TLC has a show called Extreme Couponing for those who want to save money

[JI7]

i just tuned in. but one lady got over 600 dollars worth of stuff at a grocery for like 2 dollars .

hopefully they repeat it. i would like more tips on how people save more.

[KittyWampus]

1. They also have a show coming up on polygamists.

[cpamomfromtexas]

2. I took my 7 and 10 yr old to the store the other day to do this

for the first time. They saved 46% their first time out.

The store was tacky and gave us a hard time.

I am teaching them that for everything they save that's twice as much they didn't have to make and pay taxes on.

Rarely do people think that way.

[JI7]

4. how/why did the store give them a hard time ? from what i understand

the store gets back the money that people don't spend through coupons. the companies whose products people used the coupons for give the money back i think.

[nessa]

3. I saw something similar..

it's interesting. You can save money with coupons, especially if you combine them with specials at grocery stores. One good site that explains it is http://www.couponmom.com

BUT remember companies give coupons to get you buy things you might not otherwise buy. The couple people that I saw that had extreme savings, like $600 worth of stuff for $2, bought things they didn't need in quantities they didn't need. One lady was getting like 150 butterfingers. Another thing they do is hoard. One couple had thousands of dollars of cleaning stuff, personal hygiene stuff, paper products, etc. More than they could ever use. They paid to move it with them when they moved. Other people did extreme stuff like dumpster diving on Sunday and Monday to get multiple coupons. These people forget that their time to work on this, their space to store all the crap they buy but don't need is also valuable, probably more valuable than the coupons.

Coupons are generally for name brand stuff. I had coupon for olive oil, it was $1.00 off for 2 bottles. Sounds like a good deal, but store brand price without a coupon was lower than the name brand with a coupon.

I recommend getting a Sunday paper, getting coupons on line but only save coupons for stuff you would buy anyway.

[frazzled]

5. Please do not watch that creepy channel

Not only did they produce and air a series for Sarah Palin, but they created a documentary on the "Scandalous" Ted Haggard.

Together with the mega-families, dwarfs, toddler sexpots, quints, sextuplets and other assorted crap, I can't imagine progressive wanting to patronize this channel. Sorry if I'm sounding "effete," but these things do have consequences.

[LoZoccolo]

11. Didn't they cancel the Sarah Palin show?

Also, wouldn't they have an incentive to air non-right wing programming if we watch it?

[frazzled]

12. It's a junk channel

As I said, dwarfs, toddlers in tiaras, bridezillas. Knock yourself out if you want to watch it, but I say these kinds of things don't help our national soul.

[LoZoccolo]

13. What about how to use coupons?

Again, wouldn't it given them an incentive to broadcast better programming if, say, people watched it?

[frazzled]

17. What about how to buy local and sustainable?

Or how to save money by cooking things from scratch?

Coupons, I hate to say, are almost always geared towards the corporate food industry. Not that I won't use a coupon to buy laundry detergent. I do. But 99% of coupons are for products I don't ever use. Mostly I buy fresh produce, meats and fish, and grains.

Again, I'm not trying to be effete and I have nothing against using coupons to save money. But this sounds sensationalistic and diversionary from real issues about poverty, food, and economics. So no, I don't think TLC will "improve" their programming no matter how many "coupon" shows progressives watch on it. Their bread and butter is sensationalism, and that is what they are looking for.

[SoCalDem]

6. I was an obsessed refunder back in the 80's..My best haul..6 baskets of groceries for about $8

We were even in the newspaper on that trip... but I got tired of all the mess & clutter & gave all the stuff away to other refunders & donated most of the "warehouse" I had of stuff we would not live long enough to use up..

I missed the money-offers..some months I would get $400-500 in cash & check refunds..Multiple addresses was the key, so of course I used addresses for my family members & I just got tired of the stress of almost missing deadlines & of shopping like it was the Normandy Invasion..

[NillaWafers]

7. I have been couponing for over a year.. Some of these couponers are actually hoarders.

The rules of wise couponing......

Never buy anything that you don't need. Who in the world needs 40 boxes of fruit roll-ups?

Never buy anything that you don't use. If you can work a deal that nets you 15 cans of free cat food, yet you don't have a cat...what's the point? Except to donate the cans to the animal shelter, but most coupon addicts don't really do that. They keep stockpiling and stockpiling.

Couponing NEVER EVER rewards you for buying healthy food. It is ALWAYS ONLY frozen pizza, chips and pop.

That being said, I have reduced my food bill by 10%. I'm not getting $600 worth of processed foods for free, but I have shaved 10% off my family's food bill and we eat only fresh meats and poultry, fresh fruits and fresh vegetables.

Don't buy the hype of these super couponers. In the long run, they end up wasting more than they save.

[pansypoo53219]

8. but most coupons

are for crap and web site are infected.

[Ratty]

10. That was always my opinion

If some one can give me a primer on how to be a good couponer for stuff I actually need and without getting my phone number into the hands of telemarketers and without my mail box overflowing with more crap than I already get I'd be on it like that.

On a side note, years ago I read about somebody who worked to get on every mailing list he could until he started going to the post office daily to pick up the bags of junk mail which he used to heat his house.

[Lugnut]

9. I use coupons when I can.

It makes no sense to me to use coupons for things we don't or won't use. If you combine coupons with store specials you can save a few bucks. From what I've seen, some of these mega couponers end up with more products than they can use within a reasonable time period. It's ridiculous.

[CBGLuthier]

14. I save a hell of a lot of money by not having CABLE.

[krawhitham]

15. I save $400 a month using coupons

You need an extra freezer to save a lot of money.

[Hannah Bell]

16. people could save more if rich people would quit speculating on food & oil

& firing people to increase profit margins.

[one_voice]

18. I used to use coupons all the time...

they came in the Sunday paper (sometimes other papers too) and I'd cut them out. They don't come that way anymore. You have to go to coupon websites and they never work right. I wasn't obsessive about it, but I would save some money. I used to try and save enough to pay for my cigarettes. I'd usually do it or come real close.

Don't smoke anymore, so it would be nice to save enough to cover half the gas fill up.

[krawhitham]

19. Sunday paper still has them around here

Cincinnati

I buy 6 Sunday papers every week just for the coupons

You can get a lot of printable coupons too, I always had problems printing them in IE so I use firefox

[one_voice]

21. I just switched to Firefox...

I'll give it a try. Thanks!

[MilesColtrane]

20. And, I seem to get stuck in the checkout line behind each and every one of them.

(Seriously though, if you don't already, you should check out the Clark Howard syndicated radio show. He's also got a web site: http://www.clarkhoward.com/)

[Courtesy Flush]

22. Could be an effective form of activism

Get a load of stuff for $5 and donate it to the local shelter. Redistribute a tiny amount of wealth at a time.