A new season of “Extreme Couponing,” a show about people who score huge quantities of products for next to no money out of pocket, premiers tonight on TLC.
This show makes me mad.
I caught a few episodes when the show first aired earlier this year. What I saw was men and women clearing shelves and filling cart after cart with a lifetime supply of toothbrushes. And hand soap.
Commissary shoppers are 30 percent more likely to use coupons than the average consumer, according to a commissary representative I met at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) conference last year. That makes us couponing aces compared to the greater population.
My beef with couponing in the extreme is this: folks who use, nay abuse, couponing like those in this show take off the market for those of us just trying to feed our families a huge chunk of a limited number of coupons released by manufacturers. They also clear the shelves of the products so that you and I can’t buy any.
Oh, and they make normal coupon people look crazy. I’m already make myself look crazy enough — I don’t need anyone’s help.
The rest of my protests are well summed up by the fabulous Toni at The Happy Housewife, who we recently featured in a video interview.
From her post:
I realize this show is called Extreme Couponing, so it is going to be outrageous. No one is going to watch a show called “The Happy Housewife Goes to the Commissary and Saves $20.” The problem with being extreme is that it isn’t always possible to get 1,000 free boxes of pasta or get a $500 grocery bill down to $0.62! What bothers me about the show is that it gives new couponers an unrealistic view of how to save money. If 72% of the people surveyed are planning on using coupons to save money, they need solid coupon advice, not extreme examples that are not always possible in real life.
She goes on to make a bunch of really great points about just how unrealistic extreme couponing is. The truth is, she points out, is that finding enough coupons to make those deals go down doesn’t just happen. It also takes huge – HUGE – amounts of time. Some of these people surely spend 20 or more hours a week finding coupons. Using coupons like they do in the show also requires the store to bend their coupon policy — and no store I’ve ever run across let’s you double that many coupons at once. And, finally, your family cannot, as she says “live on free toilet paper and cereal.” Most coupons are for processed foods or cosmetics, cleaning products, etc. — not for the foods that should be making up a healthy diet.
You can see the rest of her excellent post here.
Are any of you planning to watch this show? What are your thoughts?
Note: This post originally contained a long excerpt from The Happy Housewife’s blog. While she didn’t mind us quoting her extensively, for the sake of her search engine rankings we went ahead and shortened what we used.
About Amy Bushatz
Comments
I'm a couponer, too, and this show makes me sad. I'll probably watch it (well, DVR it) tonight, though.
I really like Spouse Buzz and the articles you publish here. I don't comment too much, but have been reading regularly for several months. I just feel like I have to say that I also love Toni at The Happy Housewife, and I'd like to know if she's okay with you reposting the bulk of her article? I think I'd be fairly offended if someone took over half of my article instead of writing their own commentary about the subject… I was a high school teacher for 8 years, and maybe I'm just sensitive about it. I know that if a student had tried to turn this in as an assignment, they'd have been disciplined over it. It's one thing to quote an author, but it's an entirely different animal to repost 75% of what they wrote.
I'm kind of nervous to call you out on this, because Spouse Buzz is so big and really a wonderful organization. But I come here to see what Spouse Buzz authors have to say, not what they can cut and paste from other bloggers.
Damsel, We're so happy you enjoy visiting SpouseBUZZ and reading the posts. Don't ever be nervous about speaking your mind. We encourage frank dialogue here. Heck, sometimes the authors don't even agree with each other! But we're glad the community states their objections/perspectives in a civil manner, as you have.
We often use excerpts from other people's work in our posts as we sometimes get inspiration from things that others have said or written, but we always give proper attribution and provide a link to the source so that everyone knows we're quoting someone else's work.
I agree with Damsel – this was a little bit too much of an excerpt to be considering "quoting". Yes, it was attributed to The Happy Housewife, but 50% of the entire post was her own original content.
That is not a good blogging or writing practice from any standpoint, not to mention the fact that it may damage The Happy Housewife's site's ranking in search engines due to her original content being published elsewhere in such a long excerpt.
I hope you'll consider shortening the excerpt substantially, out of respect to the time and talent The Happy Housewife put into writing her post.
I plan to watch it, but whole heartedly agree with everything you said in your review. I'm all for a good deal, but there is just no need to take it to that extreme. Nevertheless I'd love to learn something from the show to help me figure out how to coupon better :)
We eat mostly fresh foods, with some canned beans and frozen veggies in the mix (except when the ship is gone, but I guess that's a comment on another post); I coupon when I can, but I refuse to eat more processed foods that we may not like, just for the sake of couponing. I'm also a bit of a minimalist in my belongings, the less "stuff" taking up my space, the better. I am happy to save a few bucks a month while only having what we really want and need in the house.
I also learned that the savings can be illusory for military families – I once knew a military wife who made couponing and stocking up her hobby and mission. In her laundry room were shelves of canned and boxed foods worthy of a 1950s bomb shelter, ceiling high and three deep — for a family of three, mind you. Glancing into the room I couldn't imagine ever using them all. When they left the service, I heard from a mutual friend that they were overweight on their last move to the tune of 2000 lbs. I'm sure there was more to that than just cans of peas, but then again I never saw her stocks of toothbrushes or toilet paper – I wonder, how much did "extreme stocking up" cost them?
The whole coupon thing just aggravates me-there's rarely coupons for the things we actually use or need, and when I find one, the store is often out of the product, which is not uncommon with discounts-stores often, whether with straight discounts or issued coupons, only carry a certain number on the shelf for the discount to be applied to.
There is one that I like, "LivingSocial Deals" which often has coupon deals for as much as 50% what ever you're buying. I recently got $20 to spend on Amazon for $10. They have fitness deals and restaurant deals. I also got 2 movie tickets for $9, even able to use for an evening show! They come in emails, and if your friends (3 or more) puchase also, yours is free.
I am a moderate couponer. I have a small stockpile of things that I know that I am going to use. I try to be very considerate of other people. I can always tell what items in the commissary have a coupon that week because there aren't any of the item on the shelf. My goal when I go shopping is to save my surcharge and the bagger's tip in coupons.
I think that I am a careful shopper, but not an extreme one. I find no reason to buy 20 boxes of Rice Krispies for .25 if no one in my family is going to eat them unless I mix them with butter and marshmallows. I also don't feel the need to stock up on 10 years worth of deoderant. I will, however, buy the chicken that you just marked down to sell today. That is where I find most of my savings.
I will say that I get a little thrill when I save big. It happens occasionally, but it can be a lot of work and sometimes more work than it is worth.
I wish I could coupon and save even a minimal amount. For the life of me I can't figure it out though, never mind getting a six hundred dollar grocery bill down to sixty-two cents! I recently discovered ALDI though and their prices are great and so far the food we have eaten tastes like the name brands, so as long as I'm in a place where there is an ALDI store, that is how I will save my money.
Still do wish I knew how to coupon though….
Oh let's be honest here…. when was the last time you went to the grocery/commissary and weren't able to buy something because one of these evil couponers took everything?? Chances are, it's never happened. Why be upset about this? Many of these couponistas also donate their bulk items to food pantries.
Amy V — I'm sure you're right regarding the food pantry stuff. … but not everyone does that.
And I'm sorry to say that I regularly encounter the situation of nothing on the shelf. I stopped even trying to get the deals that ended up free at the drug stores because if I didnt get first thing Sunday morning there wasn't anything left. And at the commissary if I go two or three days into a sale the shelf is bare, particularly when it comes to staple items (cereal, soups, flour, etc.) I'm sure this depends on the size of your post/base, and I definitely noticed it more at Joint Base Lewis-McChord than I did where we are now.
Amy-
Actually this happens almost every time I go to the Commissary. I don't think couponers are evil, but I do think it isn't good form to clear the shelves, even if you are donating it. There are many families that need those good commissary deals to feed their families.
Amen and amen.!
For awhile last year we were struggling with our bills because of a billing mix up so we shopped at the commissary and farmer's markets for produce, meat, and dairy. Then we went to a Dollar General for all of our non-perishables. They have name brand items and their store brand, Clover Valley, and both were good. Plus Dollor General has very open coupon policies.
I am wanting to start doing some but not extreme. But when I watched the show I wondered what about the stuff that expires? Theynarenwasting food. And do youmreally need 40 cereal boxes?
I haven't watched the show, but I need to Tivo it!
I was a crazy coupon lady and I stopped my crazy shopping ways just over a year ago. I am totally happy to say that I was able to stockpile nearly 2 years worth of toilet paper for practically free and I still haven't had to buy any yet. I also have a crazy supply of body wash and razors that will take us a few more years to go through. The thought of ever paying money for toothpaste just seems crazy to me now that I know I don't have to. I do stock up on pantry items that we use when there are great sales coupled with coupons.
As far as the shelf clearing-most "extreme" couponers pre-order enough items for their purposes from the store well before the sale even starts. Also, you have to remember that this is the TV version of coupon shoppers. Plus the shopping trips on the show have been very carefully orchestrated to maximize savings and the stores are exceptionally generous for the show. I know that I get nervous when I have a lot of coupons because cashiers can make your life hell when you are using coupons.
My husband and I are about to PCS soon and I will pack up my pantry items that haven't been eaten or donated between now and then and they will be coming with me. I mean seriously, I paid .05/can or less for soups and other canned items, I'm taking them with me!
I've always been a coupon gal and after watching the show it is clear that these women felt a need "to do something" in their lives. J'amie and the blonde wife both started couponing when their husbands were laid off. That's a scary time when you have kids to feed. J'amie did say that she spends 6-8 hours just preparing for the grocery store, so it is realistic to spend 20 hours altogether. She also said she gets her massive amounts of coupons from obtaining the left over inserts directly from the newspaper. Our newspaper in upper state NY does not allow this and recycles the left overs, BUT thanks to the ACS I have the coupon exchange. It is a self serve method, where other wives bring in coupons they don't want and take coupons they do want. It is here that I get multiple coupons for the same item on sale. I also have an email account for newsletters and coupons for products we DO use and print only the ones I will use. I don't save thousands of dollars off my bill, but I do save at least half. $100 every 2 weeks is better than $200 -250. Most of the $100 is fruits, vegetables and other stuff that doesn't offer coupons. I don't spend hours a week couponing because I am a graduate student, a girl scout leader and an frg leader, maybe a combined 2-3 hours over the course of the week (a little here a little there). It is also an outlet for me, kind of a mindless activity and I do enjoy saving money. My husband is also very appreciative that I seek ways to save money. I've heard him telling the fellas about how much I saved at the grocery store, and ladies we all know if our man is gloating about you, it is a sure sign of love. Extreme Coupon is just that EXTREME, just like Kate plus 8 or 19 and Counting, should we call those Extreme child rearing? Just take these shows as entertainment. I learned nothing new from the Extreme Coupon, except how to stock pile food we will never eat and well I must admit I did call the newspaper about the inserts. As for their behavior, who cares, it belongs to them, let them own themselves.
I'm with you — I love saving money and I love the mindlessness of couponing. It's a way for me to relax and do something productive at the same time. I take care of my coupon business in my in between times — while watching my kid in the bath, while waiting for a conference call to start, etc.
But I disagree with your statement that their behavior is harmless. It would be harmless, except that it creates an unrealistic expectation for what couponing COULD be if you only tried hard enough, and a ton of confusion around what couponing actually is for normal types like you and me. In fact, I have five ladies coming over today for a little normal person couponing primer. They saw the show, felt bad that they can't even manage to save $2 at the store and asked me for help. This is "How Amy saves 10 percent each week." Not "How to gather unto yourself a lifetime supply of toothpaste." Which is more realistic?
P.S. I'm going to look into this coupon exchange business you mention. Although, honestly, most of my useable coupons come from the internet not the paper.
I use coupons occasionally and I love saving money at the commissary/store. But, where my husband and I are stationed, unless you want to drive 100 miles there is no place that does the double or triple coupons and i'm not even sure there are any store then. So this doesn't work for everywhere.
I find bare shelves at the commissary all the time. Certain days of the week/month are worse then others. The thing is, at the commissary they don't double the coupons, so I don't think you are finding those extreme couponers there….just normal Jane's like me..who sees a deal and might buy a couple. And if I have a coupon to go with it, super!
I too, have had to visit local stores after my commissary run because they didn't have all of what I needed. I think that's just the luck of the draw and the fact that I live in a huge military community and we all shop there.
Because commissary prices are typically so much lower than those at regular stores, even non-doubled coupons often result in fabulous, shelf-clearing worthy deals. I had 6 La Victoria salsa coupons (from one computer — their site let me print 6!) for $4 off 2. The bottles were priced at the time at $1.98 each. That meant I was earning .02 on each bottle I purchased. I reminded myself to have a little restraint and only bought two at a time off and on until the coupons expired. It would've been extremely easy to clear the shelf of 12 at once, though.
I'm just saying — it happens even without doubling. But it's bad coupon etiquette.
i have been a couponer for a long time. and my mother before me. i save at least $20 per trip and have found that i can get stuff free or cheap from cvs and riteaid. they are my favs. i try not to overstock on large items. i coupon to feed my family. diapers, baby food, hotdogs, lunchmeat, eggs, yogurt…hello i gotta have those things. i dont agree with the hoarding that happens during extreme couponing, but i have learned some good tips. like the binder and sometimes buying the smaller quantity is cheaper when you have a coupon. love those 2 lessons. one lady also orders ahead if shes going to need a large amount of something. i think thats courteous and fair.
This show is hurting the normal to semi -crazy couponers like my self. I don't clear the shelf and I use the coupons for the items they are intended for. There is going to be a big back lash do to this show. What most people don't realize though is that it takes a lot of work and planning and time to do what these people are doing. A lot of people will try to do as these people on the show have done only to realize it is not as easy as the show makes it look, especailly now that many stores are changing their policies due to this.