jars of sauce, etc.
Talk about a pain in the ass! Good for them I say! But not for me!
May 4th, 2011 at 8:42 amWow, if my kids would clip the coupons, I’m sure I would use a lot more of them!
May 4th, 2011 at 8:49 amI’ve started watching that show too. I don’t know why. I think it’s similar to driving past a car accident, you want to look. But I am like you in that most coupons I’ve seen are for HFCS laden, highly processed foods which is not what I purchase. In fact, several years ago, some neighbors really got into couponing. They went to some seminar for which they had to pay an admission and started scrounging coupons from wherever they could and keeping them organized in a binder which they took whenever they went to the store. Their response to my comment about coupons being for items I don’t purchase is that they donate whatever they don’t use. Which is a good thing, but hitting up numerous stores several times a week isn’t my idea of a good time. I don’t think my neighbors do it so much anymore, lost interest or something. But I do think some of the people on the extreme couponing show have some deeper issues than wanting to save money. Why buy and stockpile diapers when you don’t have a baby or wipe the grocery shelves clean of mustard when you already have 10 at home, all with expiration dates in the near future. I recall only 1 person on that show donating to charity.
May 4th, 2011 at 9:38 amI watched that for the first time last night - crazy! While the savings are huge, I was questioning why one would want 40 cases of pop and 16 boxes of Mentos? If a person is that focussed on saving money on groceries, why buy that crap even if it is a deal? However, some of the stuff was amazing! I never remember to use the coupons I do clip, so don’t see this in my future, especially here in Canada where the stores don’t offer the same “deals”, such as double coupon days, etc.
May 4th, 2011 at 11:09 amSome of those people spend 60 HOURS a week gathering coupons and planning and executing their shopping trips. Call me crazy, but I’d rather just get a job and pay for the groceries. Also, one couple spent 4 hours in the grocery store with a cart full of perishables. Eww. I already spend way too much time in the grocery store… I’d rather stab myself in the eye than spend 4 hours there on one trip.
On the other hand, way to go on the free deodorant, etc. I find it a challenge just to get my kids to USE it.
May 4th, 2011 at 11:17 amJust tell your kids that if you leave a tooth in a glass of Coke overnight, in the morning it will have disintegrated. When my kids ask for Coke I just say, “Tsss”
May 4th, 2011 at 1:41 pmAwesome.
I once used coupons to purchase (for $3.34) 9 boxes of pizza rolls for my hubby. Who is apparently 13 years old. Other than that, I’m with you on most of those coupons - utter crap food.
May 4th, 2011 at 2:16 pmYou got all those coupons from one newspaper? Man, our newspaper sucks. Oh well, I will stick with shopping the circular online and making my menu from that.
Psst…you can print coupons off of Target’s website & combine them w/manufacturer’s coupons.
May 4th, 2011 at 2:44 pmMy 14 year old daughter and hubby are also obsessed with Extreme Couponing! Daughter actually begged us to stay up late and watch with us one night (oddest request for television ever). Haven’t got any good deals yet, but I heard some areas of the country just don’t have good coupon deals like the ones on t.v. Will keep trying though. I think my daughter was hoping for large stock piles of junk food and soda too as we don’t eat those. Hubby was just thinking ahead to when we will be going through diapers.
May 5th, 2011 at 12:55 amCongrats on your couponing! I do it when I have the time but like you, most of the stuff is for processes foods that we don’t eat. But it’s nice to occasionally save $3 to keep my hair brown.
May 5th, 2011 at 6:42 amNow THAT’s couponing I can get behind!
May 5th, 2011 at 10:20 amMy kids also love that show! Dylie suggested that I “give up blogging and try couponing instead.” No thanks!
May 5th, 2011 at 1:14 pmI love that show! I decided I’m going to start couponing, it is just my husband and I. But hopefully it will save us enough money in the long run when I do get pregnant.
I think when you save that much money or would even get money back - such a rush. I’d have that rush any day before I jump out of a plane.
I think if your kids are all for saving you money - that is such a plus!
May 17th, 2011 at 7:29 am