Extreme Couponing… What are Your Thoughts?
As many of you have emailed, there is a new show airing tonight at 8pm EST on TLC called Extreme Couponing. The show profiles four coupon-obsessed savers (as TLC calls them) trying to get as much as they can for as little as they can. The show sounded pretty interesting, but as I started to read the description… well, I am not sure if interesting is the right word. Why you ask? Well, here goes…
*Important Note: The statements I make below are just my opinions. You do not have to agree with them and I have no problem with you sharing your points, even if they differ. I do, however, have a problem with disrespectful comments, inappropriate language and just being downright cruel. Those type of comments will be deleted. Thank you for your understanding.
So now my thoughts on this new show… I personally do not like how couponers are portrayed on the show. Now before I go on, I know they are portrayed like this for ratings… I get that. They want people’s jaws to drop and eyes to be wide open. But, it still stinks.
Meet the shoppers of TLC’s EXTREME COUPONING:
Nathan started clipping coupons four years ago when he and his wife took a closer look at their finances. Now, debt free with more than 10,000 items stockpiled in his garage, Nathan is preparing for the biggest haul of his life. On his latest visit to the supermarket, Nathan is leaving with over 2,000 items – his most massive checkout to date. With 1,100 boxes of cereal, 300 toothbrushes and 60 bottles of hand soap, Nathan is looking forward to topping himself and saving thousands of dollars in the process!
Retail value: $5,743.00 Nathan’s cost after utilizing his coupons: $241.00 – 95% savings!
Amanda is a full-time Storage Facility Manger in Cincinnati, OH who spends up to 70 hours a week researching in-store promotions, clipping coupons and surfing the internet for the latest and greatest deals. She already has a stockpile of products from previous couponing ventures worth up to $15,000. But this extreme saver is most proud of her collection of toilet paper – over 3,000 rolls – enough to last the average couple about 40 years! Now, with the help of her husband, Amanda is preparing for her largest checkout ever consisting of nine baskets of food, beauty and pet products including 218 boxes of pasta, 268 containers of noodles, 100 bottles of sport drink and 150 candy bars.
Retail value: $1,175.33. Amanda’s cost after utilizing her coupons: $51.67.
To me a great show on couponing would be a show that is teaching the average person how to coupon. A person that doesn’t have 70 hours a week to scour ads and clip coupons, a person that doesn’t have access to an entire garage to store all of their “goods”… and really, who needs that many “goods”?!
It’s called reality TV… but in my opinion, it’s definitely not realistic. As a coupon blogger, I hope Hip2Save motivates and inspires all of you. I try to make sure the videos I make ARE realistic and with that I mean, you will be able to go to the store and snatch up the same deals shown in the videos.
Again, I know this show is called Extreme Couponing, but I’m just not getting the point of the show and maybe that’s because I coupon in such a different way.
I don’t coupon so I have a receipt to frame… OK, so that may be a little bit of a fib. In the beginning, when I first started my couponing adventures back in 2007, I was very excited about the savings displayed on all my receipts and I did proudly show them to everyone I could… even people who didn’t want to see them! 😉 Yes, I was annoying like that. And I do think that’s normal, as I would assume most newbie couponers are very excited about their new-found talent! …But I quickly learned that couponing can become all too consuming. From clipping and organizing coupons to going through the weekly ads and then planning your trips… and on top of that, planning your days around when you need to go to the store. Too consuming!
I am still learning how to have balance in my life, but one thing I have learned along the way… well, it’s quite simple. When it comes to couponing, Nothing is a BIG deal!
Example: I let my high value $2/1 Pampers Wipes coupon expire and I would have been able to score FREE wipes at Walmart. Guess what? Not a BIG deal! Do you get what I’m saying? Start thinking like that and all the annoying stress you feel about rushing to the store so you don’t miss that oh so amazing deal will be gone!
I love my hubby. Random, right?! Well, not really because he is the one who taught me to really understand that most things are “Not a Big Deal”. And as you may know from reading my blog, I am a neurotic, high energy and very spastic woman… so for me to be able to step back and say, “It’s Not a Big Deal”… well, it’s HUGE and if I can do it, so can you!
Now I know I’ve kind of veered off from the topic at hand, but what I really wanted you to get out of my post is to not let couponing and deal hunting consume you. The same deals always come back over and over again.
Before I finish this post, I have a challenge for you – miss a deal this week and remember, it’s NOT a Big Deal! When you’re missing that deal, do whatever you like… take a bath, read a book, play with your kiddos, laugh, love, smile. Life is wonderful, so take full advantage of it! 🙂
Thanks for listening to me ramble.
I’m not so sure if I will watch it tonight. Mainly like others have stated, there is rarely any reality in reality shows, except maybe their names and we don’t really know that for sure. Plus I think it might actually discourage other from using coupons or worse make the cashiers even more hostile to us.
Colin, I know someone who spends so much time clipping coupons, she even gets her mom to go get the bargins for her. She has two kids but spends most of her time couponing. Not worth it to me. Besides that she has so much stuff in her pantry that alot of it expires before she can use it. What a waste. What is the point of saving money if you can’t use it before it expires. How about donating to a food pantry if you are so obsessed about couponing??? I love to save money and I love your website-very very helpful-but my family comes first. Thanks for all you do.
Well, I save about $10 a week from coupons, and I am happy with that. I miss deals all the time and yes I get a little upset but it’s no big deal.
I really wouldn’t worry too much about that show. TV shows always get crazy otherwise people don’t watch and they don’t get enough money from commercials. They are just trying to make a profit.
This will be interesting, now I have to watch. However, all of the stores that I shop at have a limit on the amount of coupons that can be used during your shopping trip. I think its great to see people save that much; but wouldn’t it would be even better to see them donate the surplus to the local food pantry? And how can you get that many coupons without buying them. I’ve seen websites that allow you to buy 50 or 100 coupons, but they charge quite a bit. So is it really worth it?
Nathan is donating a big majority of it! I think that part is great!
As far a coupon clipping sites, it’s cheaper than buying a paper. Plus if you buy 50 coupons for $.10 each, so $5 plus shipping equal about $6.50. If those 50 coupons save you $50 (or more!) at the store, then you are still saving $43.50. It’s that or save nothing by not using any coupons if you can’t buy multiple papers, don’t have a printer to print, or just don’t have the time to clip them all yourself.
That’s just my opinion. I’ll be watching tonight too!
yes. he donates a large amount esp when the tv crews are there. He has been on local tv a few times. But he does clear shelves and resells most at his garage sale.
That’s just ridiculous and not fair to other shoppers in the area and it’s those who clear shelves (especially on a consistent basis) that gives a bad name to couponers!
they make orders they generally dont clear shelves
I totally agree! I use mycouponhunter.com
She mails very quickly- I usually get them within 2 business days! She saves me a lot of time and still a lot of money… I rarely cut/sort anymore. If you buy a subscription, ALL orders ship free.
Jamie: I read the discription and they said they dumpster dive for coupons. So, I am guessing they find those newspaper recycling dumpsters and go in them to find sunday papers to take coupons from, instead of buying them.
I have one at my rite aid I drop off my newspapers too – but it never even crossed my mind to go into one and get the coupons. I hate clipping the 6 newspapers I get each sunday delivered – much less sorting through a hugh dumpster looking for the ones with the coupons in them. I have better things to do with my time then to be obsessed to the point of going that far, plus it is illigal.
The woman who went ‘dumpster diving’ is another coupon blogger and she has permission from the recycling center to go through their paper bins for inserts. Check out her post on it https://thekrazycouponlady.com/2010/12/29/tlc-extreme-couponingwould-you-ever-dumpster-dive-for-coupons/
I really like your honesty Colin…Thanks for sharing!! I do check your blog throughout the day and look forward to seeing what deals I can get. It’s saved me so much money!! I am discouraged when I miss out on a great deal but no need for an anxiety pill..lol. I had a few friends from Facebook tell me about this show coming on tonight and I should watch it since I like getting good deals … well … the way I look at it … if I am watching the show … that’s 1 hour less for me to organize my coupons!!! jk. ;0)
Thanks Again Colin!!!
I am so glad to hear the words “not a big deal”. That is what I always reminding myself nowaday. I used to feel bad if I miss a deal or let a high value coupon expire.
But looking back, I don’t even have time to enjoy the stuff I got from those great deals.
What is the point? Trying hard to get it and don’t have time to enjoy it.
My new year resolution is to grab only stuff I NEED and grab stuff I want only when it’s $0 or so.
Wow, it sounds like this new show is encouraging hoarding as well!! I don’t think I need enough of a stockpile to fill our garage lol!! I agree with you, sometimes you just have to let it go. Everything, including couponing, has to be done in moderation. Thanks for all your time helping us find the deals…you saved me some money on Christmas shopping, and we were able to donate some free/almost free items.
What I want to know is how did the store stock 1,100 boxes of cereal? This show seems a bit silly and doesn’t sound like it portrays the type of people that read this blog. Who has 70 hours a week to research deals? I have learned that it’s no big deal to miss a deal. Another one will come along.
I saw the preview on Good Morning America, and was a little taken back by their stock piling. I love to save money and use my coupons when I have time and the organization, thanks to your site that makes it possible for a working mom to do. I just don’t understand why someone would stock pile stuff like salad dressing because that stuff expires, then you are just wasting money. Unless you plan on donating to like a charity, which is what one of them did.
When I first started couponing, I was so excited about saving money that I didn’t want to miss a good deal, and rarely let a high value coupon expire and honestly I would say I was kind of obsessed with saving!. After a while I learned deals do repeat themselves and you win some and loose some…no big deal…life goes on.
When I was at WAGS today (using some of the coupons that expire 12/31…lol), my favorite clerk told me about this show. I’m gonna set the DVR, but based on what I’ve read….couponers being portrayed as “hoarders and freaks” seems really sad, since they are not showing the typical “real” life everyday savers.
I do not like this…and find “reality tv” disgusting. There is almost nothing realistic about most of the shows. TLC and Discovery both ask the people in their shows to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements. Meaning that they cannot tell all what goes on behind the scenes. They hire people to film scenes as they want them to be portrayed. Sometimes people have connections to the content, other times they are just hired to fill a role. If you have watched the new Gold Rush: Alaska show on Discovery/TLC it is the same thing. Mostly staged. Always pre-planned. Sometimes even scripted. I hope people can see through this because the premise of the show is greedy and disrespectful.
I have seen people with a room full of ohio state things, barbie dolls, or airplanes. I would much rather have a room of tp, as long as it did not get in the way or resemble clutter. i do work very hard to get things . People at work save me coupons, so if I give them free asprin, or hot sauce, and they are tickled. It is only trash to them. I was at meijer the other day, (super sat) they had quilted northern 6 double rolls for $2.19. I had several $1 off coupons. I gave a few to mom, bought 1 myself, because i already had about 60 rolls. You at least need to have enough to get you through til the next cycle of sales, usually about 6 weeks worth of any item you use. Any Who a young woman was in front of me was buying 1 of the tp’s so I gave her a coupon. this is no different than handing someone a dollar. she thanked me, then her litte girl asked” Mommy what is that” She replied “it is something to save us money” future Couponista in the making 🙂
Me too! “Like” button clicked.
lol, thanx 🙂
While the guy sells his stuff at a yard sale. He does donate some of it. When he does any tv things he usually does a huge donation. It is ok to make money re selling. .. but I really wish he would leave some on the shelves. He does order it but while he is ordering it the shelves are wiped clean. stores are not able to order enough. It wouldn’t be a problem if he would hit mulitple stores and pick up a few of the same items at each. He does have this huge of a stockpile he has posted pictures on a savings board that he does. He also tells how much he makes at his garage sale. Good for him for saving and making a bit of money reselling.. but BAD wipeing out the stores.. not fair to other shoppers.
As a couponer, I am of the belief that the less people who know how to do things, the better odds I get the 1 or 2 of whatever particular item I want. Plus, people get warped expectations from shows like these, and then because they don’t really know what they are doing, somehow botch it up, and create issues for those of us who do know what we are doing. The bottom line though, is that you either have the desire and patience to use coupons on a regular basis, or you don’t. I have no problem spending the time necessary, but my wife can have a coupon in her hand, at the register, and come home with said coupon in hand
By the way, I normally don’t watch TV. So dump question is what chanel is TLC? I have direct TV at home. I plan to watch it.
And oh yeh, I agree with Collin, I don’t like that they trying to reaveal coupon users as EXREME. I mean that is not a reality at all. I would never ever store thousand of cereal boxes.
Channel 280!
Thank you.
I agree with Collin that it would be fun for TLC to have a show that teaches people how to coupon “normally”, or just save a little money everyday. I would watch that.
luckily we have hip 2 save for that!
Sounds like a lot of hoarding is going on with this couponing show. What on earth do you need a 40 year supply of toilet paper for? Or a garage full of perishable items. They won’t last indefinitely and should be distributed to those who can use them. I’m all for stocking up toothpaste, deodorant and cereal but I use up the stash before doing it again. The deal will come again.
I think I’ll pass on watching this show, I saw a preview of it and it looked more like the hoarders show to me. I just hope that it won’t affect us using coupons at stores because I’ve already gotten the rude comment from customers that were in a hurry and that’s from me using a couple of coupons can you imagine what people will think after the show airs?
I wonder how many people will actually watch this a SECOND time. I think many will tune in to see what it’s about, but will be disgusted at the over the top purchases. I’m all for saving money, but are you saving money buying stuff you will never use? How much is enough?
I have a pretty easy going couponing attitude. If I can use one great, if not that’s ok. I don’t drive for 30 minutes to save a few bucks either. Every little bit helps, but my time is worth some money too!
I wonder how many needy people would benefit from a garage full of stock-piled food or 40 years worth of toilet paper?
It sounds like they have hoarding problems, and not just a desire to be frugal…
Couponing is addictive and there is a learning curve to find a balance. I learned that in the beginning when I was jumping in my car to drive 15 minutes to get just one great deal and save a dollar or two. And, doing it several times a day! I thought I had to do that to be successful like the other “real” couponers. I spent hours cutting out coupons and reading websites because, once again, I thought that was how I could call myself a “real” couponer. After a close call with insanity, I learned to be myself… to do this hobby within MY own limitations and expectations and to just chill out. HOW LIBERATING WAS THAT!!! Now I am really happy with what I accomplish and I let deals go every day. And, I am proud to call myself a genuine “real” couponer!!!
It sounds like they did the big huge trips just for the show, and now the producers are making it look like these people are crazy/hoarders. I know Joanie (of krazycouponlady.com) showed a video on her site showing the massive amount that went to the local food bank from that shop because she did it for the show, not for her own stockpile. I feel bad for the people on the show because I don’t think it shows who they really are, it’s dramatized to make people shocked and it makes them and all couponers look bad! Too bad they couldn’t use the show to help people save money!
They probably have hoarding tendencies. I watch Hoarders religiously, and most of those people collected stuff and then had something traumatic happen. Sounds like these people are only one death in the family away from being featured on A&E.
Maybe or maybe not? TV can really skew the facts, but if they’re using or donating all of the items in their stockpile then who are we to judge? Thing is, hoarders KEEP everything, and they have an emotional attachment to the things they keep. Hoarding is a real mental illness, I don’t think it’s fair to label people without knowing what they’re like off camera, or what drives them. I try not to put too much trust in what I see on TV, editing can go a long way to making things look a lot different than reality!
thanks for your “ramble” lol. i really like hearing that you dont let this website consume your life and you realize that fam always comes first. we So appreciate all of your hard work & im sure your family does too!
I think the show has to be extreme otherwise there would be no ratings and nobody would watch or care. You have to be sensational in tv in order to get advertisers and make $. Would anyone watch the news if they didn’t have breaking stories or storm-watch type news when we all know we have rain/snow duh?! Nobody would watch a show about Kate plus 2 would they lol. Nope, you have to be EXTREME to get attention. Just like Heidi did that ridiculous over the top plastic surgery. If she had just gotten a few nicks and tucks in secret she wouldn’t have propelled herself further in her celebrity.
Here’s my opinion about the extreme couponers. I hope they scan all of those coupons and don’t miss any HAHAHAHA!!!
I would hope they’re donating most of it. Who needs that much stuff? Ever? I would rather see the show feature REAL couponers. People, like most of us, who have jobs and kids and lives. I tell everyone about couponing and the money it saves me, but I ALWAYS tell them you don’t have to spend hours and hours doing this. I’ll admit I’m addicted to Hip2save and check it may times a day, but I have missed many deals and it’s true… it ISN’T a big deal. I tell my friends, students, family, that you can effectively coupon with as little as two hours a week.
And isn’t having that much toilet paper a fire hazard?
This is the first blog I ever started following. It stands above and beyond the others and remains my favorite. I love Collin’s approach to the “No Big Deal”. Yes, I miss some deals from time to time…Been out of the loop for about 4 days with strep. So, yes, win some and lose some – No big deal…there will be another opportunity.
If I am a hoarder because I have 2 or 3 packages of TP in my closet, fine. At least someone in my house will not be stuck in the bathroom waiting on someone to run to the store for more! 🙂 But, I feel bad for the family that is clipping those coupons because they can’t afford to exceed $25 or so for food this week, etc and someone who is just silly has snapped up the “deal” for the week just because they were greedy by taking everything that was on the shelf. I hope that makes sense. I know this show is supposed to show extreme behavior, but true reality of it is, there are people out there who will go to the extreme. Maybe not 1,000 boxes of cereal, but an excessive amount that leaves the shelf empty for someone who actually needs it.
Two or three packages is one things… 3000 rolls is another ballgame entirely.
I love what you said Collin and live by that very statement while couponing. The show really is showing hoarders and that is something different. I can see purchasing that much stuff in one trip to donate or even take care of an entire community, but to just let it sit in a garage is completly unnecessary. i love what you do on your site to help us find good deals, but I think hoarding food for one family is a bit much.
Yes, I believe in using coupons. It has saved my family tons of money and has helped us get over tough times. We are a young couple (only 23 and 24 years old). We do have a stockpile of things we eat on a daily basic. But nothing over extreme. I do find it pointless to have so much in your stockpile you may never use it before it expires. For my family, we go though and donate at least once a month, to help keep our stockpile from taking over us. I have never let it take over my life. I am a young newlywed wife who just enjoying finding the best deals but I can never get all the deals, what type of life could that be. I agree with Collin, miss a deal and spend time with family, or doing something else you enjoy. Your still gone to life, and the deals will only get better.
Dear Collin,
You are my hero. I admire you very much, not in a scary, stalker like way but in a way that I aspire to be more like you. You are practical, helpful, have a great sense of humor, generous and kind. You sound like a great mom and wife. Since I have found your blog by accident, it has helped me out tremendously in many aspects of my life. It makes me feel like I have a whole community out there to fall back on. It’s almost like a support group really.
Extreme Couponing sounds like a highly dramatized, scripted “reality” show that puts us “savers” in a bad light and I refuse to watch. However, I do and will continue to “tune into” your blog because I find it mostly useful, sometimes entertaining and always fun.
First of all they make so many things look bad for ratings. I am sure they didn’t show Joanie (Krazy Coupon Lady) donating many of her great deals. Why would they? That would them look sensible and kind.
They also fail to state that these extreme couponers are doing the extreme to show people what can be saved. I know another site where the blogger is shown going through the recycling paper bin for coupons and showed her paying something like $5.00 (don’t remember the exact pricing/savings) for a mega amount of groceries and they were all donated to a food bank or shelter. I think the show is going to miss the boat on what they can truly show about saving money—the ability of caregivers to stay home with their children, the way to survive in a tanking economy or life changes and the ability to give more to others have the need for basic things like food and toiletries.
I too used to get upset when I would miss deals…now still relatively new to the game, I realize there will always be another deal around the corner. And I am overwhelmed with all the coupons that are expiring on 12/31/10 and little time to go through them all. “C’est la vie” is the attitude I have to take. Move on and forward to all the deals of 2011!
Thanks for your view Collin. 🙂
Wow–I needed that. Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the thrill of the hunt and forget that it’s not a “Big Deal”. 🙂
I agree with you totally, Collin. Wow, its so good to hear you say “Its no big deal.” I too have felt spastic at times because I missed a deal or let a great coupon expire. I love your site and everythingyou have taught me about couponing. I appreciate everything:)
I think it is wrong to coupon and resell at a garage sale. Many times I am unable to get deals because numerous people in my town do this and wipe out all the products from the stores. I am sure they are not claiming this as income to the IRS even though it has become a career. I believe you shoud only get what you will use or donate and let others enjoy getting the deals too.
People worry that it will change the way stores and retailers handle coupons but the truth is I would buy store brand products, not name brand if they stopped allowing the “coupons deals”. Honestly If the name brand company make 10 cents off a a product I buy at least it’s better than me not buying it at all which is exactally what I would do! Even now if I cant get a coupon for something I never buy name brand, walmart brand has some great products that are a great deal if i cant get a coupon for a product I want.
I grew up in Northern Michigan, where it was a frequent thing to be snowed in almost 3 months out of the year. Stockpiling for yourself that way was a good way of saving $$, and eating to live. Now that I live with just my Hubby and daughter ( and one on the way) PLUS we live in the midwest. 🙂 I am having to come to terms with how differently I need to shop. I don’t think I could collect that much toilet paper or deodorant without feeling guilty that I had so much, and others had nothing. I would be giving most of it away. I really do not like that the one person who was mentioned who was “giving some to his church’s food bank” was only *one line*, while the rest of the show was about people who are really obsessed with things, and INSURING what they had. WOW. Why waste the $$ insuring all that….. if they were trying to save money?
i LOVE couponing!!! but I would also LOVE to know how they bought over five thousand $ worth of stuff for under three hundred. i would like to see that on a show. How to do that! Plus…… Donating to a food bank like that would get you a nice refund around tax time 🙂 Donations can be totaled up at full price. 🙂
At what point is it called be OCD w/ hoarding added on?!?! LOL!! I too was consumed with getting the deals every single time, but you know what?!?! Life tends to get in the way! LOL!!! I was aggravated at first, but then got over it.
If these “Extreme Couponers” are doing more than stock piling, like say donating I think that’s great. Seriously though who needs a garage full of all that stuff, because in the end it is just stuff & if a fire, flood, tornado, hurricane or some other act of God comes through that house all of it would be gone. No matter what way you look at the situation it would be wasted money too.
Also, what about the rest of us who are trying to shop for our families & can’t b/c these “E C’s” are coming through our store & cleaning off the shelves?!?! That irritates me to no end! Which is why I go to my local Publix after taking my oldest son to school on Thursday’s (which is the first day of the new weeks deals;o). I’m usually there by 7:45 & done by 8:30 which is kinda nice. ;o)
I think a good show would be to SHOW the average American how to fit it into their everyday life. How not to get obsessed with any side of it & how you can do good for those around you that are less fortunate. I think you (Collin) and other coupon bloggers with the same vision as you would make great t.v.! I’m just sayin…. ;o)
Keep up the good work Collin!! Live, Love, Laugh!!
I have to admit the show has piqued my interest in the way that any well-marketed reality show does. =) While I am curious to see the big savings, I totally agree with Collin that the hoarding aspect is ridiculous. I stockpile and for my famiy of 2 adults and a toddler, I have to really keep an eye on things like cereal to make sure I rotate things out and they do not go bad ( not just past the shelf date). I love making dishes to take to family gatherings,hosting parties, etc. using things from my stockpile that I have paid pennies for. I also love the feeling of never running out of personal care products and, yes, toilet paper, but I would say a large amount for me would be a whopping 75 rolls, not 3,000. LOL From what I saw on ET the other night, the show is DEFINITELY scripted. I could just imagine if I tried to buy that many travel sized items that were free after coupons.
Anyway, tuning in to check it out, but thanks so much for the words of wisdom. I have to admit, I am pretty spastic at times and hate it when something keeps me from getting a great deal that I want. But I have learned that if something doesn’t work out or a coupon expires, to just chill out!!! I do not let my “cash back” expire unless it is unavoidable, but similar deals will come around again.
I do think it makes couponers look “bad” in a way – yes it is extreme but still, you know how people are in general…..they tend to generalize extreme things, whether they are acts or views, onto a group of people.
It’s great that Nathan would donate all those items, but what I don’t understand is how they can walk out of a store with 1000 boxes of cereal. Where I live, I cannot imagine any Target, Walmart, King Soopers, Safeway, Walgreens stores that would allow me to use that many coupons at once. No way. In fact, they all have limitations to some degree. So I will be very curious to see how these extreme couponers are doing it, and at what stores.
Other than that, as far as I’m concerned, they can buy 5000 boxes of cereal or whatever if they want with coupons. It is still a free country, and as long as the products are legal and you have the money to purchase them (before or after coupons), then that is your right. Period.
There is no moral component to it in my view, because if you set limits, then you must decide how much of any product is deemed ‘acceptable” to buy. And that is not the way of a free market or country, in times without rationing.
I have to admit some desire to watch this…with the same morbid fascination I watch ‘Hoarders’ and ‘Animal Hoarders’ from time to time.
I love the thrill of getting free (or almost free) things fo my family with some extra to donate. Shelters are always in need of shampoo, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes; animal shelters need food and litter. If I can snag extra for next to nothing, I will. But 3000 rolls of TP is a bit extreme.
I think I’ll DVR it just for the sheer curiosity of it.
I am fairly new to all this coupon clipping. It came about when my husband lost his job earlier this year and with my niece’s encouragement, I finally made time to do this. After several months I still find it overwhelming at times and I have yet to complete a “perfect” purchase at CVS without having a store manager come over to credit me because I didn’t hand over my coupons/care bucks in the right order. But it was a thrill when I was able to fill my four kids stockings with hundreds of dollars of products that I got for FREE. Not to mention all the presents I purchased after seeing them advertised on Hip2save. It was due to being a part of this group that allowed my family to enjoy what should have been a very lean Christmas. I do personally know obsessive couponers and although I like freebies as much as the next person, I do not let it run my life… To you It’s “not a big deal”… to me it’s “So what”!!!! Thanks for all the hard work you and the other readers put into this website. It has been a GREAT source for me!! Have a Happy New Year!!!
As a nursing student I am one of those people who do not have a lot of time. I normally will get on this website maybe once a day or every other day. I do not buy much when it comes to the online deals. I let a deal I really wanted to go buy this week, but it was more important to spend time with my family while I am on christmas break.
With that kind of stockpile, they should be on one of the hoarder tv shows. Love your site Colin and appreciated all the info you provide.
I have seen Nathan on some Dateline-type show before. I was concerned by the amount of items he had stockpiled, thinking no family could ever consume so much. I HATE the thought of food spoiling. Shortly after, I read an article on WUC he wrote urging people to donate items. He and his wife give away product valued EQUAL TO THEIR ANNUAL SALARIES.
Thank you for your post. I am curious so will tape the show to check it out, but it is such a nice reminder to let it go if you can’t get all the deals. I am about to add a 3rd child to our family of 4 and it is awesome to have discovered couponing about 1 1/2 years ago! Your blog is my new fave! Keep it up! Even though I am no longer “new” at couponing, I still get WAY excited and love sharing my deals with my DH and MIL.
I am a single mother of two and I make less than 40,000 and live in NYC, where rent is extremely high. I started couponing about one year ago and it has taught me and afforded my girls many things that we would normally not be able to. In my opinion COUPONERS ROCK! I do strongly feel that when we can we should donate.
I totally agree with you and it looks like by the number of comments so do many of your readers. I think this show is about people who are obsessive and not about couponing at all. Couponing just happens to be their fix. I see couponing as a way to save money and almost as a gift ro me by the manufacturers. It is not a right or an entitlement. I’m afraid a program like this will ruin couponing for the rest of us because manufacturers will provide less and less if they are misused. To buy in large quanities like this is misuse big time. Plus it is rude to other shoppers who would like to buy only one or two of the products and have to go home with nothing. They have not only wasted their time but their gas too. Yes, they may be able to get a raincheck but that means another trip to the store. I don’t know about you but my time is valuable to me and I don’t want to have to keep going back to a store for sale items.
Nicely said. I agree. I love using coupons and getting that deal, but if you miss a deal you know it will come back again. My greatest satisfaction is being able to feed my family but also bless other’s with my stockpile and teach other’s on how to use coupons to get those great deals.
I found out real quick how addicting couponing is. I love saving money and getting the great deals, but when my pantry filled up and time with the kids started to suffer, I knew it was time to slow down. I now limit my time (just like I did my money) that I allow myself to spend each week on couponing. As for the hoarding portrayed in the show…I think we all need to be real about the amount we buy. How frustrating it is to get to the store the day the sale begins and find they are sold out because the first couple of people grabbed everything they had. I even had a woman tell me she ordered 30 coupons for one product because it was on sale! For real? I have been able to save so much money and had cash for Christmas this year, without having to buy 30 of anything in one transaction.
Collin that is so great that you mentioned about “it’s not a big deal” My husband keeps me on track that same way. We have a lot stocked up already and don’t need to get every deal every time. It’s hard to see a coupon expire, especially a high value but they always come around again. This week it’s especially important for me to remember to just “let it go” this week. I am about 8 days from the due date of my third child and don’t plan on getting out again until I am heading to the hospital…hopefully this weekend! 🙂
As far as the coupon show I will be watching, I am a little conflicted about the extreme part of it but we’ll see. There is actually a man in my area that consistantly clears shelves all around town and sells what he “buys” at a year round garage sale. I have been to his sale and it’s outrageous what he sells things for and most of the things in his perishable section are expired. It’s a little frustrating to see this type of couponing..