To the Extreme

TLC has been running a program about extreme couponers for the last few weeks and whether you think people who are extreme couponers are thrifty geniuses or food hoarders, it certainly gets the lowly coupon a little much-needed attention. I used to think that the coupon pages were merely fodder for the recycling bin, but I have learned that coupons, if used wisely, are a valuable part of keeping food costs low.

I love coupons, but as far as coupon use goes, I'm a total novice. It seems that certain areas of the country are better for couponing than others. Geographic areas with a lot of major grocery store chains competing for business will double, even triple some manufacturers coupons. When combigned with a sale on a particular item, extreme couponers from the TLC program were able to walk away from stores with thousands of dollars of merchandise for a fraction of that cost.

The grocery store located 4 blocks from my house is the only store in the area that doubles coupons, but the restrictions on the doubling sometimes makes me wonder, why bother? On Wednesdays, if I purchase $25 in merchandise, then the store will double 5 coupons up to $1.00. So I would be unable to get 1000 boxes of free cereal. I could use 5, one-dollar-off coupons on items costing two dollars or less and get them for free though, so I'm often on the hunt.

Since I didn't allow myself to start our $400 challenge with a stockpile of coupons, I've turned to the newspaper. My parents subscribe to a large newspaper in a large city, and they'll save their coupon inserts for me. Last week, the day before the $400 challenge started I was at their house, and my mom let me have first dibbs on her coupon inserts for that week. I found a few coupons that I clipped and used for oatmeal, soup, yogurt and cereal. I also get coupons in the mail, Redplum is one insert that comes weekly and the coupons are also available online.

This week, I bought my local Sunday newspaper specifically for the coupon inserts and was sadly disappointed. The inserts were terrible. I'm not sure if grocery store newspapers have different inserts than those delivered to subscribers, but there might only be one or two coupons that I can actually use. That's too bad, because the $2 cost of the newspaper comes out of our $400 food budget. I've learned that most coupons are for personal care products, which is why on TLC's extreme couponing show, the four people highlighted were seen loading up on toothbrushes, deoderant, and toilet paper.

So where do these people get all of these coupons? The TLC program showed one woman dumpster diving in a local newspaper recycling bin and another using her morning walk to find coupon inserts in the recycling bins of neighbors, while still another of the coupon-obsessed used a coupon clipping service. I checked out one of the coupon clipping websites and it seems like an easy way to get the coupons that you want; for a small fee, you can choose available coupons and they'll mail them to you. The fee is generally a dime or so per coupon. I guess if you can get the resulting item for free, a dime is a great price to pay. But for this month's $400 challenge, I don't think it's within the spirit of what we're trying to do. If I won't allow myself to eat a store's free samples, then I shouldn't pay for coupons. Right?

Anyway, that's my bit about extreme couponing. If you have a chance to see that TLC program, decide for yourself; are the hours of planning worth a lifetime of free hand soap? It's definitely an inventive way to support a family on a limited budget and the people involved make it seem like great fun. Couponing has a robust, organized and supportive online presence, and the people highlighted by TLC seem to be exactly what the title says, Extreme. But Extreme makes for great TV, right? Me and my 5 coupons would be pathetic.

Here's what we are today:

Breakfast
- SKC&G Oatmeal with brown sugar
- C&G Milk
- G Banana & Cinnamon roll
- K Tea
$0.97

Lunch
- (Scott had a work lunch meeting so brought...) Leftover pasta from last night, 1/2 cup Sauce, 2/3 cup Frozen peas, 1 Slice bread, Banana
- KC&G Braised Carrots, Large can of chicken noodle soup, 4 crescent rolls
- C&G had milk and split a banana
$3.32

Dinner
- SKC&G Roasted chicken thighs, 1 Tbsp olive oil, 4 Crescent rolls, Chicken rice made with 1 Tbsp margarine, Mixed vegetables
- C&G milk
$4.14

Dessert
- C&G Chocolate pudding
- S Cookies
- K Cereal
$0.75

Total Spend $9.18

Tomorrow, He's not heavy, he's my husband