Can someone please explain "extreme couponing" to me?

[Raven]

I thought I understood the coupon system. If you have a coupon that says "save 50 cents on any 4 cans of Campbell's Chunky Soup" that means you save 50 cents on the total purchase of 4, right? Or do you save 50 cents on each can? The coupon says "one coupon per purchase. How do these people on TV manage to get 100 cans of soup for free? How can these people on TV manage to use the hundreds of items they buy before the expiration dates?

[Denninmi]

1. Well, what they do is really hard for the average person.

You have to spend HOURS and HOURS organizing, etc., and trading coupons with others, buying multiple newspapers, that sort of thing, cross referencing the weekly store ads with their coupons.

As far at the individual rules go, it varies from store to store.

With a basic coupon, the terms are what it says -- if it's "Save 50 cents on 4 cans of Campbell's soup" that's what it is - you buy 4 cans at $2.00, which is $8.00, and they take off 50 cents TOTAL, so it ends up costing you $7.50 for 4 cans (just a random example).

Some stores will at times double the face value of certain coupons as a promotion/loss leader to get shoppers in the door, so you might get a dollar off those 4 cans if you're lucky, follow the ads, etc. So in this scenario, you pay $7 for the 4 cans.

Many stores allow multiple coupons on multiple purchases -- for each coupon you have, you must buy 4 cans of soup, but if you have 10 coupons, you can use all ten if you buy 40 cans of soup. Some stores have no limit on this, others limit you to a certain reasonable number of coupons (Meijer, a big chain here in Michigan, I believe limits you to 4 of the same coupon per checkout session, but you can always just take the first batch to the car and go back again).

[LynneSin]

3. You have to add to that the Store Flyers

For the extreme couponers they get the store flyers from all the grocery stories. So you may have the 50 cents off 4 cans of soup, but Store X might have that same soup on sale $4 cans for $2. Then they have coupon doubling the person could end up getting those 4 cans for $1 or 25 cents each.

It's more than just clipping coupons but knowing your stores and who has what on sale.

[snooper2]

2. every once in a while they'll find a coupon for Tuna, won't say "one coupon per purchase"

There are places where you can get the ads online and print hundreds of coupons..

Thats' why they buy a shitload of stuff, but usually only 10-20 indvidual items..Do that for a couple years and you get the hoard you see...


One lady said she buys 1000 newspapers a week/month(?)...Probably just puts 75 cents in and takes the whole stack lol

[LynneSin]

4. I call extreme couponing wasteful spending

I watched that show one time and was absolutely digusted at the greed of the woman doing the couponing.

Somehow she managed to get French's Yellow Mustard for about 2 cents a bottle thanks to her extreme couponing. So she went in there and bought all 73 bottles of mustard in the store. She even had the store manager run to the back to see if they had more mustard available.

Every single free inch of space in her house was geared towards food storage. Even in the kids room, they would have non-perishable items stashed under their bed or in the closet.

I have no problem with extreme couponing in general - but buy what your family can use, don't buy it just so you can brag on TV - I bought 73 bottles of French's Yellow Mustard for free - woohoo!

The only exception I would make is for people who run foodbanks and homeless shelters. At least there you know the food would go to good use. I think the show had showed organizations like this who did extreme couponing to help feed the hungry.

[Raven]

5. I agree completely. Also, coupons can become a trap. I've been

been doing more couponing lately because of the economy and sometime you see a coupon for something you would never buy and it's tempting. I have a friend who is addicted to sales...I often tell her that it's not really a sale if you don't need it. :-)

[LynneSin]

7. That's one reason I kinda quit couponing

Right before I moved I cleaned out my pantry which was filled with stuff I bought with coupons but never used. I gathered it all up and took it to my local homeless shelter. I think I save more money by not couponing although my mother does email me cat food coupons once a month.

ANyhow I shop at Trader Joe's these days and they don't really have coupons.

[suninvited]

11. On one of the episodes of extreme couponing

a man was buying cereal. He was very excited at the amount of cereal he was getting because he was donating it to a food bank. That is the only episode I saw like that, though. Most of them are just a different kind of hoarder and couponing seems to be their OCD outlet.

[Bombero1956]

6. my sister in law does that

She was sitting at the dining room table last night with 4 three ring binders full of coupons. There were coupon sections from 3 Sunday papers in front of her. I watched a guy buy 1,400 boxes of Total cereal on that show, he donated them all to the local Food Pantry. Another woman was buying personal care products to send overseas to our troops.

[DebJ]

8. I used to do coupons, but now I buy mostly just plain old

foodstuffs: pototoes, carrots, meats, some frozen peas and corn, some fresh salad stuff, dairy products.

They don't coupon those items.

It hasn't been worth it to me in recent years to look for coupons for detergents and soaps. When laundry detergent goes on sale for 30% off, I buy 6 large bottles, getting two free.

I clean with vinegar and/or bleach a lot; cheap anyway and rarely if ever couponed.


But I must say coupons did come in handy in the fall when canned goods go on sale. One year I bought 6 months worth of canned goods in November, using sales and coupons, and that worked out quite well.

[Kali]

12. yep - staples anbd basic household goods rarely have coupons

real food doesn't need gimmicks and luring to garner new "customers"

I look through the fliers on Sunday, (when we even bother with the paper) but rarely find anything I would use or even want to try. Its either for heavily perfumed "cleaners," artificial stench for the air in your house, or overly processed snack-"food":puke:

[WinkyDink]

15. I beg to differ! Frozen foods/veggies often have coupons, as do dairy products!

Milks (including soy and almond), Green giant, Birds-Eye, every yogurt under the sun, margarines, eggs, and cheeses----Always can find coupons!

[DebJ]

9. self-delete dupe

[DebJ]

10. self-delete dupe

[RebelOne]

13. It's when you are in line while waiting for the cashier

to scan the stack of coupons a customer has given her. That to me is extreme couponing.

[WinkyDink]

14. It's your last question that I would like the answer to! I coupon, and OFTEN pay only 50% total!

And I do NOT skimp on quality!

http://www.weismarkets.com/savings/online-coupons/

http://weismarkets.mywebgrocer.com/CircularMain.aspx?s=171015560&g=38bd98bd-c9e2-4b61-acc0-9093125f8fde&uc=5EDFC74&st=45AC3428

http://giantfoodstores.gsnrecipes.com/Shop/WeeklyAd.aspx

http://giantfoodstores.gsnrecipes.com/Shop/Coupons.aspx

http://www.redplum.com/coupons.aspx?t1id=1118&t2id=1118&t1=grocery&t2=&view=all

http://smartsource.com/smartsource/index.jsp?Link=MKRU3JAAR6CCY

http://www.couponmom.com/

[sammytko]

16. Go to YouTube and search for couponing

You'll find lots of people showing you how its done

Most involve the use of loyalty cards and double couponing.

I don't coupon because I hardly ever buy prepared items. Do lots of cooking from scratch. I do look for the best prices.

I keep a list of the lowest price I've paid for an item on my iPhone. Whenever I see it at that price again, I'll buy.

For example - a 17 lb bag of Iams Mini Chunks is usially 18 dollars at the commissary. When it's 11.99 i stock up! That is a 6 dollar savings on one item right there!

You can buy coupons on eBay. Lots of coupons for new items and sometimes you can get the item "free". Some extreme couponers re-sell. Some cheat.

One lady on Extreme Couponer was cheating. If you look at your coupons, they start with the same 4 numbers according to the manufacurer. She was taking higher value coupons and buying items that did not match that coupon, but would still scan through. In fact, it was the French's mustard lady.

Another thing they do is buy the smallest item possible. Smallest item equals smallest cost, but same discount with the coupon. Make sure you meet the minimum oz requirement on the coupon. Instead of buying the 48 oz box of cereal buy the 20 oz box and still get the $1.00 off.