I've seen commercials for the show, where a woman and her kids are going door to door collecting coupons, and also (I think) where they are pulling them out of trash cans.

Some people just steal them (I've seen lots of reports of this recently). Coupons can be purchased on ebay or other sites (well you can't sell coupons but you can charge a 'clipping fee'). Some extreme couponers do claim to buy many copies of the paper. I guess if they use a couple of coupons from each paper, they make their money back.

Recycling bins on garbage day? Many of them are printed off the internet. Friends and relatives save all their flyers for them and some have charities or organizations that will save flyers for them in hopes of a charitable donation.

I've never seen the show, but have seen a preview and read your reports on it.

Whatever happened to the stores limiting purchases to reasonable quantities? How do they get to buy 15 of the same item or whatever? I would be so ticked if they were in my line-up buying all those items and then scanning dozens of coupons to boot.

We get the odd person on Freecycle asking members to save them the insert from the paper. I seldom use coupons.....they are always for expensive items; convenience foods.....items we don't use. I'll buy store or generic brands which are often cheaper than name-brand even with a coupon. Canada doesn't do double coupon days.

I watched it once and the lady picked leftover coupon inserts up at the newspaper delivery place. She got a big stack of them weekly.

What everyone else said. I used to buy more than one Sunday paper if I found good coupons. I also used to have my fil save his coupons for me since he didn't use them. If you sign up with manufacturers online and join various web groups, you can sometimes get some really good ones. I've also seen people steal them. I remember buying a paper from a machine about 20 years ago and while I had the machine open, a man just came up and grabbed one out of the stock. I was absolutely shocked at how rude he was.

My daughter recently started couponing. She has a subscription to the newspaper, but also buys a couple extra Sunday papers from a machine each week. There are also weekly batches of coupons that come in the mail (in our house we call that junk mail, LOL), which she asks her friends to save for her. She swaps coupons with friends. She says it is a lot of work, but being a single parent of two beautiful children, she must find ways to save money all the time. I recently accompanied her on a shopping trip and she picked up 3 bottles of shampoo, 2 huge bottles of SoftSoap, 2 packs of gum, 2 tubes of Crest toothpaste, and 2 boxes of crackers and after her coupons and store "bucks", she paid 86 cents.

To answer another poster's question, each coupon does say how many of each item may be purchased with that coupon, and some stores limit the number of coupons that may be used in any one visit to the store.

Anyone who is willing to go to the trouble should reap the reward of couponing, IMO. How could I be angry at someone for trying to save money?

Donna what your daughter is doing is completely normal.
I'm talking about when people buy tens of each item.

I saw the one preview and she had so much stuff stored under the bed, closets were overflowing etc. This was hoarding.

When I buy coffee for instance, I'll buy 2 or 3 if the price is right (the large Maxwell House).
Cat food is on sale 3 for $1.29 and I'll buy a bunch. That's normal.

Stores often limit items 4 or 6 per family or person, just so other shoppers have a chance to buy the item.

I haven't seen the show, but I've seen the adverts.

What I don't understand is how much money people spend to save a few bucks. I used to do a lot of couponing until it suddenly hit me how much I was buying, especially things I wouldn't normally use. There's a real psychological underpinning to couponing, at least for me.

I found I have to really control myself and use coupons for things I actually use everyday. Otherwise its - look ma! I saved $20 and spent $100! :(

At my local post office we have a large recycle bin where P.O. box holders can discard their adds and such. There is a gal who comes by several times a day and goes through the bin taking out the coupon inserts. She also goes door to door on Sunday's asking for coupons from Sunday's paper.

I've watched the show a few times and do applaud the folks who donate some of their stash to local food banks and also our troops.

I live in a really small town...two grocery stores. There is no way that I could do extreme couponing. But I wish I could on a much smaller scale than they do. I use coupons but I do not save THAT much like they do. Wish I could save more. Our stores limit coupons.

I have watched the show, but only once to see what it was all about.

I use coupons for anything that I use regularly, and I have used a coupon once in a while to try a new product. I don't find as many coupons in the newspaper as I used to.

I do think stores should limit the number of coupons used.

Actually, I have never seen one of those Extreme couponers in any of the stores where I shop.

Sue

I don't think I want to watch that show after seeing a
preview where a woman who apparently cleans out the
shelf so there's nothing left for anyone else said basically
tough luck, you should have gotten here before me..

Was reading recently where a man was vexed because he couldn't buy one tin of tomatoes because couponers had taken almost a whole pallet. Surprisingly he didn't get much sympathy from the feedback left.

I saw the show when I was in Canada and also wondered where they got the coupons and why the store didn't limit them. Half the stuff they bought I wouldn't buy on any given day but I think those products reduced the final amount so that they did not pay a lot for those worthwhile items (if what I said makes any sense, lol).

But I wonder if they get the high like gamblers when they are at the checkout stand and wait anxiously to see if their balance is low or if the coupons were not accepted. This, after the cashier has rung up enough items to have a ticker tape parade.

Personally I couldn't do it because I don't have the patience and I tend not to read the fine print. They'd have to return the majority of my shopping carts because I brought the wrong coupons.

you can get them from a clipping service -

On one episode of EC, the woman had something like 4 fridges and 3 freezers to hold everything she couponed for; the extra cost of appliances should be factored in. I noticed that a few of the EC seemed to be in love with their stash of goods, the house is overtaken by their "stuff", it's everywhere,

I really think the stores should put a limit on the items, instead of letting them clean out the shelves.

I'd like to be able to do moderate couponing on the things I use most often but if I want a certain item , I don't want 49 of them, I'd buy 2 at the most.

Many stores are now imposing limits I have never seen before, and I think it directly relates to this show.
One store I go to that doubles coupons will now only double one of any like coupon.
Stores like CVS and Walmart have limited how many like coupons you can use in one transaction. Even Proctor and Gamble now states right on the coupon "limit 1 coupon per purchase of products and quantities stated. Limit of 4 like coupon per shopping trip"
These rules are fine with me...I never wanted to have a "stockpile".
Like always, the rules were not made for the the ones who follow them...

Pekemom - that commercial irks me every time I see it. I just want to slap that stupid grin off of her face. Watched the show once, because DIL wanted to start couponing. Most of those people should be on Hoarders!

Every time i see their stashes i think to myself"hope they don't have a flood or earthquake".Also who needs 75 jars of mustard or ketchup.A lot of what they buy i consider junk shopping,candy,sodas,chips.

The only things i would stockpile if i had good coupons would be toilet paper,paper towels,laundry detergent etc.
Kathi

That show and those people make me want to barf. I watched it once and wanted to go out and burn all the neighbors newspapers at sunrise.

Right with ya kathi, who needs 75 bottles of mustard in their whole life? Who has storage for that much crap? Who needs 120 tubes of toothpaste?

It irrates me so much that the single Mom in front of me at the check out with 3 coupons and 4 kids makes me want to slap her kids. Yes, that bad. I stay calm and remember those days.

Ask me how I really feel about extreme couponing. Even if they got a real job, say $10.00 an hour, they'd have more money to spend on real food to eat for the week than buying coupon food. One mustard jar a month, maybe for two months? On the high end, that's 6 jars of mustard a year.

Only greed and stupidity makes people stash 75 jars of mustard.....or toothpaste or whatEVER. Even if we have "the end of the world", how much mustard can you go through or how often can you brush your teeth? "Hey, Babe. The world is ending and we got a dozen eggs left." "Scramble 'em and put mustard on 'em. Brush your teeth first....and after. Hell, brush your teeth while you're eating the mustard eggs."

Roco,I take it you don't like mustard? Lol, It is on my shopping list every week, my husband goes through it quickly. I just can't stand all of the junk food these people buy, and the cereal, doesn't it go stale?

The television show is designed to draw viewers and create drama.
I coupon, but I hate this show because it is not really how most live. It makes it harder for all of us honest shoppers.
I save a lot of money.
I don't stockpile huge amounts...no hoarding!
I am not overly brand loyal. (Crest or Colgate...doesn't matter)
I don't buy a lot of junk food.
I do buy lots of fresh food with coupons. You have to be diligent about getting those... And buy when you see them.
Saturday at Walmart I bought cheese, lunch meat, eggs, salad, guacamole, 2 eye drops and 2 first-aid kits - I had a coupon for each item and saved $15. Not anywhere near 90% savings you see on TV, but close to 65%...it adds up. I froze the lunchmeat, cheese and guac. I will give away the kits.

One huge benefit most peopel don't consider: When I get a paycheck, it is reduced by local, state and federal taxes, as well as social security.
When I get a coupon it is (essentially) free. I get the whole amount off of an item with no govenment deductions.
I also do not have to claim the coupon as earned income.
I figure so far this year I am closing in on $2,000 in savings. That's a big deal to me...
I use or give away everything I buy...I do have a single pantry, an upright freezer and a closet for toiletries, cleaning supplies and paper goods.

My young adult nieces and nephews love when I give them stuff.

alot more people are giving away coupon packs because of the economy,my daughter brings me a bunch then I pass them around,I have a file I have them itemized,I go through it once a week,you just keep adding to it,I once belonged to coupon club it was fun [people bring ones they dont want we all go thru them pack by pack I would save 40 dollars a week,alot of free stuff,the ones I dont like today you have to buy 3-4-5 of each ,nope not doing it.

I use coupons for things I will actually use or for new products I want to try. I am not a hoarder and consider a stockpile to be 6 or more of things I use outside of cooking (laundry detergent, toothpaste etc). I buy multiples of food but only if I have to travel 2 hours to get it (no coupons though). If I have to travel, I will clean out the shelf but it's not because I have coupons!!!

I watched the show once and saw two types of people. One was a man (single, no girlfriend) who was a couponer. His "storage room" consisted of metal shelving with products neatly organized. Problem with that is he had enough feminine hygene products to last a lifetime! No woman in the house!!! His stockpile was a bunch of stuff he'd never use.

The second person was a woman who used coupons and assembled care packages to send to deployed troops. She was able to contribute her time and a little bit of cash to assist others. Her stockpile was neatly organized and she made boxes for each individual and they all had the same contents. All usable products and some snacks.

I laugh at those who think they are saving a ton of money by couponing. What does your time cost (organizing, clipping, re-stocking, keeping inventory)? How many papers do you need to purchase? What additional storage costs are involved (freezer, fridge, room dedicated to stockpile)? I don't think it's all *that*.

Off my soap box now.....

noticed today on the coupons i used, you're only allowed 1 per item, sot they're catching on....

I think most coupons are one per item, unless it says differently. At our grocery you can use as many coupons as you want, but one per item, just won't be doubling more than a couple of them I think if the coupons are alike.

Sue