Extreme Couponing

I've seen part of the show once. And though I'm jealous of all the stuff they get for nearly no money at all, the fact that 1. these people have absolutely no life outside of newpapers, magazines, and online coupon clubs, 2. buy way more food than they actually need (or can sometimes even eat before it spoils), and 3. that most of the food is highly processed, unhealthy, and encouraging obesity (seriously, you don't need 150 boxes of pasta noodles, liters of soda, and ho-hos!) is just not worth me joining their ranks.

I love coupons and store loyalty cards (they're free here for the most part) and saving money, but if it detracts from, ya know, the rest of my life I can suck it up and pay the price if I really want it.

After all, I could be on EdenFantasys instead!

I cannot even believe this show. I think it's just another form of OCD. And it's bad enough that my mother and sister are now sitting at my table cutting out all my coupons, thinking they are going to be shopping just like these women....

Pathetic and unrealistic.

The people on that show lead very sad lives.

I roll my eyes every time I see the ad come on when working. I've never watched it. I don't have TV at home, nor do I care to get it.

I've seen parts of it. I've never seen a full episode because I quickly lose interest. It's one thing to cut out coupons and save money, but the coupon queens on this show do nothing else. Their whole life is preparing to shop. It is their full time job, their free time, it is everything. The 2 times I've come across it they were buying ridiculous amounts of something they didn't need, like cough syrup or 100 bottles of sleeping pills. I also saw that one of them had basically a store within their home, a huge room dedicated to store what they had bought. Another thing I noticed is that whenever they get to the register they have problems. That's when I change the channel. Most coupons have a limit. What I've seen is them cutting out thousands of coupons, making spread sheets of what they're going to buy, and dedicating their entire life to buying items they don't need just to get to the register and have problems or not enough to pay for their ridiculous purchases.

I haven't seen it, heard about it though.

I watched it for the first time last week. I think the deals they're getting are great, but the nutritional value of their shopping is not something I'd be able to live by or raise a family on. =/

it wouldnt work properly here... our taxes and other strange things would messit up and most coupons are buy 1 get 1 free... so they still have to pay for things.... i dont get the one comercial that has the lady paying like 5 bux for 2 shopping carts of food.
that wouldnt work here in canada

I've heard of the show but we don't get it here. I would love to watch just one episode, just too experience how silly it is. Reality T.V is getting out of control.

Also, some of these people take, like 1000 flyers to get multiple coupons to use. Many stores have limits on how many items of one thing you can use coupons for. Also, it pisses me off when they clear out a shelf. What if someone NEEDED those sleeping pills or those noodles? Also, most of the food they buy is prepared junk, NOT stuff I feed my kids on a regular basis, but they seem to live on it. Meat and vegetables and fruit are rarely on sale and NEVER have coupons, that those, along with good carbs are the basis of a good diet. Not 1000 pans of ramen noodles and canned soup and sugary cereals (which is usually the only kinds of cereal that has coupons for it.)

You're right, LingaLoo. I think they are running out of ideas for a reality show.

I think a good reality show would be the inner workings of a sex toy shop! They would blur everything out, however.

I use coupons on cleaning products and health and beauty items so I have more money to spend on good foods, but it is definitely nothing like this. I don't understand why people buy stuff they are never going to use just because it is free or almost free. What are you going to do with over 100 bottles of stuff, like mustard and aspirin, that expires? In my area we get almost the exact same sales and coupons every 3-6 months, just get what you need to get through a few months and come back for more when they have the sale again.

I get the hoarding by some of the people on the show who went through rough times where they couldn't afford to buy groceries and pay their medical bills, but when you get to the point where you are dumpster diving or you need an entire room to hold all of your coupons there is a problem.

I never saw the show, but I saw a piece on Nightline or some prime time news show a while back, and it was insane. It focused on two different coupon master: one who knew how to use coupons to buy what she wanted cheap, and another who just sort of did it for fun and to see how much he could - totally insane! I have a feeling these shows could influence the entire coupon system and change some of these loopholes people find.

I've never seen an episode, but I can say that not all coupon cutters are like that, for sure. My mom goes through just what we get in the mail, spends an hour or two on Sundays cutting coupons from those fliers or the newspapers, and always manages to save a whole bunch at the store. There's obviously a line between saving on the things you need and stocking up just because you can, but I think the vast majority of people who utilize coupons and "customer cards" are more reserved and only buy what they need for the most part.

I just started with the coupons when we got a subscription to the newspaper. The first time I went to the store with coupons, I saved about $50. I only got stuff I needed (except for a $10 card game I bought to get a free $5 game). If you don't go out of your way or buy things you don't want/need, you can save money.

I totally agree with the greed quote too!

For me I have to say I use coupons almost every visit to the food store. But I have two very small boys who still drink liquid formula. You are talking on sale from the store 12 bottles are 80.00 which last one week. At normal price 12 can reach to 100.00. So I get coupons and even buy coupons to make this bill go down to 20.00 a week. Since this show came out I get dirty looks for using coupons and I have had managers called on me to check through my coupons. It is really stupid when I am treated like a criminal for using 12 coupons on an order of 70 or more items. I really hate this show. Have you guys not noticed since this show when a certain coupon comes out your shelves will be empty of that item. I could not even buy mayo this week from the store because of the dollar coupon that came out. Coupons are great but some people need to stop being so greedy.

I watch it and I try to use coupons but I am irritated by that show in some ways. You never see them buying fresh fruits or veggies but there are loads of candy bars and processed crap. I guess people are entitled to do/eat what they want and I enjoy the show, it's just a pet peeve that they are so focused on the money that their kids aren't getting fresh apples in their lunch (from what I have seen).

Ive never tried coupons but do use the rewards cards. A friend of mine on FB posts tips and stuff so I might try it. She said she has saved over $1k in a month alone!!

I've never seen the show (but I checked out a couple clips on the link you posted). I like to use coupons when I can, but we often buy our packaged stuff in bulk and those places don't take manufacturer coupons. For fresh food, we shop at a market that doesn't have ads or coupons, so there's no opportunity there. But I'll use them at Target or other shops.

I don't think there's anything wrong with buying stuff with coupons or saving money even if you're buying a ton of stuff at once. The store is there to sell stuff. It doesn't matter to me if you buy 25 of the same item or just one thing. And I don't care if people clear off the shelves; to me it's the same thing as buying the last bottle of something, and I'll definitely buy the last of something if I want or need it. Of course, it's nice to find the things you need at a store, but if I don't find what I need/want, I'll shop elsewhere (although I'll often track down a sales associate and ask if they have any in the back inventory).

If people want to cut coupons and dedicate a lot of time to that, good for them. Major coupon clipping isn't for me, but I admire people who focus on saving money and budgeting.

I think it's awesome if you've just lost your job or spend all day at home, AND if you have the maths kills to pull it off! I couldn't do it though.