The show “Extreme Couponing” on TLC has shocked everyone with the incredible potential of coupon savings. It has also exposed the dark side of couponing.
I think the people on that show are likely not as extreme as they were portrayed (it is television after all), however the show has given people unrealistic expectations for couponing and given couponers unfair representation.
If you want to learn to coupon and save 50% or more on your grocery bill, then I can certainly help – and you won’t need to spend 70+ hours a week on couponing!
Realistic Time
Realistically I spend 30-45 minutes a week clipping coupons and putting together a shopping list. This is typically for shopping at 2 stores – 1 grocery store and 1 drug store. How long you spend on this depends on how many stores you shop at and how long you have been couponing. My couponing grocery trips rarely take longer than a trip where I don’t use coupons (scanning coupons really only takes a few minutes in a normal shopping trip).
After you set up a coupon system like a coupon binder, there really isn’t that much to it! Coupon sites like mine even match up coupons for you which saves you a ton of time! Just pull the coupons you need, print your list and go!
Realistic Spending
Sure the people on that show save a ton of money, but how much are they spending to get that savings? I also consider my time valuable. If I’m taking away time from my family then the cost is too high, regardless of the savings.
I think it is entirely possible to save 50% or more on your grocery bill. The savings will vary depending on your family size and eating habits. I do think that everyone can use coupons though. There is a myth that there are no coupons for healthy foods and it is simply not true. They are not quite as common, but nutritious deals are definitely available.
Realistic Stockpile
Okay, 1500 sticks of deodorant? 40 years worth of toilet paper? That is just not realistic to me. Sales come in cycles and you should definitely buy a few months worth of the items your family will use or eat, but there’s no need to buy more than that. A good rule of thumb is to buy one newspaper per family member. Then when your favorite pasta goes on sale, you buy more than one box because you have multiple coupons.
For our family of four I used to buy four newspapers per week. Now that I’ve been couponing for a while (and the cost of newspapers has gone up), I have cut back to just two newspapers per week. This really is plenty for our family! We have an extra shelf in the garage to store our stockpile (I could probably eliminate this too if I were more organized), but everything else is just stored regularly in the pantry or cabinets. I am also able to donate on a regular basis, even with my relatively small stockpile.
Realistic Expectations
Please don’t expect to save 98% on your very first coupon shopping trip. Yes, it can happen, but it takes some time and work. You have to collect coupons every week and build up your stockpile. Once you’ve done that, you have the freedom to “cherry pick”. That means you only go to the store to buy the freebies and cheapies.
I am not trying to discourage you at all, I just want to make sure you have realistic expectations. Couponing really is a blast, so I completely understand how some people can become addicted to it!
I suggest reading some of the posts in my getting started with couponing section before you begin. Be sure to subscribe to my free email updates to get couponing tips, deals, and freebies sent to your inbox!
Couponing can be a great way to save your family money, and it doesn’t have to be an obsessive hobby!
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A few ways my boyfriend and I save money on food is by shopping at Dollar General, Save A Lot, Ruler Foods (one town over). Our biggest saver is the fact my boyfriend hunts every season and whenever he brings in a buck or some ducks, the meat will last us about four to six months. Also E.W. James has a great deal on their Pick 5, when we buy meats we always dig around the "bins" to find the highest priced meats because that is a sign that its the largest amount of meat in the package. Majority of savings on the Pick 5 is over $15 (tax included) depending on what we bought.
I want to know if I have a coupon for one febreze product for .50 cents. And another one for two febreze products for $1.50. If I get the 2pk could I use 4 .50 coupons and two $1.50
the people on that show actually have a gambling addiction IMO.
LOL Well at least they are putting their gambling addiction to good use.
It showed me exactly what kind of couponer I didn't want to be.
Yes, I've read that a lot of the stores that are featured allow doubling of coupons to said couponer just for the show when they don't openly offer it to everyone. Or they'll allow couponer to use more than the allowed number of transactions. Don't get me wrong, I learned some good tips from the show but it also gave me some very unrealistic expectations.
following
I have always been happy with a 50% savings which I can achieve with a little effort. The shows are not always realistic to everyday life.
It's good to see someone advocating moderation.
People who get sucked up into extreme couponing tend to forget why coupons exist. They are a form of advertising; a promotional tool to get you to try a brand, or to get you into a specific store, with the goal of eventually making more profit.
Extreme couponing, to the point of paying only a few dollars to wipe out a store's stock of certain items, makes the coupon a liability to the store or to the brand rather than an asset. If that goes on long enough, the stores and brands will simply stop doing it, or crack down on it. This hurts the people who use coupons responsibly.
It doesn't matter if an extreme couponer donates some of her score to charity; she is still making the business of issuing coupons unprofitable to the businesses she is taking advantage of. And make no mistake - people who exploit loopholes in coupon rules to get a cartful of stuff for pennies ARE taking advantage of the store, and they won't put up with that forever. Eventually they'll restrict or end coupons. The people who use coupons normally, to feed their families on a budget, will have to make do with less, and they can blame the people who made a sport out of exploiting the loopholes to fill their garages with toilet paper and mouthwash.
Thanks for making this website, I am new to couponing and love your website! It is helping me so much!
So glad you enjoy it! Happy to hear it's helping you! :) Thanks for being here.
I completely understand this. I am just beginning couponing and it has now helped out. We got a coupon set in the mail from Smiths and there were 6 free items from that store. We spent $200 but we also saved $49 because of coupons I had cut. I realized that if I organize them and make a list when I go to the store, also checking ads to see sales ... I may be able to save more. $200 in groceries last us at least a month because it's just two of us. Thanks for the insights!