Couponsss!!

OMG! I saw the same show. I want to know the website too. They flashed it so quickly I couldn't remember it. Look if I can save $30 a week I am fine with that. Some of these people donate some of the food. True lots of junk I wouldn't buy, however this is what they shop for. I would shop more of the foods we eat. I just want to know how I can get coupons for items we use.

Lee, I was thinking the same thing. It almost seems like hoarding.

The few times I've watched the show it's always stressed that these women are intimately familiar with the store's coupon policy. IMHO, I think you're better off shopping sales and using coupons as much as you can without making it your life's work. With the ages of my kids, I'm happy I can make it through the store without a major meltdown let alone 5 shopping carts of stuff I don't really need or have the room for.

Has anyone else noticed that a lot of these people have special rooms and custom shelving to store all this stuff? Once you factor that in, is it really worth it?

You need to be organized.
You need to shop the sales.
You need to really know your prices and you need to find the stores that double the coupons. Our local store will not double, so for me, that means a 40 mile round trip to the stores that do. It has to be worth my time and gas...
When you make your shopping list, stick to the list. If you go off the list, you end up with extras you really didn't want or need.

I was impressed by the couple who gave their excess stuff to the shelters and food banks. That really made an impression with me. I really liked that a lot! Everyone wins. :-)

I use coupons but not to the extreme that some of those people do. I only purchase what I need or what I use.

There are coupons for everything -- you just have to save them, watch for the sales, and stick to your list.
LBC

Couponing the way they do it, called Extreme Couponing, is every bit of a full time job. You have to be compulsively organized, not to mention, having the room to stockpile an insane amount of stuff. I have only seen these shows once or twice, but I can't help but wonder, and I haven't heard anyone address what they do with all the stuff that would expire long before you could ever use it. One I saw recently said she had enough cake mixes to make her 3 kids birthday cakes for the next 15 years. That's at least 45 cake mixes. Could you possibly use them before they go bad? And there are lots of other examples like this.

I imagine you are looking to do some great coupon shopping, and use some of the techniques these ladies use, without the ridiculous over-abundance of stuff... for that, you need to diligently watch sales at all your local stores, and stockpile as many coupons as you can get your hands on (and that means soliciting them from family, friends, neighbors, online, etc.) and diligently planning your shopping around the stuff that's on sale that can be coupled with a coupon.

That's about all I can figure...

That show is STAGED! Please read this link: http://www.southernsavers.com/2011/09/tlc-extreme-couponi...

I coupon, and this show makes all of us look like crazy hoarders. I never clear shelves, never buy 50 of one item, and I have never paid that little for that much. The show's producers clearly "cheat" the system. Why on earth would you need 50 bottles of laundry detergent? There will be a show out eventually on couponers who have turned hoarders. It's ridiculous.

First if you're going to do it right and ethically, you need a class or tutorials to get started. Go to that link and there are video tutorials to help you get started. Second, most important thing in my opinion, is to only shop for things that are on sale. Pair the sale with coupons. Never pay full price for anything. The only thing that never goes on sale in my area is milk.

Stores are changing their coupon policies and limiting what they accept because of this stupid show and how it affects their business. Too many people are cheating the system and the stores are sick of it because they lose money when people use fake coupons.

Good luck!

I am so addicted to that show! You need to check your store's coupon policy because a lot of those "freebies" are because the store will double the coupon up to the price of the item. Say you have a 55 cent coupon, they'll double it to $1.10. If the item is a $1.10 or under, you get the item for free. Some stores will credit you the extra pennies, but most do not. But, you'd still get the item for free.

These moms/dads can spend up to 30+ hours a week researching deals and clipping coupons. A lot of these people dumpster dive to get coupon inserts. Some subscribe to clipping services that send them coupons. Most print coupons off the internet (CouponMom.com, etc) and write individual companies for coupons.

Hope that helps!

They also pay for coupons from a clipping service don't know how much they are if it is even worth doing but you set the amount of coupon books you want they senf them to you.
Their stock piles on items that expire how will they go through all of those condiments,toothpaste,& things that have a shelf life before it gets funky old.I do coupons I have good/bad days, most stores double the coupon but they also have a higher price than the other store that doesn't.I know Target will accept 1 Target coupon plus 1 manufracter coupon for the same like item,if you have a Super Target that sells groceries the better off you'll be using them search their site for www.target.com/coupons they have many health & beauty,yougurt coupons plus the sunday paper always has Yoplait coupons

I dont believe the show I save coupons but alot of stores in ny dont take online coupons and who wants to stock pile all that stuff anyway

i need to know this too! I'm commenting J. so I can track it=)

I watched the show once and then never again. Oh yes, the woman saved a ton of $ but she bought 5 cases of soda, 75 candy bars, 12 bags of chips, etc. By the time she was done she'd saved lots of money but everything she bought was junk! Not one vegetable! Not even canned! Yes, she saved a little on chicken and some shredded cheese, but you honestly couldn't make a meal out of all the stuff she bought. You should try and find recipes where you can use the leftovers to make another meal.

I started in June after getting hooked on the show and since June I have been able to save $572.50. I can't do it the way they do it I have a demanding career and two small children but I can tell you that you can really make out with good deals. An example of this is that this week superpretzel is on sale at stop and shop for 99 cents there was a coupon in the Sunday paper for 50 cents off of one box. Stop and shop doubles coupons to I got it for free. I had four copies of the same coupon and so I got four boxes for free. You may not be able to get 1100 dollars for $23.00 but shaving off $5-$10 dollars off my bill or getting more for my money is what I have been able to do. My last score was last week at pathmark my bill rang up $96.34 with my coupons and the store sales that I get for using the store rewards card I ended up paying $41.15. Watch the coupons keep them in a coupon holder so they are handy. Scan the papers for the sales and match your coupons to the sales. It takes alot of coordination and sometimes trips to three different stores but worth it, if your saving $50-$60 bucks.

What you should do is follow one of those bloggers out there that do alot of the work for you. I like www.iamthatlady.com and www.mycnymommy.com. The iamthatlady.com one has a little video series on how to get started and organized. Then they both do matchups for a lot of stores with what coupons are out there so you know where the deals are. Getting started can be a bit overwhelming but take baby steps and you'll start saving money. I'm certainly not an extreme couponer but I do like to get a deal. I have five kids and a very hectic life so these bloggers have been a great help. They are more down to earth than the people on that show. Good luck!

I have done some of this extreme couponing. My best deal was when I got about $350 (I don't remember the exact amount any more) worth of groceries for about $25. That was almost 20 years ago.

I don't do it any more because if you count your time, it isn't worth it. You could actually save more on groceries if you would work a part time job and use the money to get what you want on sale.

One of the people on the show last year was a bachelor living alone. One of the things the cameras showed was the closet full of maxi-pads he had.

Unless the stores in your area double or triple coupons, forget the extreme couponing. Just shop the sales and you'll be better off.

Good luck to you and yours.

My sister and I think it must depend on where you live or it's staged like another poster said. I do like the idea of putting the coupons in those baseball card sleeves. You can get the card sleeve sheets at your local dollar store. That works out great for me; eventhough, I'm not an extreme couponer. I put the store coupons in the front. Sometimes I can get stuff for free and sometimes not. None of our store will give you change for any coupons or store bucks. I can save $10 - $20 off my bill, but not more than that. My hubby's better at couponing than me, but winds up spending way more money than me just to use the coupons since a lot of the coupons now require you to buy more than one of certain items. (Not good if your family is small and the item is perishable.) When hubby makes the list, the bill averages $100/wk. When I make the list, I average $50/wk. One of our grocery stores will not take an online coupon unless you have the URL printed out with it, so you need the whole 8.5X11 sheet of paper. Another has a list of online coupons that they will accept, so you have to hope yours is on the list. Why? Because some people actually change the monetary value of the coupon or creat their own counterfeit coupons! I hate theives.They ruin it for everyone. Our stores will only double coupons up to $1. Occationally one store will triple the coupons, but still only up to $1. Add to that we live in a tourist area, so everything is more expensive and higher than the local income. We would never see Super Pretzels for .99 like another post said. Our Super Pretzels on sale is $1.29. Another problem I have is that my family is ALL fussy eaters, including the dog.!! This means that there are a lot of coupons we don't use. Everything has to be fresh so no canned fruit or canned vegies, only certain bags of certain frozen vegies that do not have any sauce on them, only a certain brand of frozen pizza, almost no candy, only a certain brand of cat food, only certain brands of dog food, no frozen sausage, no frozen hamburgers, no ground meat, (I have to grind it up fresh.) only certain snack that happen to be the ones that you never see a coupon for, no cake mixes, no frozen dinners, no hot or lean pockets, no hot dogs, no whole wheat products, no multi-grain products, etc. Yes, you've guessed it...They are "skinny as a rail."