extreme couponing

I can't help but get somewhat angry over these extreme couponers. If any of you watched TLC's Extreme Couponing last night, let me tell you why.

First off, this is the Krazy Coupon Lady. I...love...her...blog! If you don't know her background, intentions, etc. of being a couponer, you will definitely get the wrong vibe from her part in the show. BUT, the first lady, I believe from Ohio...she is a hoarder.  She has like a 150 year stockpile of crap. Ok, so maybe good things like body wash, whatever, but 150 years??? Ridiculous. But no, she buys 100+ candy bars - because she-can-get-it-for-free. What's wrong with this picture? Candy bars = NOT healthy, especially in that amount. Most of it will go bad before they even make it through half of them...also the fact that it's being stored away and probably isn't touched much BECAUSE she just likes the thrill of getting them for free.  Her husband even calls her storage "garbage".  Anyway, I could go ON and ON about her and what I don't agree with.  

Another lady, from outside Chicago...she gets up at 6 a.m. everyday and walks 7 miles to go pick up extra inserts from newspapers...from friends that collect them for her, to recycle bins.  Good exercise.  Once at the store, she's constantly helping her fellow shoppers find the best deals, making sure they're using a coupon, etc.  She's been couponing over 35 years! She ONLY buys what she uses! This I like.

Now on the the "dude".  I was a little annoyed by him at first.  He's at the store and "buys" like 100 toothbrushes, 100 deodorants, etc.  One thing I liked though is that he pre-ordered the cereal he bought.  Granted, there were about 1000 boxes :) At the end of his trip though, he told the show that he donates most of the stuff to shelters, etc. which is one of the great points of getting things for free...to help those out in need.  

Ok, my cyber friend, Joanie, aka THE KRAZY COUPON LADY!  Words of mine just can't tell you how great she is of a couponer.  Just visit 16 Questions and Answers that she had during the show. Her blog helps me tremendously and actually got me started with couponing. I can say, that without her help and her blog, I wouldn't be cutting our grocery bill down, or saving a little here or there.  I am no couponer like her, however, I love finding deals on things that I use and can stock up...um, but no more than a year's worth!!! Like hygiene products - I love being able to stock up on body wash, deodorant, because I hate paying full price for those.  Once I'm to the end of my stockpile, I start looking for the sales again.  I have mentioned on here a while ago that I was able to get 50 boxes of cereal...for $4!!! Now some ask WHY the heck do you need that many? Well, first off, I did the calculations.  How much cereal I ate a day, how many boxes I went through a week, and when the next big sale would be.  NONE of the cereal went to waste, some boxes were donated and family was in town so we needed the extra anyway.  RARELY do I ever buy what we don't use.  Even if I can get it for free, it's just going to go to waste if we don't eat it, don't like the brand, etc.  I suppose we could be more flexible.  For example, we only use Crest toothpaste.  For me, it seems like this is the hardest brand to find for free.  I have seen Colgate be free several times, but, we don't like that kind, so why stock up if we won't use it.  Get my drift? Anyway, I hope this helps you couponers out there, or those who have had the misconceptions of it and have procrastinated on jumping the bandwagon that you'll never be able to get off once you get started :) I just thought this was too interesting to not post. Oh, and probably because I have too much time on my hands waiting for this baby to come. :) 2 days until the new year...cross your fingers!