TLC's Extreme Couponing

With the debut of TLC's newest show, Extreme Couponing, I figured it was a good time to explain a few things for the Rhode Islander's that have been noticing my truck advertisement for my website in the various store parking lots, and stopping me to ask a few questions, like how to start, where do I get my coupons from, etc. ( Which I LOVE, by the way!)

I don't know of one person who doesn't want to get $1000 worth of groceries for a few dollars.  We all want to save a buck or two, and if we can save hundreds of dollars each month, that's even better.  However, TLC's Extreme Couponing show, is the extreme to the max. 

There needs to be a reality check here.  I don't know of a single store around here that has 2000 plus toothbrushes on hand, or 1100 boxes of a single type of cereal.  These items had to have been purchased through the store prior to the show, to accommodate that "wow" factor for high viewer numbers.  The cashiers, that are ringing up the extreme couponers purchase and then accepting the hundreds of coupons all the while with a smile, is just not the reality of what you encounter on a daily basis.  This is a show, and that's what the viewers need to keep in mind when watching this show, the news features that air each night around the country, and the others like it, that I'm sure will be running soon.

As a for instance, many stores in my area clearly state that there is a limit of the number of identical coupons they will accept in a single transaction.  The more you read on the coupon websites, the more you realize that RI, is not the only area in which there is a store limit, the more you begin to see that shows like this, are in fact shows... What you don't see is the behind the scenes work that the producers do to ensure that transaction goes through without any hitches. 

Now, I don't have a problem with that, as I have been approached by a casting employee of the TLC's Extreme Couponing show, (and am currently putting together the video of my own stock pile for the purposes of creating a You Tube Channel.) it gives the viewers a false sense of shopping reality. 

With that said, I have been wondering myself that, while exposure of being on the show would greatly boost my own readership, I am just not sure if I am comfortable with participating in the falsehood of being "extreme".  I think I would rather show people the "real" reality of being extreme. 

You don't need to go into a grocery store, and fill up two and three carriages, use 200 coupons, and walk out paying $2.10 for $1000 worth of groceries to be extreme.  What you do need to be is dedicated, organized, and know the value of a product, in order to be considered extreme.  Being frugal also helps a great deal as well. 

This topic, really is too large to all be covered in a single post, so I will be creating a link at the top of the page, to accommodate this subject. 

So here are a few tips to help those of you who are looking to become "extreme", succeed at doing so. 

1.  Don't compare your trips, to those on the Extreme new's articles, or Extreme shows.  Any amount of savings you can obtain is a good start.  Remember that the longer you coupon, the better you will get at it. 

2.  Stock piles take time to build, you will not be able to score a years worth of health & beauty products in a single shopping trip.

3.  You must make multiple trips throughout the weeks in order to build your stock pile efficiently. 

4.  Extreme couponers collect coupons... We actively seek out the blinkies, the tearpads at the doctors offices, the magazines, our relatives, and friends... we contact companies, ask for coupons, print out coupons each day, will print the max amount from each computer we have etc. 

5.  Organization.  If you're not yet organized, you must become organized.  If you are organized, you already have a leg up on the situation.  If you are in fact starting to try and become extreme, here's what you'll need.

~ Scissors, pen, paper, ads, coupons, and envelopes (even the odd envelop that comes with your mail, instead of throwing these out, keep them, and use these for your coupons.)  As you begin to organize yourself, you will start to see what works best for you.  (We'll go more into this on a later post.)

Got a question?  Leave a comment, and let me know what you want to know... we'll go over it in the next few days.