TLC’s Extreme Couponing Season 3 starts tomorrow night. As most of you know Tiffany (MyLitter aka OneDealataTime), and I were the premiere episode for the first full season. I can honestly say that I thought we were portrayed accurately and that I feel we represented the Coupon Community well. Since then there has been a lot of good and bad on the show. If you are in Houston be sure to watch the show and tell us if you see anything unusual!
What people that LOVE the show see:
They see a group (of what can be described as normal or average Americans) that go to the store and get items that they spend tens of thousands of dollars a year on for basically the cost of a Big Mac Meal. I can admit that none of us on Extreme Couponing come across as the brain that is needed to figure out how to cure cancer. That is basically all they see. They think to themselves: “Really? If those 2 morons (us)who can’t figure out why they have seven kids can save all that money, I know I can do it.” That may be a bit EXTREME , but they definitely want to try and save some money.
Reality Check:
These are EXTREME trips! In our season you heard person after person say this is our biggest trip ever. The idea is to show what is possible, figure out what is right for your family and give couponing a shot. Read some reputable blogs, clip some coupons, be patient, and save your family some money. It’s free, why not?
What people that HATE it see:
The biggest group of people that loathe Extreme Couponing are Deal Bloggers and long time couponers. When I say Deal Bloggers, I do not mean the people that started a blog because they were on Extreme Couponing. I am referring to people that have been doing this for a while and have a loyal following. Here’s why:
Extreme Couponing shows person after person clearing shelves using hundreds of coupons and paying next to nothing for it. It shows people with enormous stockpiles of products that are impossible to use before the product will expire. For the most part, Extreme Couponing portrays the coupon community as people with borderline hoarding mentalities and other OCD issues. The fact that it was followed by “Hoarders” was not an accident or coincidence. The biggest problem of all is that they see an enormous increase in competition for deals from new couponers that for the most part have ZERO clue about coupon etiquette or regard for the welfare of their fellow shoppers. They also see every person on the show that had never even had a blog now has a Facebook page with 15,000 likes on it.
Reality Check:
These same Bloggers the are repulsed by Extreme Couponing have been working frantically for weeks on every SEO trick they can muster or buy to capture the frenzy of search engine traffic that will commence this evening. They are also probably teaching “Extreme Coupon Classes”
Closing Thoughts:
I am probabaly a lot like you, I Lovehate Extreme Couponing (I invented a new word). Couponing is wonderful and in many cases an extremely important necessity for people to be able to place food on the table for their families. I am inspired by the people that tell me everyday how I help them, and they don’t know how they would be able to survive without all the deals and coupons that we help them find. We are in awe of thousands of people that have attended our coupon classes and want to learn the right way to coupon. We LOVE all of you and are truly honored to serve you. The problem is the super minority of people that think they “deserve” free stuff. They look at coupon fraud as a victimless crime and rationalize their actions with thoughts of “the manufacturers can afford it”. Let me assure you, your actions do have consequences. Coupon policies have changed and will change to adapt to those that abuse them. It may take a while for the beast to catch on, but when he does, he is bigger, badder, smarter and far more EXTREME than you could ever hope to be. Your actions and consequences will not only effect you. If coupons ever stop getting produced, newspapers will shut down, food banks will close and children will go hungry. That may seem a bit dramatic, it is a true statement.
I encourage everyone to coupon, PLEASE do it ethically and honestly. Take your time to learn your store policies and read your coupons. There are plenty of deals and coupons out there if everyone does it the right way.
Head over to Facebook tomorrow night to discuss and comment live on the Premier of TLC’s Extreme Couponing!
Thank you for your honest assesment of couponing. I have seen several of the scenerios you mentioned first hand. I don’t evenbother to go to CVS or Walgreens in my town anymore because any deal they offer is always gone. I kind of hope this show goes off the air soon.
Paul what episode were you on? I’ve watched all of them on the web, but maybe I’m blind?
The Season Premiere. The very first episode 🙂
Thanks Paul! I agree with you 100%!
Kinda shocked you were on that show. I personally do not like the show. I feel that the people I’ve seen on that show are in fact hoarders. I think stockpiling is ok to a point but those people on that show seem to be obsessed with getting everything they can. I know there’s one guy on that show quite a bit and he’s got a room full of stuff he will never use, I feel that the people on that show say that donate goods, but yet when you look in their stockpile you know that it’s a big lie. The reality of it all, most stores will not let you use that many coupons on a certain item. I feel that “Extreem Coupon” is a lie, and I also feel that it misleads people. It’s fun to coupon but yet a lot of work, and this show represents a easy way to get goods for next to nothing. I don’t support the show, I don’t watch it. Every person I’ve ever seen on the show when I did watch pieces of the show is a hoarder. I’m actually imbarrest at times when I’m shopping, people are watching me wondering if I’m gonna be an extreme couponer.. I just wonder, what did you profit from the show? Was it worth it to you?
Gina,
We were the very first episode of season 1. Gina I don’t think you can lump everyone into a single category such as hoarders. We are a family of nine and we lived in a 1998 square foot house with no basements. I agree that there are people that are boarder line hoarders but I guess I choose to see more of the good that couponing does and all the people that it helps. No, I didn’t profit from the show, I actually probably took a loss on the time off work and trouble we had to go through to unpack our house since we were moving.
I never seen you on the show, I don’t know how your episode went. I personally wouldn’t have went on the show without getting paid. Everyone I’ve seen on the show is in fact hoarders. I’m not saying you are, I have never seen you on the show. A family of 9? That’s a huge family, and yes I would have a stockpile if my family was that big. I have a very small stockpile of only certain items. I stock up on things like laundry detergent, dish liquid, toilet paper. Hoarding to me is knowing you have things that you will never use and an abundance of those things, and that’s what I’ve seen on that show. The show wants to make people look bad, they need the drama for it to work. Personally, I love your blog, I love Wal-mart, so keep the deals coming! lol
He has seven kids. Stockpiling is a must for a family that big, especially if they want to save money!
When I was growing up, mom and dad had to feed 8 children. It was a very tough situation when both your mom and dad have disabilities. We struggled, and I only wish that they had coupon deals and such as they do now. I’m afraid that this exreme couponing show will ruin it for so much of us who love to coupon. It really represents the wrong image, and stores have gotten tighter about couponers since this show has aired.
I am actually on the show this season and appreciate you writing this. It is sad that everyone who is on the show iss lumped together as an unethical couponer. I am not a hoarder. I donate 95% of everything I get every month. After show aired my stockpile was completely cleaned out. 27,000 worth of food all went to 2 food pantries and The USO. I do it every month. I also use my savings to rescue dogs off of death row.
I shopped at a store that does not double nor do they do overage. They did not bend any rules for me and my trip was completely on the up and up….Thank you for letting people know not everyone is bad 🙂
i would never watch this show and i am looking forward to it when it is taken off the air, because of this show kroger has changed there coupon policy over and over twice in the last few months so right now you can only use 2 internet coupons and 5 coupons that are alike in one transaction , i am not a horder or a shelf clearer now everytime i go to pick up stuff at kroger i never know if they are going to change there policy again thank you tlc and extreme couponing
Rachel,
Kroger policy to stop doubling coupons had nothing to do with Extreme Couponing. It stopped the same week that the episode came out. I major corporation doesn’t make a knee jerk change like that in one of their biggest markets. It has everything to do with a really bad marketing decision.
Sadly, our store that doubles coupons DID change a policy right after they aired their TLC show. They used to price match (similiar to how WM does it) and they doubled coupons. They really made a lot of people upset, that after the show aired, they changed their policy from price matching to ad matching. Now, I came into couponing AFTER the change, and I still save 65-85% consistently by ad matching and doubled coupons. The store is a small family chain, they had to decide on eliminating price matching or doubled coupons, and decided to go with the former. They have to feed their families too. They don’t have limits on the coupons, unless the coupon does, and they double even when the coupon has a DND on it. They also give additional money off when you reach a certain amount pre-coupon. I think it’s a great deal the way it is. You can’t please all the ppl all the time. But, yeah, making those decisions right after the show airs, that’s not a great idea, they should have done it BEFORE the show was ever filmed.
I have to agree with what was said earlier about being ethical and honest using coupons. In the past, I have watched the show and have seen the same coupons I had and knew what the restrictions were, only to see an extreme couponer come through and perchase mass quantities of a product that does not fit the purchase requirements.
Also, I’m known around here (pop. 1700 and a school teacher) as an extreme couponer, hahaha, and ask me all the time is the show real and what do I think of it? In all honestly I tell them that it is not realistic. No, we usually don’t have 100s of the same coupon. The people on the show obviously purchased the coupons, ok, paid clipper clubs for their time, in order to use them and the show never tells how much they paid for the stacks of coupons they use. They just say that she/he saved 100% although they didn’t, there is a cost for coupons. People just didn’t randomly give them 100 of the same.
I have a family of 5 and and a couple of friends and nephews that I help out and I spend $20 a week purchasing newspapers to get the inserts. I don’t dumpster dive, or steal my neighbors papers. People always ask where i get the 1000s of coupons I have and I simply tell them, I buy newspapers. Their response…you pay for them? yep:) If not for the newspapers, for the ink to print the coupons at home. The reality is, very seldomly if anytime, do you get a buggy full of FREE items.
I am extremely happy when I save 75-80%, but in all actuality my average savings are closer to 55-60% on a weekly basis for meats/produce/essentials. Do I wish I could save 100%, sure, but that is not realistic.
Paul, just out of curiosity, what would be your average savings on a buggy full of day to day items? Thanks, just wondering:)
Hi Diana, I agree with you about most of the trips being unrealistic. They don’t count the cost of clipping or newspapers. There are ways to easily get 20-30 of an item but 100 is a bit of a reach. On our trip neither one of us bought more than 10 of the same item and we were only allowed to double 1 of the same coupon. We teach people in our classes to to shoot for 40-60%. The 90-100% big trips only happen 2-3 times per year.
Just wanted to say that I have the ability to get 100’s of the same coupons for free. Yup, no cost to me at all except for my time pulling them out of papers. I am pretty lucky to work in a business which provides me with basically hundreds and hundreds of discarded newspapers on a daily basis. I don’t need to buy coupons.
you are indeed lucky, vey lucky!!!!
Paul-I did watch Tiffany and you on the show and I thought the two of you were the most accurate and true version of couponers. I am thankful for your websites and your hard work because both have saved me so much money.
I no longer watch the show because I don’t get the channel.
Very well said, Paul. I have been couponing for years, and now I am retired, but still coupon. I would like more singles to see that they can save even on a limited budget without being an “extreme”, or non=ethical couponer. I am not an extreme couponer, but do manage do manage to save on products I use and products I would like to try. Your blog helps me find coupons, samples and deals. Thank you!
I also lovehate the show. I started couponing after watching an episode, it was an inspiration to me. At the time my husband had been unemployed for almost 2 years and was no longer receiving unemployment, we were living on my salary alone and really struggleing. Couponing opened up a world to me that I would have never found had it not been for the show. BUT I do get annoyed when I see the shelf clearers and the overstockpilers. (If you are a single person, you do not need 100 bottles of bodywash.) I stockpile certain items, and I still pay full price for certain items. The thing that I could live without though, is in certain stores I feel like I’m treated like a criminal for using coupons. Some cashiers are so rude about having to scan coupons, searching the fine print for any reason to turn a coupon away.
Honestly, I’m on the fence about the show. On one hand I owe it a great debt due to the fact that Paul and Tiffany (1st show season 1) sparked my interest. I would have NEVER considered using coupons and had never up until that point. My family of 4 (myself, hubby, and two small children 4 and 1) were really feeling the strain of this economy. My husband is self-employed and owns a paving company (if you know the price influction of gas and diesel, you understand these are the basis of his business) and his work is seasonal. I work in hospitality at a 5 star/diamond resort (also feeling a major backlash of these tight times). I have a degree which means student loans along with the other day to day bills that any family has to live. To adjust to this crunch I had to find a way to cut some major corners. I love this show because the ppl who do this right taught me how to coupon and support my family with much less expense without my children even knowing there was a pinch. I dislike it due to the fact that some ppl cheat the system and rip off stores- that is stealing. I work my butt off to do this right and it angers me to see ppl selling fake coupons to ppl who did not learn the right way to coupon- taking advantage of ppl, stores, and the financial mess our country has found itself struggling with…
We need to just keep doing it the right way and trying to teach others the same. Eventually the show will go off and the thrill seekers will move on, but the tried and true will still be there. We have just hit a bumpy patch that we need to ride out. Hang in there everybody it will get better.
Yes, I watch the show weekly. I use it as a learning tool to fine tune my couponing.Sometimes it something as simple as seeing someone else’s organization method or check out routine.Seeing some of the stockpiles is what keeps me going! I enjoy couponing and have saved a TON of money on things we actually use. I have always couponed which was how I was able to stay home with five kids. It stretched the money my husband earned that much further. Thanks to the show I learned how to maxamize my savings.It led me to your website which I use everyday. I coupon honestly and do not clear shelves. As for the rest of the show and some of those people, you have to admit, it’s pure entertainment!!!
I love the show, without seeing it a year ago, I would of never knew how to start couponing. I trully wish I had this knowledge years ago. We started couponing exactly 1 year ago and thank goodness for it because in August we were only eating what we had on the shelves and my husband had to go away to work. So it was just my daughter and I eating the food we couponed for. It was a total change of my thought process with the coupon mentality. Everything we buy is with a coupon or some sort of discount and we don’t pay full price for anything. Where as in the past, if we wanted something we would just buy it regardless of price, that was when we had money. But this way of thinking helped us loose our home and we have been renting every since. Now after a year of couponing we are in escrow for a new home when we have been renting for 5 years. So the show gave me hope and gave me knowledge, but I am not a crazy coupon lady. We have alot of items but not a big room full and when we have an abundance of products we give alot of it away. We have also have helped other families when they really need food to put on their table.
I do alot of leg work in my couponing but I am also extremely grateful for your website, helps me so much!!!! I also love the weusecoupons website too. I am finding more and more couponers that are just starting out and I am always willing to help them too. So I am a newbie but a thankful and grateful newbie.
Thanks again for all you do for couponers!!
i wish the coupon companies would just put a limit of 4 like coupons per day per person limit on them and be done with it. Going in and getting a hundred of something (even if you claim you’re donating it) just defeats the whole purpose. I think coupons are great advertising, get people to try new things and can help eliminate surplus, but if the companies wanted to give away truckloads of merchandise – they would just do it. The hoarding is what I believe is causing lower coupon value and less coupons in general. I’ve watched the show but it’s not my favorite.
I do not think these items are free if you are purchasing your coupons on eBay or buying them from a clipping service, which I know happens so that people can have so many of the same coupons. I also don’t consider these items to be free if you’re driving to a town that is 50 miles from your home (which happened in tonight’s episode).
I totally agree. The only time I use coupon clipping services is if I would get overage that covers what I paid. For example: the $3 Bic coupons, I purchased 50 and they were on sale for 1.99 at a local store. So I PM’d Walmart and got $50 to use on other groceries. (I pre ordered the BIC as well).
You hit the nail on the head for me – I want to know what these people are spending on coupons…be it buying x amount of newspapers each week, ebay, or clipping service – this is one point that is SORELY missed on each episode! They want to get straight to what the register says and forget about all the stuff that comes before. How about a true respresentation? Yes, I believe it’s still coming out ahead so to speak, but be fair and reveal it all!
We love the show, but sadly, cable is just too much for us right now. Our family has been saved by couponing, and so I am glad that I tripped across the show. My friend had said that she coupons, and I said something about not saving anything and how I didn’t have time for it. I can’t afford NOT to coupon. Sadly, we were stuck with visiting 4 food banks a month, to try and feed our large brood, with the gas prices, DH commuting and no way to move closer to his work. That wasn’t enough at times, with the medical bills piling on. My son’s meds can be from $50-200/mo AFTER we pay for premiums. Couponing has brought us OUT of the depths of despair, and out of the pantries, except what we send to them! We donate a little, wish we could do more, but unless it’s BBQ sauce, we actually use all that stuff in our stockpile. We go through a LOT of food! The extra money that we did have, went to toiletries, FULL price, and now, we can get those mostly for free so we can pay for our food (or course 65-85% less retail). THIS has been a Godsend and I pray that it never goes away. I hope the frauders will see what they are doing to everyone else and that it won’t go unpunished forever.
I have always used coupons, even when I was single.As a one income family with two children with autism,I have to make every dollar stretch even farther than the “normal” family. I intensely dislike this show because of the rude,fanatical, shelf clearing,selfish people that don’t have a clue what real couponing is about.I know that is a very strong statement to make but I cannot wait until this show is gone and the shelf clearers disappear.I know some of them will continue to make their presence known, but like you say, the novelty will wear off and most will quit.At this point,I am lucky if I can get one or two reasonable deals a month. If it were not for the local churches food pantry’s,I don’t know how we would have made it this last year.If they only intend to donate the stuff,then just leave some on the shelf for those of us that can afford to buy it using our own coupons.I have started teaching my neice how to coupon and do it the right way and to always be nice to the cashiers.
I love/hate it as well. I’ve been couponing for right at a year now Ive been teaching basic couponing once a semester. I get this question asked all the time. Do you watch that show? Do you like it? I watched it once and I didnt like it. I watched it last night for the first time since starting to coupon and for the majority it still annoys me but at the same time I felt like I could relate. I could relate to getting a certian numer of products and my husband teasing me about it (even though my numbers are WAY smaller than ones on the show). I could relate to not getting enough of one item or having to dump my coupons bc in a panic one has vanished. lol in a MAJORLY scaled down way I could relate.
Not on the fence at all about this show – I HATE IT! – and in fact no longer watch TLC at all after watching the first season of this show. Although I’ve lived my whole life in the “land of no doubles” and am very use to realistic coupon savings – yet still being able to cut grocery bills in half- this show has affected even how the ordinary couponer shops. I don’t have a problem with stockpiles, getting something for free, getting overage, donating things you can’t use….etc. I DO have a problem with the fraud that occurs and stores making an exception on their coupon policies for the show. I just don’t believe it is realistic for 90% of most shoppers. People need a realistic show to ethical and practical coupon shopping – not someone saying their “life is over” because they paid a couple bucks more than they expected…..