Thoughts...on TLC's Extreme Couponing...and more Coupon Advice

I am watching the shows on DVR right now.  When this show first came on, I thought all these people were CRAZY.  I still think they are a little CRAZY, I have no desire to buy that much stuff, no matter what the cost.  Why?  Well for starters I do not have the room and I do not want to dedicated all my time to couponing.  I will be a Christian, mother, wife, & daughter first, a student second...then I'll do my couponing.  It takes me enough time to coupon on a small scale, so I can only imagine the time they spent doing this, and I'm sorry but time with my FAMILY is MUCH MORE IMPORTANT!!!  I have no desire to "dumpster dive."  Now, if these people on this show are buying all this and donating some of it, GREAT!!!   However, from the looks of these people's "stock piles" they are not donating much of anything. Remember, when you die you cannot take any of this stuff with you, so share some of the things you get a great deal on, there are millions of people who go hungry everyday, who cannot afford to coupon or buy anything.

 Also for all you newbies (myself included) please realize that alot of this is for SHOW. Each store has a coupon policy, some coupons state that you can only use so many coupons for the same items in the same transaction.  NOWAY are you going to be able to buy 500 toothbrushes & use 500 coupons in the same transaction.  So make sure you have read each store's coupon policy and plan your tips accordingly.  Anyway...I can associate with the "rush" these extreme couponers feel, I coupon on a smaller scale, but I still get that same RUSH, and let me prepare you it's a pretty good feeling to walk out of a store with $100 worth of stuff for only $15. 

One thing that really aggrevates me, is people on this show clearing the shelves.  Come on now, be a NICE person and leave some for the next person!!!  There is no reason you cannot buy a few at this store and go to another store or come back another day and get some more.  I'm still waiting on CVS to restock from their sales last week, because they were out of EVERYTHING that was on sale!!!  Anyway...

Also do not let these shows fool you, you are still going to (more than likely) have to pay full price for produce, and those items that rarely go on sale that you & your family need each week. 

Also please note that everything that is on sale this week will be on sale again.  Sale cycles in the south are about on average 6 weeks, therefore what is on sale this week will more than likely be on sale again (at rock bottom price) in 6 weeks. So the best course of action is to buy enough of something to last you & your family 6 weeks until that item goes on sale again. Also, sometimes store brands are still cheaper, even if you have a coupon, so you have to shop wisely.  It honestly takes me about an hour in a store, and at least two hours to plan my trips.  (I split that 2 hours of planning up over several days however)

Also, somehow all my blog posts to Facebook got flagged as spam or abusive.  I don't know if this was an accident or what, so until I get it sorted out with the FB Goverment (haha), you will have to follow the link from my FB Info page. 

Thanks for reading!!

God Bless & Happy Couponing!