Extreme Couponing Affecting the Un-Extreme?
So, I received the following email from reader, Rashelle. She is feeling very discouraged about using coupons and even dreads going to the store. Here’s what she had to say:
Hi Collin, I know this may seem odd but I was wondering if you have heard from any readers that they have been feeling down about using coupons lately because I have. Ever since the “Extreme Couponing” show has been airing I feel myself getting looks from other customers. For example, I was at Toys ‘R’ Us the other day with my son and a lady in front of me had items that I had a store coupon for which I wasn’t going to use and I asked if she wanted it, she was very thankful and asked if I was sure I didn’t need it and my son said, don’t worry she has a whole binder of them at home, and her tone changed drastically as she said “Oh, you’re one of Those.”
I was in Publix last night doing my weekly coupon shopping and was flipping thru my binder when a couple of women walked past me, looked me up and down and then one said to the other “she’s loco” (crazy in Spanish) and at checkout a husband and wife came into line behind me at the end of my transaction while my coupons were being scanned and started talking very loudly about how the people on “that show” take advantage of shopping (and I didn’t even have a cart full of stuff).
There have been so many times lately when I feel glaring eyes upon me and I feel I need to justify myself to these people and say I am not a hoarder, I don’t have a small grocery store in my house, I am not clearing shelves, and so on, but of course I just smile and keep my mouth shut. I hate this feeling of being embarrassed and ashamed of my coupons because I use to be so proud and happy of all of my great savings and I don’t want this to ruin couponing for me, but it has left me very discouraged, and instead of being excited to do my weekly trip, I almost dread it. I was just wondering if I am the only one experiencing this behavior. Thanks for your time and for everything you do!
Since I cannot give you a hug (I so love hugs!) or tackle the stores with you, I am hoping that all of you readers can make Rashelle feel inspired to continue being proud to use her coupons! What ways have you motivated yourself in times of discouragement? How have you made your couponing adventures positive and fun?
I have gotten to the point where I am now so irritated with how I am treated by the cashier at Walgreens that it isn’t worth the bother of going. The worst part is I do only 1 small transaction in a trip and ALWAYS make sure I’m organized. The cashier has absolutely no clue how to ring up a coupon correctly or even read the register tape. The other day my sunscreen didn’t ring up b1g1 free and she said ” yes it did! Right here!” Pointing at the obviously marked free Got2B hairspray. Seriously, what a joke. She was angry and called the manager over who kindly fixed it with no problems. I am sooo close to calling and complaining. Sounds like many of us are feeling so down about using our coupons. It’s not right!!!
I am not sure how much my comment will help, but this is what I have to say regarding the issue: It’s really not worth the extra stress when we pay any attention to what other people think about us. Chances are, these people are ignorant and uneducated and if we take time out of our day to pay attention to their comments, it is a waste of time. If using coupons makes YOU happy and you are able to save yourself money along the way, then stand at that register with pride and let the ignorant comments roll off your back!
Huge coupon binders give the notion of extreme. Yes, I have one and I feel it is necessary but for the average person who redeems a couple coupons and does not strategize the shopping trip there is no difference between the “clear the shelves” person and all of us with a binder. I have only been couponing for a couple of months but have found that it you want the pleasure of a good deal there will be a certain amount of pain involved (glares, stares, censure, and out of stock items). Cashiers and other customers can give you grief but in the end it is up to you to either absorb the grief or let it go. I figure that I get enough out of it to make it worth it. After all, someone is always going to be judging you in one form or another and at the end of the day if you follow the statement of “to thy self be true”, you can’t go wrong. If you find nothing wrong with your behavior does it really matter what others think? You are helping your family and friends and contributing to your household in a very tangible way so keep your eye on the finish line and your head up!
I often try to think of couponing this way: “I work so very hard for every dime I earn; therefore, I owe it not only to my family, but to the Lord who has given me stewardship over his blessings (via money) to use money wisely, with purpose and thought.” I believe couponing is a method to be a good steward, not a method of “stealing” or even “damaging a store’s profits, because couponing is neither of those, regardess of what others may believe in their ignorance. Perhaps holding your head high, knowing that your family will benefit from your hard work and diligence to use couponing, will help you move past your recent bad experiences. I agree with the others who also suggested explaining why you coupon and how it really works so that those who show anger, etc. will no longer be ignorant of the process. You may even “convert” a non-couponer to a full-fledged couponer. I am truly sorry you’ve come across those who try to discourage you. For each one of those folks, remember there are hundreds of us out here who understand and support your coupon use.
I totally agree with you. Without my couponing I would not be able to donate half as much as I do to my church and local school outreaches. And that’s just in tangible goods. I am also able to contribute more money when monetary donations are needed because of my couponing.
I know you’re doing good by “donating” but I think the point is that people like us who need to feed our families and need medicines and shampoo, etc, are just a lot tired of the deals being gone by the time we get there. This is so wrong of so many people taking more than they need and people like me will not ask the Church or Food Pantry for help. It is not that I am proud, it is that I can afford to buy the things my family needs, coupons help some, but I don’t use many coupons. It just isn’t fair right now the outrageous way people are hoarding or stockpiling or donating just because they can get to the store before the rest of us. I budget everything and there is no room in my budget for extra gasoline to go to the store more than once every two weeks on “shopping day”. My husband works a strange schedule and we only have one car. (We donated our second one to a person who didn’t have one.)
I’m all for giving, but with the economy the way it is, it just seems ridiculous that people can’t see past their own selfishness and selfish reasons to leave something on the shelves for the rest of us.
I think we should all continue to use our coupons, but we should use our manners, too.
I will admit, I have been the person in line behind someone with a handful of coupons who thinks that it’s all just a waste of time. I hope I’ve never said anything or done anything to show my ignorance. I am new to the coupon world, feeling very overwhelmed with the information. Now that I see just how smart couponing is, I hope, maybe when I get going, I’ll be able to be patient with those who are impatient and share my new knowledge with those who are ignorant of the value. Keep teaching people like me by setting a great example!
Rachelle, I’m not a coupon lady, the only coupon website I check is this one and I’ve taken advantage of a few offers when I found them. What I want to say is that you should go on with what you are doing and hold your chin up. You have NO reason to be imbarassed or ashamed: you are not steeling or cheating; you are simply taking advantage of offers that stores and manufacturer put out there. I want to see how many of those that judge you will buy an item that is on sale or clearence and go to the cashier begging to pay full price for it!
That’s ridiculous! As I said I rarely use coupon and the only reason I don’t do it is beacuse I’m too lazy to take the time to check and clip. My opinion of those like you that are so organized and so financially savvy to own binders of coupons is “you go girl!!!” and to those who want to pay full price for everything I’d just say “knock yourself out, SUCKA!!!!!” 🙂
I know how you feel Rachelle. I have to confess, a ouple of weeks ago there was an extrememly rude woman employee at the store. She watched my transaction like a hawk, no big deal, I’m an honest shopper so I wasn’t worried. At the end she grabbed my receipt from the cashier, looked at my savings, threw it at me and said “Enjoy your money.” in a really crappy tone. Well, I lost it. I said something along the lines of “Excuse me? You don’t know the first thing about me. I was laid off for ever a year, my husband laid off for over a year and then when he does go back to work, three months later is diagnosed with lung cancer and has been fighting it for a year now. I coupon just so I can feed my family and pay for my husband’s medical bills. Maybe you should think before you open your fat mouth.” My blood pressure is going up just thinking about it. I left the store after that so I have no idea what happened. I hate that I explained myself to her, I’m just so tired of being compared to those nuts on tv. Hang in there, Rachelle.
It was an employee??????? I would’ve gone to a manager and complained my little head off!!!!!! That is just plain rude, and store employees should be fired for speaking like that to customers.
Sorry to hear about your husband. My dad is also battling stage 4 lung cancer and was never a smoker. One day my grandma was complaining about a man not picking up his child and how the wife had to do everything. My mom said, “You don’t know his story! My husband looks healthy on the outside.” Anyway, my point is…why people complain about things that have nothing to do with them is beyond me. No one knows your story and isn’t it sad that you have to explain it?
We should all feel proud to save money (THANKS COLLIN!).
I wrote an email to Collin about this show. I seriously feel like it has very negatively impacted couponing. (For example: People clearing out the shelves, the show makes a lot of couponers look well… sleazy by buying 500 candy bars and 300 bottles of pop, and now many people think all coupon users are hoarders.)
I hope that the show goes off the air soon and the craze will die out. I am keeping my fingers crossed and in the mean time getting a lot of rainchecks.
I do find the show amazing at times…amazing at the amount of stockpile people have, amazing how much money can really be saved, amazing that no one on the show has respect for other shoppers by clearing the shelves, etc. But what the show doesn’t do is help explain HOW it is all done.
I hope the show craze dies down soon. I saw a video today on Youtube of a new batch of couponers who had been couponing 3 whole weeks and thought they were good enough to post videos telling people how to coupon. They had no idea what they were doing and were stacking coupons at Walmart. Some people pointed out the misuse and they thought they were right. It’s crazy how much damage the show has done when you see people thinking they can do the same things the show does.
I am feeling the same public dread as well. I am not an extreme couponer by any means, but I enjoy saving what I can, which is only $15-30 a week usually. I don’t have a stash or a mini-mart either. But I’ve had people see me pull out my coupons at the register and make a fuss and start sighing loudly and even go as far as loading their baskets back up and going to another lane to check out. I just carry on as usual but it is annoying.
I don’t care what anybody says about me period. In this situation, I would say to the rude person that I didn’t know they wanted to pay for my groceries. Otherwise, be quiet and let me do me. I’m a widow w/ 2 small kids. My husband was a lawyer who gave me many comforts and nice things. I use to bargain shop for fun. Now, it’s a necessity. My lifestyle has changed since my husband passed, but not dramatically like I thought it would b/c I’m smart about managing my money. In the end, it’s your wallet not the jerk’s behind you. Keep your head high and shop in those stores like you own them! Peace, love, and biscuits!
Girl, they are the ones throwing their money away. You should be looking them up & down.
I used coupons for one entire year to get items for the 20 guys that I adopted deployed to Afghanistan. I sent them THOUSANDS of dollars of items, that never cost me a penny. I hoarded those coupons, especially the BOGOs, and the doubling them with store coupons and BOGOs.
People would stand behind me in line as I was purchasing these items and stare. Then I would tell them what I was purchasing and who I was purchasing it for.
When the cashier would tell what the total was before coupons and then after coupons and their eyes almost popped out of their heads.
I’m not a hoarder either, but my guys are back and I have adopted another platoon of females in Afghanistan and a nurse in Iraq. I will continue to use those coupons and they can stare all they want. I am contributing to the welfare of our troops and all it is costing me is the postage to send the packages.
Hooah!
You’re awesome 🙂
Try not to let it bother you. You’re doing what’s best for you and your family. We have always lived within our means, and if it means using coupons so that we can continue to live comfortably, then I’m fine with that. It’s not illegal, we’re paying all of our bills on time, and we’re not asking for handouts.
Don’t ever allow someone else make you feel bad about yourself or what you are attempting to do for your family. The people I worked with used to laugh at me and my envelopes when I was doing the Financial Peace program…they weren’t laughing when two years later I retired at 48. I coupon, not to extreme, but enough to make a difference in my grocery bill and I smile if a clerk becomes impatient with me or someone gives me a funny look. I know what saving can do for my life…make it awesome. Today I substitute teach to be near my 7 year old son and to be around happy. loving children who don’t judge 😉 Smile, you’re doing great things for you and your family.
I certainly wish that I could give this person a hug right now. I see couponing as a great way to save money for all of us. After all, we put in hard work in order to find the best deals and coupons, so why take away our right to enjoy it? The show Extreme Couponing really went too far with that show, maybe some of those people may just as well be actors. Because of this term “Extreme Couponing,” a very negative stereotype has been formed and seems to pull in all people who use coupons in general. It’s so ridiculous. After all, are we stealing in anyway? NO! We work very hard for our money and deserve the right to try to save as much as we can.
Just remember they are jealous of YOUR savings!
BTW the people that I get the most rude comments from are other couponers, especially the people new to it. They see my binder and block the aisle or race off to the “deal” in the aisle to “beat me” to it. It’s ridiculous!
I’ve actually had a couple of young mothers with small children stop me in the store and ask me how to get started and they want to look at my binder. I found they live in my neighborhood so we exchanged email addresses and I am going to help them get going. I have started to encounter the “empty” shelf problem and I was told by a store manager the best time to come in is early in the morning. I only want a couple of items, I don’t take a ton of them at one time…I have not encountered any negative feedback as of yet, I get more of the stuff of people are amazed at my savings and say things, like, wow I wish I had time to do that… I tell them the time I spend planning I figure I am paying myself in savings….I have no choice but to save everywhere I can because I am trying desperately NOT to become one of the thousands who’ve lost their home to foreclosure, two paycuts in the past two years are making it harder and harder to hang on….and it just me and my son so I don’t have any help.Hold your head high and know in your heart you are doing what you need to do for yourself and your family.
I am so glad I’m not the only one feeling this way! The store shelves are always cleared in the stores where I shop. I get strange looks and rude comments all the time! I try to stay positive, but it is very frustrating when I’ve put time and effort into making my list, pulling my coupons and driving the 30 minutes to the stores only to get a couple of deals. I’ve been couponing about 4 years now and never had many problems. Now, none of my shopping trips go as planned. I also have bought a few newspapers lately where the coupon inserts have been taken out…very frustrating!! In the Dallas paper, all the inserts and sales are in a plastic sleeve, so they go to the newspaper stands, and take them all out!
Okay, sorry for the rant!! Just glad I’m not the only person having to deal with this and thinks the show has put a damper on the unextreme couponers! I wish I could be as sweet and happy as Collin always is, maybe it’s the coffee!! Wish I liked coffee!! : )
if you get a paper in which no coupons or inserts are in, report it. that is theft even ifdone by the person stocking the papers
I understand. And taking those coupons is stealing; they should be ashamed! Hope you feel better now : )
The day I bought the papers without inserts in them, I went inside the gas station and asked politely if I could be refunded my money, b/c the coupons and sales were not inside the paper. She RUDELY said no and that she couldn’t do anything to help me. I’ve emailed and called the paper, but so far no response yet! I get one paper delivered and then if I want/need extra papers I now go inside our local grocery store and buy them, and make sure the inserts are in them! Very frustrating that you even have to worry about people stealing things!
I hate the “coupon haters”! I used to get a lot of dirty looks, mostly from cashiers but for some reason it kind of turned around. Southern Cali is not a place that people expect coupons to be used, we’re “all rich” lol but that is far from the case being married to a man in the military. I always get compared to the “Extreme Couponers” and I only save an average of 50% on my purchase….and a lot has to do with knowing the sales even though I do carry my 3″ binder in my cart.
The first time I had a woman laugh at me (at Target) I handed her my business card and a coupon for a product she was purchasing (Banana Boat Sunscreen), her tone changed immediately and she then found out that just because I was using coupons I wasn’t any “less” than she was…that I just didn’t have to pay full price.
I had a run in a few weeks ago with Albertsons and the cashier made me feel terrible in front of a busy store, but the people watching were on my side. I guess what I am trying to say is that the people who are being rude just don’t understand how it works or how much you save or the rush that is involved with a coupon heavy transaction. My mom used to tell me when I was a little girl that when people were rude it was because they just didn’t understand and they were trying to cover up that they didn’t know…it applies more today than it ever has!
Good Luck!
I understand what Rashelle is referring to. I feel that the show”extreme couponers” is having a negative impact on regular couponers. Stores and manufacturers are starting to change their policies. Cashiers and customers are starting to look at us differently. I was at Target the other day and because I had a combination of MQ and Target coupons I was able to bring my total from about 9 0r 10$ to 3.50. The cashier started whispering to the other cashier who was with her and when she realized I was looking at her, she told me ” you must probably watch that show” and she started laughing with the other cashier. I answered back that I hated that show and that I’m not extreme like them. Seriously, what the heck? I only had 6 coupons (Target and MQ) combined and about 4 items how can I be compared to those people? Too many people look down on al of us not just the extreme ones. That did make me feel down for a brief moment but I have to keep reminding myself that by using coupons I’m saving a lot of money for my family. It’s also none of those cashiers’ or customers business as long as I’m abiding by the store’s policies and by the coupon rules. Looking at my tota before then after coupons alone motivatesme to use coupons again regardless what anyone thinks. HTH. 🙂
I live in a very “couponed out” town. There are so many couponers. Some are incredibly rude and some (I am thinking of a particularly nice older gentleman that “followed” me from store to store) are terribly nice and will even let you know about great deals. I try to be one of those. I have had bad experiences (one day I went early on a Sunday and Walmart only had two check stands open and I waited and waited in line. Then it took forever because I had price matches and then we waited for several more minutes at the end of the transaction because I had more than 40 coupons and the people in line behind got kinda cranky. It wasn’t my fault. The store cashier should of called for more lines to be opened. But it still made me feel like I was being rude.) and have been stopped by people saying “you do that? How much do you save?” or “so is it true, have you ever gotten like $1,000 worth of food for $1?” I tell them that yes I do coupon but not like that. That the stores are breaking their own rules and that it takes hours to check out and that would just be rude. That on most trips I buy less that $50 worth of food (before coupons). The good still out weighs the bad for me. And getting to know the other couponers in the area helps out greatly. Coupon swapping is great fun. Also as far as shelves being cleared, order ahead. I got ten bottles of the right guard body at Walgreen’s (they had a limit of four bottles) this week because I talked to the manager and he ordered extra for me. (I did not know that Walgreen’s would do that for me.) Collin, love your site!!!!
I recommend it to everyone that stops and asks me about couponing and how to get started.
How do you order ahead? Is there a way to know what sales and coupons are coming out in advance besides online?
Thanks in advance for your input!
I still get the glares as well but I do get those few that see my binder and say hey I need to do that, a friend of mine told me the oher day she was in walmart and there again was a husband and wife behind her in line and the wife said I bet she has a coupon for everything and my friend is very fiesty and I was surprised she told her no I do not but almost and when she got done with her coupons she had saved over $50 and so the husband told his wife you need to start doing that. I too do not like the fact that they turned couponing into hoarding which is what my husband and I said of the very first one that aired, I get what my family needs and if there is a great coupon in one particular week I will get several so I will have backups. So do not let others stupidity get you down, they are paying retail and you AREN’T
My opinion is that if they sigh loudly or make a comment out loud, then you have every right to call them on that…nicely. If that happened to me, I would just explain that I’m saving money for my family and I’m not an extreme couponer and that I don’t even agree with that type of couponing. Most people really don’t understand that it’s a small population of people who do that…that show is all about extremes.
I consider it a good opportunity to start a healthy dialogue about it all and to educate those non-couponers about what is and what isn’t normal couponing behavior.
At the end of the day, who cares what those “loco” strangers think. If you take pride in what you are doing and know you’re not being reckless, then their “issues” should fall by the wayside.
But, I can definitely sympathize!
I get stopped quite a bit in stores, I get looks, and the whole nine as well. I know at Giant Eagle; i generally go to self checkout if i need to do multiple transactions to maximize my savings–even if i have a cartful of groceries…and I always try to warn anyone who gets behind me that i’ll be a few–so they may not want to wait on me. People that dialogue with me about my couponing mention that show quite often; and i always ALWAYS ALLLWAAAYS let them know that I am definitely NOT those people and don’t want to be categorized with them. I tell them that I am a strategical couponer–but no I do not hoard–nor have a stockpile that consumes my entire house. I let them know that I save a ton on practical things that we will use. I am not offended easily…but I definitely don’t want to be given a bad reputation for saving some $$$.
jeez, if you’re worried about a few snickers you need to get thicker skin… while you are saving money .. all those naysayers probably are in debt and are contributing to debt laden country we live in today. each family needs to do what they’ve got to do. if someone wants to hoard, i can you blame them … inflation is going up, food costs all over the world are skyrocketing… everyone should be looking at you and saying.. hey, how do i learn how to do that… and if they don’t … they’ll be the one’s hurting the most when the bubble comes crashing….
Hi Rashelle-I recently encountered one of these people who are so eager to jump to conclusions about you and your couponing and when she made the remark of, “What are you going to do with all this stuff?”, it felt great to reply that some of it was going to our local women’s crisis center, some of it was going to our local humane society and some of it was going to down to Joplin, MO to the recent tornado victims. It feels good to donate, but it also felt great to show some of these people that not all couponers are horders. Many of them are just ordinary people donating their time, effort and money to wonderful local organizations! I definitely gave the lady in line something to think about.
I’ve found the couponing world to be getting crazier. One of our stores told me they aren’t getting reimbursed for nearly as many coupons as they had been because people are copying them. They are now checking and IF someone has copied coupons they are calling the police and charging them!
I think using coupons is the way to go. “Those” people should be embarrassed they are not saving money.
I agree that any non couponers should be embarrassed for being so shallow and rude for judging others on what they do. YOU GO COUPONERS DONT LET ANYONE GET YOU DOWN BECAUSE YOU ARE TRYING TO SUPPORT YOURSELF/FAMILY!!!!!
I had the absolute WORST shopping experience EVER today at Walmart. I was using the 2 free cans of Friskies coupons from Recycle bank and I had 6 of them. (I do not have cats, I donate a lot of stuff to out local animal shelter.) So the computer was only allowing one free as it only rang up the price for one. I, being a couponer have learned patience.(Because we get rewards for our patience!) So it was not a problem to me to wait for the MOD to come fix it. Meanwhile the lady behind must have been in labor the way she was acting. She starting cursing loudly about my “STUPID” coupons and when I politely asked her not to say those words in front of my 3YO daughter she got even louder. When another minute went by she started putting her things back into her cart and told the Asssociate he was a “Retard”. I thought that was the worst but then she threw $3 at me and called me a “poor B@$#%”. I was so angry that I cried , i was embarassed at the scene she made over my coupons for items that I was donating. Needless to say she was kicked out, but I was still embarassed.
That’s terrible Shannon! I’m sorry to hear about your experience! Shame on her!
that lady is ridiculous. if i were you, i’d just look at the situation and say, “hey…i just got 3 bucks!” don’t let lame people ruin your day.
Good Lord! That’s horrible!!!! I’m so sorry that happened to you. Some people are just awful. 🙁
I am soooo sorry that you and your child had to go threw that! I have a WM rule of thumb if you can go at night do so, makes a world of difference. I dread going in there in the middle of the day.
I was at Target the other day and a very young woman was behind me. I had my 3 month old in his car seat in the cart while I handed the cashier my coupons. This lady started huffing and sighing and complaining about my coupons and then got in my babys face. I flipped out I’m ashamed to say but that’s one thing you don’t ever do, whether someone is holding up a line for 20 seconds or 20 mins you do not say things or do things to their children. I’m sorry you had to experience that I can’t believe people are so rude out there.
Don’t EVER feel embarrassed about your use of coupons! I realize the situation was stressful, but she (or they) are the uneducated ones as to the use of coupons, and the ones who is not saving your family a lot of money (where is can be used elsewhere). Cudos to Walmart for throwing her out too!
I’m sorry that happened to you, maybe something will open her eyes on how to properly treat people.
That’s terrible. I would come unglued if someone started cussing in front of my children. It’s actually a crime and they WILL put you in jail for it in my state! (The swearing in the presence of children)
Oh my! I can’t believe she did that! I am so glad they kicked her out of the store and I am so sorry it happened. I just don’t understand some people…
Yes. I tried to get just one smart rinse & one Icy hot at Walgreens this week. I’m getting a ton of exercise walking into so many different Walgreens and not finding one single item left to purchase. I feel like this show has shown a lot more people that saving money can be done by anyone. I am happy to see others enjoying saving as much as I love to save. But sad that every time I ask if they have an item in stock or I need a rain check they refer to that show. I feel embarrassed as if they are looking down on me. Thank you for posting this. I am going to continue to hold my head up high. I think saving money is more important to me than how someone makes me feel for a few minutes.
Hi hear ya ladies…my mother-in-law(of all people) makes fun of me all the time for using coupons but I we are a 1 income family and saving $$ is more important to me than what she thinks of me.
Don’t let it get you down! Keep pushing forward and stay positive in couponing 🙂
My mother in law is the same way & the funny thing is they stockpile toilet paper, paper towels, deoderant, and lots of other items BUT they pay FULL price!! How insane is that?
WOW I was just thinkin of this last night after watching that damn extreme couponing show! I hate getting the looks and after bring so proud of saving my family a ton of money it just brings my enthusiasm to a halt!! I live in CA where NONE of my stores double coupons so to save as much as I have…I think is awesome but that show makes me at times feel like I’m not DOING enough. But I have to regroup and honestly say to myself….keep plugging along and do the best I can whether people out there accept it or not!
I too feel the same way you do. I live in a very small town, where we don’t have many stores at our disposal to shop at. There are others in my town that DO clear shelves, brag about it and even treat cashiers and grocery store employees poorly. (I’ve become real close to a few that have complained to me) at one store here I was even asked to leave simply because I came in with my coupon binder, if that gives you any idea. Ive never cleared a shelf, I don’t have anything close to stockpile. I simply get what my family needs. No more, no less. But because of others actions I feel I also have to hide the one thing I used to be so proud of. I’m not blaming the show, but I AM blaming the uncourteous actions of others that are making the choice to act the way they do.
What did they use as their excuse for asking you to leave? If I was asked to leave a store that accepts coupons simply for bringing in coupons I would be calling corporate IMMEDIATELY.
I have been experiencing the same thing! I try to be nice and let people with smaller carts ahead of me or even share extra coupons with other customers and cashiers. But its been getting ridiculous at Walgreens, I get dirty looks, snide remarks from the cashiers and the same thing from the managers! When a coupon won’t scan (happened 2 weeks in a row now), they get really upset with me and I’m thinking “Its not MY computer that its NOT scanning on! Its not my fault”… But I don’t say anything. Other than that, the same thing that others have mentioned where the shelves are wiped and by the time the item is in, its too late. There have been lots of coupon/newspaper thieves here too–to the point that they quit delivering in my town period! I have to drive to another town to get just one paper.
Our Rite Aid is awesome, they are VERY personable, know me by name, make sure to give me rain checks for items that are out of stock and let me know when they will be in (or should be in), and so on. They even gave me a job application! At their store I feel more than welcome and continue to give them my business.
Coupons have made a big difference in our 1 income household, especially with me in school full-time. We do it to save money, pay debt and so on. Since I started looking more closely for sales and matching coupons with the sales (because I did use coupons previously), we have put over $1000 in savings and paid at least that much on the one credit card that we have! To me it is all worth it in the end, but this is getting very frustrating for so many reasons.
Trust me girl you aren’t alone, I recently started and get the glares to, but just remember your the one saving money.
Be proud that you are able to save your family some money. I think some of those rude people either are jealous or just don’t understand the whole couponing thing. A lot of the show is staged. Most just work at it a little at a time until their stockpile is built up.
As more and more people are getting into couponing I see manufacturer starting to limit the number of coupons you can redeem per shopping trip.
Enjoy your couponing!
I agree! I live in a small town, was at our local Wal-Mart buying some formula with the $5 off any similac coupons. I bought 6 jugs of formula that were marked down to $3.84, I also bought 12 jars of baby food. I paid $1.25 for all of it. She made remarks about the influx of coupons that day alone she had customers using tons of coupons. Asked if I watched the show and I told her no. As soon as I left the check out, she rushed to the Customer Service desk with a copy of my receipt to show them. Like I was robbing them. My six jugs of formula, might last 6-7 days and the 12 jars of baby food would only last 3 days. It’s not like I got alot but I saved $30!
Good for you! You’re not robbing them…they actually make money on our coupons – they get an additional $.08 from the manu for the processing. I really get irritated at the fact they say we’re stealing or cheating them out of money
Like fads this shall pass too. Wish i had something helpful to say. I a good at ignoring people and not caring what they think or say about me.
I really don’t know why people think it’s perfectly acceptable to be mean to certain people or even point things out they think is wrong with others, like telling a pregnant woman she’s really big, or asking a tattooed person why they did that to themselves.It really doesn’t matter where you go or what you do. Mean people are everywhere.
I make my own fun with rude people. One time in a Walgreens a coupon or two beeped, maybe held the line up for 20 whole seconds, but the lady behind began huffing and puffing.I turned around and told her she should really get her breathing trouble checked out.
Another time, (not involving coupons really) a very morbidly obese woman asks me “How do you girls do that to yourselves, all those tattoos and stuff?” I in turn asked her” how she did that to herself, cheeseburgers?”
i too, like everyone else, am experiencing this same thing. i have been couponing my whole life (watched as a child while my mom did it). it sickens me that the extreme couponing show has even came on tv. it has ruined all non-couponers perception of us.
the looks are horrible, but i carry on. hopefully this “fad” will end one day.
the only thing that worries me, is all these people catching onto this “fad”, are there going to end up being consequences? i.e. manufacturers are not going to have as many coupons for consumers as they do now.
I can completely relate to her experience! People will actually point and laugh at my coupon binder or how long I take calculating costs at the store. I don’t apologize for using coupons or saving money. If they don’t want to take the time to clip, cut, and organize to save money in a rough economy that’s on them. I personally am proud of my binder and my coupons and the fact that my son will have a decent life thanks to the tedious hours of walking around stores. I’m not an extreme couponer because of exorbitant prices in Alaska but I will save any amount of money I can just so my family doesn’t have to feel the pinch.
I’m from Alaska =)
I feel your pain. I just decided this week not to shop at Walgreens anymore. They put a sales flyer out and never have the items in stock. Several times the cashiers have given me trouble about checking out with coupons and a manager had to be called. It is not worth it. But, I will still be using coupons at Kroger. They have been kind so far. I hate feeling like I am criminal when I want to use a coupon. I have to save money somewhere.
i have had those looks lately from cashiers and some costumers in line with me but I’ll be damned is I let that stupid show ruin it for me! I am on a real tight budget and have five mouths to feed couponing is a way of life for me. I worry that coupon policies are going to change because of all these crazy people, i wish there was somthing we could do as a couponing community to stop this stupid show!!!! Keep your head up girl and don’t let people like that ruin it for you. I sure am not.
Rashelle – I’m not an extreme couponer as the ones on the shows, but I always try to have a coupon for everything in my basket and I absolutely don’t have any shame for being that way. The shoppers and cashiers who look at us funny are 99.9% the people who complain about how the economy is, but they don’t want to take the time out to clip coupons in order to stay ahead of the economy. If they want to go to work every day and spend most of their paychecks on groceries, toiletries and gas, let them do it, but please feel proud that your hard earned money is being spent wisely and sometimes maybe not spent at all from the freebies. I was in Walmart last week and a lady and her daughter behind me was just ranting and raving on how long they waited and how these couponers take up all the cashier’s time. I just stood their and watched and smiled as my bill kept decreasing. My total started out 218.36 and after my transaction was completed, the cashier opened her drawer and paid me 49.25. The lady stood there in awh and said “How can they owe you money?” and I turned and replied “patience pays off” and walked away.
Nice!!! Love that Walmart overage 🙂
I have mixed emotions about this topic. To the original poster… I understand your pain. I’m a couponer. I do it to save my family. However, because of the Extreme Couponing show, and websites… I’m learning there are a handful of people who are ruining it for everyone. I went to my local grocery store the other day, and they were totally wiped out of sale items. The same thing happened to me the week before, so I talked to the manager. He said there are a few people coming in and getting cartloads of food. People, how can you use or eat that much??? When you have 100 mustards, that’s more than having a “stockpile”. It’s GREED! When I use coupons, I don’t want to feel like I have to rush from my home, the minute I hear of a great deal because of those who abuse coupons. If you are reading this and this is you, PLEASE STOP. You will ruin it for everyone!!! The grocery stores are catching on to you!!! To those like me who do it for their families, keep it up! It is worth it and smart to use coupons.
I can relate to the whispers and glares in the store also. The thing I am having the toughest time with is it seems many people have picked up on couponing and even extreme couponing so when I go to the store with my 1 coupon from the insert for an item the shelf is wiped clean. I’ve been actually paying more for groceries since the show aired because everything that is on sale and cheap with coupons is being sold out so fast. I rely on coupons to get food for my husband and myself cheap because my children have severe food allergies and their food is costing a fortune.
Rashell, Who doesn’t want a good deal. I have also had people talk about me while standing in line behind me while I check out. I have gotten the “heavy sigh” behind me……I just hold my head high and keep thinking to myself if you only knew how much coupon money I have spent over the last 3 months you wouldn’t be sighing you would be asking me HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!!!!!!!!!!! Hold your head high and keep couponing girl. I live in a small town and the first post I posted on Facebook with a picture EVERYONE that I was friends with commented and are now calling me saying we need to do a coupons exchange and how do you do this and that. Keep up your good work for your family. COUPONS FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was at Super Target with my kids a few weeks ago, had no more than 1/2 a cart of items and a small handful of coupons. I had a couple of OLD (gray haired) ladies behind me that were making such a stink about how long my transaction was taking. I had my two toddlers with me and they were just so childish. They were worse than my 3 and 5 year olds! Jeesh!! What I thought was funny was just as they chose to depart my line for another, I handed over my LAST coupon! Ha! I just laugh at THOSE people because I think THEY are ignorant and unknowing.
I noticed that older people are the worst when it comes to couponing (not all of course) they don’t understand that the store gets reimbursed and don’t undesrtand how coupons work. I had a couple old people make comments to that effect, not directly but they hinted that I was hurting others by using coupons LOL. Like I was stealing. I always get funny looks from older people behind me at the store.
I think we have all been there at some point. I find that having a shopping buddy helps. A fellow couponer and I go shopping together (sans children) and have a ball. We go to the same store on the same day at the same time each week. This helps with the cashiers and managers as they have gotten to know us and appreciate that we shop at an ‘off’ time. We go the last day of the sale so we know all the deals and can get rain checks if an item is out. The store isn’t too busy and if there are rude gawkers we at least have one another to help shake it off.
I’ve been lucky to run into great people when I’m doing deals. I was in Wal-Mart and the lady behind me saw all my coupons and asked where I get them and how much I save. So I went on to tell her all about Hip2save and how I do it and she was very polite and interested. So many people need to find ways to save money. Majority of Americans are on a tight budget. I think if people are just reasonable and don’t go overboard there will be more deals to go around for everyone. It’s when people take advantage of stores, that gives us couponers a bad name. So I say keep your head up high and keep couponing. Who cares what everyone else thinks. There just jealous cause they are not as smart as you.
I’m so sorry you’re feeling this way. I don’t care what other people think, I’m saving money and they aren’t. I’m doing it to nudge out the over $1,000 a month we were spending on groceries so that my husband can quit one of his 2 jobs. I’m doing this so my family can spend time together and that we can use the money we save for groceries to save for other things that we may not be able to use coupons for. I’ve only been doing it for a couple of weeks and was actually inspired by the extreme couponing but I make sure not to clear the shelves like those crazy ladies on the show. I haven’t gotten anything but positive yet, I have gotten a couple stares but have mostly gotten questions about how to get organized and often recommend this site to them. I was fortunate that our local grocery store had tripple coupons up to $1 last weekend. EVERYONE was couponing so it was nice. I also make it a point to go out at 5am on Sunday morning to make sure I get the deals that I want from Walgreens and CVS. Keep your head up, I’m sure the show won’t last forever and at some point people will loose interest.
I just turn it around on people it really gives me a giggle when I see how pissy some people can get. If they go shes one of those i go “yes, I am one of those into saving my family money” and give them a big smile.. If they go oh your using coupons I say “YES isnt it great! lol.. No matter what you do in life there are going to be dissaprovers but there are also people out there who want to know how you do it just try and remember that too. 😉
Rashelle times are tough. People will find something to complain about, because they are ignorant to the fact that coupons are easy money given to them when they buy the newspaper or they are just lazy. If your ahead of them in line its obvious they knew you were there ahead of them. People cant usually miss us with our binders and so what if we coupon, we have the money we saved from our coupons to get the other things our families need or pay that extra bill or unexpected co-pay. While their robbing peter to pay paul we have the ability to give to those that need. Im proud to be as couponer and my 4 daughters are too! Hang in there for your family!