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Mackfam
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| Posted: June 09 2011 at 11:05am | IP Logged
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KackyK wrote:
Well hope ya'll don't think I'm too wacko now!  |
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Never! 
I'm glad you could add that perspective, Kacky. We only watched one show (the first), and none of the worthwhile donations that your friend makes with her excess purchases were portrayed on that show, just the one with the Cheerios man. On the show we watched, the folks that live this extreme couponing are portrayed in a way that implies that this is their life; it's portrayed in a way that seems unhealthy.
I know a number of people that really enjoy couponing as part of a frugal lifestyle; they are able to save wonderfully on their grocery bill.
I tend to hunt for coupons and savings for BIG ticket items, but don't do a lot of couponing for grocery items for many of the reasons already mentioned. We shop for most of our goods at Costco (and do use their coupons), and the farmers market (no coupons).
I do place a value on my time, so I guess one way or the other we save - either in the time saved to find, clip, organize and use coupons, or in the money savings from investing the time to coupon.
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
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kristinannie
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| Posted: June 09 2011 at 11:31am | IP Logged
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I haven't seen the show, but I don't have 30 hours a week to extreme coupon! I do look at the sale ads for Kroger and Grants (a local store). We basically only buy what is on sale there. We compare prices each week on milk and eggs because they seem to change in price constantly. We also compare between Walmart and Sam's Club because sometimes it is cheaper to buy detergent at one one week and the other another week. It does take a little extra time to plan menus, but we just buy fresh fruits and veggies that are on sale. I plan the menus accordingly. When there is a big sale on chicken, we will stock up and have it in the freezer. We have a deep freeze in the basement. Honestly, I could probably save a little extra money if we used a lot more coupons, but I don't have the time or the place to store all of that stuff!!!!!
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Maryan
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| Posted: June 09 2011 at 12:13pm | IP Logged
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Ditto Kristinannie. Our Bloom grocery store just advertised in their ciruclar that Tuesdays in June are Super Double Coupons, so I will go there to get some big boxes of detergent! But I don't have many coupons.
I also think I agree 100% with Jenn on frugality.
I think it could be dangerous to be obsessed with saving money because you're giving too much attention to material goods... even in the name of being a good steward! But, as Kacky said, for people who have lost jobs in this economy I could see how extreme couponing could be necessary.
One thought: this extreme couponing can translate to homeschool books too: Amazon might give me better sales, but the Ciscaniks, for example, provide a great service with Emmanuel Books... and their catalog is fantastic. If I keep the bottomline as money, then I might not notice that I'm just using the Ciscaniks for their booklists and buying elsewhere. In this economy, I don't want my frugality to possibly hurt a family business if *I* can avoid it! Again other people hurting not included.
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Maryan
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MaryM
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| Posted: June 09 2011 at 12:24pm | IP Logged
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Mackfam wrote:
KackyK wrote:
| Well hope ya'll don't think I'm too wacko now! |
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Never! |
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Definitely not.
Though I chimed in that I didn't think the show was realistic and does feature some hoarder type folks, I also noted the generous couponers. One of the episodes we watched might have been with the woman you mention, Kacky. There was a woman who regularly stocks a foodbanks with her finds.
Couponing can be beneficial and economical. And we do buy some products that have coupons - it's not that we don't ever buy processed typed foods - just not the bulk of our purchases. I'm not disciplined enough to do the couponing well. And I've noticed that coupons seem to have shorter expiration dates these days- meaning they have to go on sale in a fairly short time for it to be worthwhile to coupon with.
Some past threads have addressed effective ways to coupon and save:
how to coupon question
grocery coupons
Coupon cllipping help
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Mary M. in Denver
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: June 09 2011 at 12:51pm | IP Logged
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Oh, I'm not doubting that the show showed hoarding.. it's just.. well.. if we could have (and would eat) salad say.. twice a week.. my family would use those 75 bags of croutons that seems like it would never get used.. in about 5 months.
That's all.. that saying one thing is hoarding when the circumstances around it may actually change whether it is or not.. now of course if the person shown with the 75 bags, rarely ate salad and only had 2 people in the household (and didn't eat them straight from the bag as snacks  ) that's a whole lot different.
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: June 09 2011 at 1:42pm | IP Logged
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I have a question about this that may seem a bit off the wall,and I am not trying to be contentious at all, but I am curious.
For those who do extreme couponing, (not the regular kind where we just clip a few and save a little) and either hoard the food or donate to foodbanks or whatever...
Who REALLY pays for this?
I mean, food isn't free. Coupon use such as this merely spreads the cost from one person to someone else, right?
Is it the grocer who accepts or doubles the coupon, the manufacturer who puts out the coupon, or is it just another reason for prices to go up so consumers in general (meaning: the rest of us) end up paying?
I'd really like to know, because if these extreme couponers are indirectly causing MY grocery prices to go up, then I find that, well...annoying.
And just to be clear, I am not talking about folks like Kacky who use coupons in a normal fashion.
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Theresa
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: June 09 2011 at 1:52pm | IP Logged
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I'm not 100% but a straight coupon would be the manufacturer.. so doesn't cost the store anything if you use it.. store coupons and doubling I think is through the store.
And I'm not sure at least with the manufacturer if the cost would be less without coupons.. because they'd still be spending the money somewhere for advertising. I just read something about that in regards to those free bags with formula that the formula companies give out.. that just having coupons in the bag makes it likely that even if you'd planned to use formula.. that you'll buy the higher priced brand names instead of store brands.. so it seems that coupons are a very good form of advertising.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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KackyK
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| Posted: June 09 2011 at 1:55pm | IP Logged
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That's a good question!
The gal I know said something interesting that hinted that it's the manufacturer's that ultimately pay, not the stores.
One of her big things was emphasizing that when you clip, to clip carefully. Do the edges nicely, don't just rip it out. For instance when you print the coupons off websites you'll see it says all over it to clip carefully.
She said that if you aren't careful, then the store has to have someone reclip to make them the right size. Apparently they have to be 'just right' so the store can send them back to the manufacturer to be reimbursed. Maybe I'm off on that, but that's what my memory is bringing up.
Also she said that the percentage of people who actual do coupon with regularity and do it for substantial savings, not just here or there, is like only 2%, so if that is true, then I assume that it shouldn't be affecting prices. She claimed that the percentage of coupons that go unused is really really huge. Which makes sense when you think about all the people that do NOT coupon and just toss them. Even people who do coupon don't use everything offered.
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KackyK
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Maryan
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| Posted: June 09 2011 at 1:58pm | IP Logged
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In my own unresearched opinion, I would think 1) extreme couponers are small in number compared to the average consumer*, so the amount they might be saving is offset by the people who just run and buy the regular price (which is probably padded). 2) If stores didn't make money from other items with their coupon offerings, I would think they would just stop the practice. 3) Rising prices have to do more with the rising costs of gas and the trickle effect that has.
*Just thinking how many of us try to use coupons... and don't because it just takes so much time and just use a few from time to time. Or just shop sales. And we are probably a good example with people with lots of kids who have more of an interest in using coupons.
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Maryan
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SeaStar
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| Posted: June 09 2011 at 8:49pm | IP Logged
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I have also wondered about Theresa's question.
Just because you *can* get 54 free boxes of tide.... should you?
If you have a use for it all, that is great. If not, if it is just the thrill of the hunt that is motivating you... well, I guess we all have our own quirks and passions .
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JennGM
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| Posted: Nov 16 2011 at 7:45pm | IP Logged
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I was doing some ironing and watched a few shows on our DVR. I had all these thoughts mentioned on this thread, again. I forgot we had hashed this all out. I kept thinking "This is glorified hoarding!" and "What are they going to eat? All processed food?"
Second time around and I am even more negative about the idea.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: extreme couponing
