Anonymous : Your title is unfair. And extreme coupon shopping is a sport that encourages mass consumption for the sake of supposedly “saving” a few dollars. Lastly, if you print your coupons at home, you’ll probably go through at least one ink cartridge per month, which costs around $30. Big difference. While we do our best to keep these updated, numbers stated on this site may differ from actual numbers. Another major problem with extreme coupon shopping is that to maximize your savings, you are limited to buying items that are on sale or that coupons are available for. If you’re a reality TV junkie like me, you’ve probably seen the TLC show “Extreme Couponing.” In the show, devout couponers score major deals, procuring items for as much as a full 100% discount. In her syndicated couponing column, Cataldo wrote that there has been an “Extreme Couponing effect.” After the show began airing, coupons became less valuable—”Manufacturers that previously offered $1 coupons now offer coupons good for $1 off on the purchase of two items”—and grocery store chains introduced tougher restrictions on coupon usage. With the boom of coupon and deals blogs and the production of TV shows like TLC’s Extreme Couponing, coupon clipping is more popular than ever.But is it realistic to expect to buy $300 worth of groceries for $1.89? Time. While I could resell them (and sometimes did), they often sat on shelves in my house for weeks or months, taking up space. You need to buy multiple newspapers to have enough coupons to get several items for free, and you need to organize all of those coupons so you can access them when you need them. 10 Best Self Driving Car & Autonomous Vehicle Stocks of 2021, 10 Best Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks to Buy in 2021, 9 Best Electric Vehicle (EV) Stocks to Buy in 2021, 11 Best Mobile Coupon Apps to Save Money Shopping With Your Smartphone, 14 Ways to Spring Clean Your Finances This Year, What Is Supplemental Security Income – Benefits & How to Apply, 26 Best New Bank Account Promotions & Offers – April 2021. It also depicts the subjects embroiled in some serious ethical issues, all for the sake of building their “stash.” Sure, sometimes the shoppers are purchasing items for an upcoming church supper, the homeless shelter, and stationed troops – but this is not the norm. Before you grab your coupon binder and a ton of newspaper inserts, make sure that you get all the facts about hardcore couponing and what it could mean for your shopping habits. YouTube. And, we buy what we need for ourselves, our family and our donations without clearing shelves in the supermarket. googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest(); 13 Best Cash-Back Credit Cards – Reviews & Comparison, 8 Best Low APR Interest Credit Cards – Reviews & Comparison, 19 Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards – Reviews & Comparison, 15 Best Hotel Rewards Credit Cards – Reviews & Comparison, 12 Best Gas Credit Cards – Reviews & Comparison, 12 Best Credit Cards for College Students – Reviews & Comparison, 26 Best Small Business Credit Cards – Reviews & Comparison, 10 Best Secured Credit Cards to Rebuild Credit – Reviews & Comparison. It was the show that got me to see you really could save with coupons. You could do the same, right? With over 14 years of copywriting experience, she's created content and scripting for organizations such as GE, Walgreens, Overstock, and MasterCard. That doesn’t mean you can’t save money, it just means you need to be a little more savvy about it. Filter Type: All $ Off % Off Free Shipping Filter Type: All $ Off % Off Free Shipping Search UpTo % Off: 50% 70% 100% $ Off: $50 $70 $100 . While they do get those high-value coupons, they also get regular coupons. One thing I’ve seen on these TV shows is that some people purposefully use coupons incorrectly. History. When an entire shelf of a product I need is gone, or if I’m stuck in line for an hour while a couponer price checks and ad matches, my blood begins to boil. I'm a strategic shopper. Here are some tips on selling your stockpile. Here are some tips on how to extreme coupon in florida . If we are … Truth is, the majority of these men have low testosterone. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they appear on category pages. In many cases, you can use not only store and manufacturer coupons, but “money-off” coupons as well (such as coupons that offer $5 off of a purchase of $20 or more). I readily admit that couponing doesn’t appeal to me. IT’S A WASTE OF MONEY & TIME. OK, I have to admit that I have seen the show "Extreme Couponing" from TLC. When double coupon week rolled around at the local Harris Teeter I may have printed off a ton of few coupons. You Have a Real Job. Extreme Couponing Education: Shelf Clearing For Charity; Extreme Couponing Education: Don’t Be A Crazy Lady! All Rights Reserved. it took me forever to gather the coupons, then hours to organize them all. Extreme coupon shopping typically involves combining store sales with manufacturer coupons to get items for free or very cheaply. Most of them were engaging in coupon fraud while they were doing their episode and possibly prior to them being on the show. We’ve never condoned it. However, the fact is that someone, somewhere, may get in trouble or have to pay for your improper use of a coupon. Extreme couponers always seem to know where to shop to get the cheapest price, and some of the best deals occur when a store doubles coupons. The idea that you can use a store’s BOGO coupon, then take another 10% off from a… Extreme couponing - 3 reasons to avoid watching - MapleMoney. Multiple your deals exponentially! For instance, when a pasta sauce sale lines up with an available coupon, you might buy 10 jars of the pasta sauce. Extreme Couponing Tip: Why Photocopyi... One of the first rules a couponer learns is that photocopying ANY coupon is illegal and is punishable by fines and imprisonment. To truly experience significant savings, you can’t have just a coupon or two – you need to get the coupon inserts every week. Some of these laws are really going to make you scratch your head and wonder why the law was established in the first place. She had a $0.50 coupon, and the store happily doubled it, therefore allowing her to take the salad for free. I think what you are asking is that if you have bought many goods with coupons and have "stockpiled" these goods, is it legal to sell them at the normal retail price. All Rights Reserved. One of my friends when I was younger, her mom would do the extreme couponing. She is currently a full-time writer who writes both textbooks and web content related to personal finance and the law. Multiple your deals exponentially! She lives in Utah with her husband, three kids, and an overzealous springer spaniel named Penelope. Turns out, they’re not that extreme, so put aside your reality-show notions of getting $2,000 worth of groceries for a penny. On “Extreme Couponing,” it’s common practice to purchase entire palettes or cases of free or cheap products. What do you think of “Extreme Couponing”?window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []}; Advertiser Disclosure: The credit card and banking offers that appear on this site are from credit card companies and banks from which MoneyCrashers.com receives compensation. To be a real extreme couponer, you need to have a ton of time, a large investment, and very thick skin. The New York Times not only said "the traffic is legal" regarding selling airline discount coupons, but wrote "check the commercial notices column in The New York Times or the classified advertising section under 'Miscellaneous') in The Wall Street Journal. Here are 6 reasons why extreme couponing may not work for you: 1. It is also pretty clear that such scams happen often, as numerous articles have appeared in mainstream news outlets about coupon abuse. }); The content on MoneyCrashers.com is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as professional financial advice. 13 Best Cash-Back Credit Cards – Reviews & Comparison, 8 Best Low APR Interest Credit Cards – Reviews & Comparison, 19 Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards – Reviews & Comparison, 15 Best Hotel Rewards Credit Cards – Reviews & Comparison, 12 Best Gas Credit Cards – Reviews & Comparison, 12 Best Credit Cards for College Students – Reviews & Comparison, 26 Best Small Business Credit Cards – Reviews & Comparison, 10 Best Secured Credit Cards to Rebuild Credit – Reviews & Comparison. }); The content on MoneyCrashers.com is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as professional financial advice. googletag.defineSlot('/1035677/MoneyCrashers_', [[300, 139], [300, 360], [630, 139], [630, 475], [630, 250], [1, 1], [300, 250], [300, 475], [630, 360]], 'div-gpt-ad-1590780665633-0').addService(googletag.pubads()); Extreme couponing is an activity that combines shopping skills with couponing in an attempt to save as much money as possible while accumulating the most groceries. It pays to do the math. The similarities are actually striking in that, for example, they are both legal and by-the-rules kind of techniques that few people take full advantage of. Buying multiple papers, organizing the coupons, reading up on the deals, making shopping lists, going to multiple stores, and checking out while using 100 or more coupons can take huge amounts of time. On “Extreme Couponing,” it’s common practice to purchase entire palettes or cases of free or cheap products. Men can go to the gym for years and see little to no results at all. This is a bit of a lengthy post, but as you can tell, these are some things we Fabs feel strongly about. googletag.pubads().setTargeting('subcat', []).setTargeting('category', ['savings']); While these sellers just charge a “clipping fee,” it still is illegal … However, what isn’t stated is how much time they have spent on the practice. Furthermore, you might get an attitude from cashiers or managers who don’t appreciate your method of shopping. There’s an ethical difference between grateful couponers and extreme couponers. 07/07/2011 01:14 Subject: Why extreme couponing is wasteful and GREEDY. Some shoppers even work the system so they’re essentially paid to take the items from the store, receiving credits, points, and vouchers that exceed the value of the items they’ve purchased. This is something nobody at the time knew what these extreme couponers were doing on the show. It doesn’t have to become an obsession that controls a portion of your life. I love coupons, but I am far too lazy to search for them. Printable coupons 2019 need a barcode so that they can be scanned at the store. Time is also money. It is technically stealing if you have a thousand dollar order and you get it for ten dollars. While we continue to feature destinations that make our state wonderful, please take proper precautions or add them to your bucket list to see at a later date. We strive to write accurate and genuine reviews and articles, and all views and opinions expressed are solely those of the authors. Plenty of hardcore bargain shoppers purchase extra copies of the newspaper to ensure that they have multiples of each and every coupon, and the cost of newspapers can add up over time. Is Extreme Couponing Legal - Best Coupon Codes. There are so many different parts of that show that we could talk about for hours and hours. It's also shot in the US, where couponing is a whole different ball game - stores there have really embraced the idea to … Watch Queue Queue Do you envy those other people you see online that is posting all the fantastic savings they have achieved and the tons of FREE products they are receiving? We appreciate you taking the time to read it. It’s important to remember that these cashiers have been coached for this televised transaction. But to get the kinds of deals that the couponers snag in a show, you’d have to devote hours each day to the pursuit of extreme couponing: gathering, clipping, surfing the Web for deals, and shopping. It's also shot in the US, where couponing is a whole different ball game - stores there have really embraced the idea to … We appreciate you taking the time to read it. Just remember that the stores featured on television might offer promotions during filming only – you probably won’t get the same deal. One Of The Most Powerful, Legal Options For Boosting TEST . Hold up, hear me out on this one. The acquisition of these unwanted free items also made it seem like I was saving a lot more than I actually was. I define waste as having anything you don’t need or use. Honestly, if you aren’t seeing results after working your ass off for years on end, why would you continue? 10 National chains that allow you to use coupon stacking for huge savings. While we do our best to keep these updated, numbers stated on this site may differ from actual numbers. It was a time-sucker. These printable coupons are still tracked with unique numbers and have legal usage limits. COUPON (1 months ago) Extreme couponing. For some, it’s a way of life, but extreme couponing is definitely not for everyone. Some coupons now say “limit of 4 like coupons in same shopping trip.” Some also say, “Coupons not authorized if purchasing products for resale.” The problem is policing this, and remembering which coupon can’t be used for resale. I personally feel like if people were really doing this and I know some who are, the stores are going to limit coupons. That definitely cuts into your savings, doesn’t it? Thanks! Most couponers happily bargain shop by driving around to several stores in one day, but if you drive a gas guzzler, that will eat up your fuel budget – perhaps by as much as $50 per month. I just did a major haul, and got several hundred cans of Campbells soup. The government should not care if it was a gift to you. Some of their techniques are not only unrealistic, they’re downright wrong. googletag.defineSlot('/1035677/MoneyCrashers_', [[300, 139], [300, 360], [630, 139], [630, 475], [630, 250], [1, 1], [300, 250], [300, 475], [630, 360]], 'div-gpt-ad-1590780665633-0').addService(googletag.pubads()); Sure, I’ll redeem a coupon for $10 off a $40 purchase at a department store every now and then, but otherwise I turn to comparison shopping and sales to save money. Fake coupons or fake money are not being printed. Extreme couponing is not the only way to save money on groceries, and here’s why it’s killing your budget. When Does It Make Sense to Hire a Tax Attorney? extreme couponing is not only possible in Canada, it’s really fun. “Store coupons” If a coupon has the words “store coupon” at the top, it’s issued by a particular store and can only be used at that retailer. This is called extreme couponing. Should you need such advice, consult a licensed financial or tax advisor. Watch Queue Queue. Listen, this is a murky moral area for couponers. Think about it – getting a bottle of ketchup for $0.50 is a great deal, but if that great deal entices you to purchase 30 bottles, you’ve just spend $15 on more ketchup that you may not use before the expiration date. Additionally, you can get the inside scoop on what’s acceptable for redemption – and the store can even order more product so you’re not clearing out their entire inventory. MoneyCrashers.com does not include all banks, credit card companies or all available credit card offers, although best efforts are made to include a comprehensive list of offers regardless of compensation. However, I may be reading too much into this question! The problem, of course, is that I didn’t need the items I was buying. What I didn’t expect, was a show that displayed a lack of realcouponing. Extreme coupon shopping typically goes hand-in-hand with stockpiling, which is the purchasing of a large quantity of a single item when combining coupons with a store sale to make the item free or significantly reduced in price. Should you need such advice, consult a licensed financial or tax advisor. I’ll admit that I’ve blamed overzealous and inconsiderate couponers for causing me inconveniences. Here at KCL, we don’t like it. The problem is usually, “Is it worth it?”. References to products, offers, and rates from third party sites often change. If your coupon prints without a barcode, this is usually a sign that there is an issue with java on your computer. © 2021 Money Crashers, LLC. If your Sunday paper costs $2.50 per copy and you purchase four for couponing purposes, it adds up $40 a month for the paper alone. Extreme couponers can make money too! Much of the time, the best deals are for processed foods, condiments, and toiletries. Coupons.com sent their savings expert, Jeanette Pavini on a real world shipping trip consisting of a seven day meal plan for a family of four. While I don’t do that anymore, I do watch extreme couponing shows occasionally. We are “EXTREME COUPONERS” because we can save an extreme amount of money by using legitimate couponing methods, keeping a conservative stockpile of items that can pack our pantry or fit onto an extra shelf or two. Extreme Couponing – The monthly purchase for under $ 10. CODES (2 days ago) Extreme couponing is an activity that combines shopping skills with couponing in an attempt to save as much money as possible while accumulating the most groceries. While you may hear that you can get deals on produce or even organic fruits and vegetables, the reality is that these kinds of deals are few and far between and they don’t provide the thousands of dollars of savings that you so often hear about from extreme coupon shoppers. When the manufacturers create coupons or stores offer promotions, they’re hoping to attract more customers, not offer a single person free product. Introduce yourself, explain which coupons you’d like to use, and the amount of products you want. If that is the question asked: It is generally legal to sell personal property that you have acquired at a discount at market price. When other couponers headed in to claim the same deal, store owners pointed out that the show was done for promotional reasons only, and coupon doubling was not allowed. One of the ways that extreme couponing can save you so much cash is finding and using high value coupons. References to products, offers, and rates from third party sites often change. Here's what a dentist had to say about an Extreme Cheapskates couple who shared this toiletry. After watching this show once, I realized that I was OK with how I watch TV. While I am all for saving a dollar, I am also one to preserve my time. Coupons are made for the casual shopper, not the extreme type. A new season of Extreme Couponing aired yesterday and like I expected, I am still disgusted by it.. Below, we cover the places where extreme couponers get their coupons… 10 National chains that allow you to use coupon stacking for huge savings. They are able to save 50%, sometimes even 70% off of their groceries! Grateful and considerate couponers use their coupons to get the best discounts without affecting other shoppers, while extreme couponers do what they can to stretch their money, regardless of how it affects others. Although Extreme Couponing might be unrealistic for the average person, the coupon industry does want you to save money. With the debut of Extreme Couponing (season 3) tonight I wanted to make a note for those that may have found this site due to the show.I will not be watching, (see my rant here) for many reasons… but I realize that many people may find Southern Cali Saver because they are interested in saving money from coupon. Why I Don’t Coupon 1. The concept of "extreme couponers" was first mentioned by The Wall Street Journal on March 8, 2010 in an article entitled "Hard Times Turn Coupon Clipping Into the Newest Extreme Sport". I made pretty big profits when I sold my stockpile in bundles. Since I get my shows from an antenna and from Netflix, I don't get many shows like this. I had dinner with family friends last night who had recently started extreme couponing. COUPON (2 days ago) TLC's Extreme Couponing is a show about shoppers who make extensive and focused use of coupons to save money while accumulating large quantities of goods. Extreme couponers display their store receipts like a badge of honor on the show, online, and in their homes. Instead, the vast majority of the coupons available are for junk food, ready-to-eat meals, frozen foods, and processed lunch meats. Almost any hardcore bargain shopper can easily tell you about his or her best score; specifically, how much was bought and how much was saved. What can be even worse is that you may not have enough food storage in your home, and the items may start to encroach on your living space. You may have noticed some of the couponing “rules” are a little different inFlorida. She and her husband and two dogs split their time between Florida and Pennsylvania. FREE Extreme couponing has become a popular topic in recent years. When there’s a problem, the manager is called, who then easily retools the system to accept more coupons and deeper discounts. Why do my coupons print without a barcode? For example, bargain hunters push large purchases from the supermarkets with goods worth hundreds of dollars for which the coupon experts have not even paid 10 dollars. Real extreme couponing only requires a blend of common sense, shopping savvy and organization. If you give something that has monetary value, you should be able legally to claim that value. On top of the clipping, there’s the sheer organisation and planning that goes into couponing as well. It sounds like these are pretty amazing deals, right? Add it all up, and saving money could actually cost you $120 per month – or $1,440 per year! window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []}; When I was a coupon shopper, the goal was always to get enough into an order to use a money-off coupon. The Myths of TLC's "Extreme Couponing" - How Couponing Really Works, Extreme Couponing Tips - Using Discount Coupons for Free Groceries, Extreme Couponing 101: How to Extreme Coupon and Save 84%+ on Groceries, SavingsAngel Review - Save on Groceries by Matching Sales to Coupons, 6 Unique Tips On Where To Find Discount Store and Online Coupons, How to Save Up to $1,465 per Year Shopping Online With Coupon Codes. This blog post is for those people who have never used coupons before and those of you who have always wanted to start using coupons but have no idea where to start. But when “Extreme Couponers” depicts a shopper clearing out an entire store’s supply of yogurt, pain relievers, or toilet paper, it begs the question: It might be legal, but is it right? That dress hanging in the back of … It generally doesn’t make us feel comfortable, but when we sat down and examined it, we wanted to answer one question: Is selling your stockpile even legal? This habit can quickly lead to a massive surplus of items in your home that must be rotated and organized so you can access them, and often, food products become spoiled and are wasted. googletag.enableServices(); We may have financial relationships with some of the companies mentioned on this website. Buying something you don’t need – or even acquiring it for free – isn’t a bargain. These items (especially diabetes monitors) often can be acquired for free with coupons – the monitors are free because the test strips are expensive, and the manufacturers want to get you hooked. The problem with this is that the same items go on sale and have available coupons week after week, which can lead you to buy these items repeatedly. A mom says she lost her savings and her pregnancy fighting back against Target, which accused her of …