Why extreme couponing is wasteful and GREEDY.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do what is probably considered to be extreme couponing. I never have the same products--I have 3 different kinds of toothpaste, shampoo, lotion, razors, etc in my linen closet right now. I don't stockpile in the way that those who are really into it do, I just use two small shelves in my narrow linen closet. I have probably a 6 month supply of toothpaste, toothbrushes, lotion, shampoo, deoderant, body wash, face soap, razors for myself and DH, tampons, etc.
I also only spend $80 a week at the grocery store, because I never, ever buy any personal care items there where they're overpriced. I only buy organic produce, meat, and dairy. It takes me about an extra hour a week total to plan my trips and carry them out.

How do you get organic and fresh food? I never see coupons for that stuff. I never use coupons because they are not generally for the things we buy. Am I looking in the wrong place?

What I meant was that because I coupon all the other things (health and beauty products, bread, cereal, etc) I only have to shop for dairy and produce each week (and sometimes meat-we don't eat a ton of meat). So, I save so much money on everything else that I'm able to buy all organic produce and dairy and still walk out of the grocery store having only spent $80.

[Anonymous]

Thanks to the "extreme" couponers in my area, I was chastised by my local target clerk because I had 4, yes 4, coupons. She even TOLD me that it was because of the Extreme couponers and now not only target but all the stores in my area are changing their coupon policies because of these nut jobs. I can't even shop at the safeway anymore because they are always cleaned out by these people. It is ridiculous. I am not going to drive to six different grocery stores to get deodorant because you have some stupid coupon you dumpster dived to get fifty of. I wish that these people would have some consideration of others. I am all about saving a buck, we are a single income family and money is tight but I agree, when your having the shakes at the cash register, then it is time for a therapist!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The stores don't absorb anything. The Manufacturers put out the coupons and they reimburse the store the face value of the coupon plus $.08 handling fee.

The same with sales and register rewards or extra care bucks. Those are all reimbursed to the store. Unless it is a Store Loyalty program, the store does not lose out on any money.

I'm Considered a Extreme couponer. Ive been couponing for a few years and cut our $1000 a month budget by 50% , I went from heading to the store every pay day to only shopping when I see a deal I want. Ive also paid my Mortgage down nearly 20% in 2 years because of it.

Its hard to find coupons good for the healthier foods I like, and there are almost none for meat. But the savings on Things like Trashbags, Toilet Paper, Medications, Reynolds Wrap, Cleaning Supplies, Laundry soap etc, more than makes up for what I still spend on food.

A lot of people who post and are Anti-Couponing, act like Organics is the only thing that is healthy. Last time I checked, Fresh Vegetables, Lean Meat , and Fruit were still healthy.

It seriously seems like the same 2-3 people are posting all over the internet that couponing is horribly rude and anyone who does it is a Fat ugly heifer. You people need to seriously get a life, and also get some manners.

Whats funny, is I can spot the type of women who post this a mile away. They are the ones driving a Prius with a 10k rock on their finger and Drinking a Vitamin water because it is so much healthier than that Gatorade Crap!

Seriously is there like a tanning code too? All yuppies must act like a stuck up spoiled b!tch , and be tanned within 10 shades darker before summer begins? Don't forget to call every woman who is slightly overweight a Obese cow while you are at it.

OK honestly, I don't really give a crap about your couponing, but your unnecessary capitalization is driving me bonkers. Or should I say Bonkers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I'm Considered a Extreme couponer. Ive been couponing for a few years and cut our $1000 a month budget by 50% , I went from heading to the store every pay day to only shopping when I see a deal I want. Ive also paid my Mortgage down nearly 20% in 2 years because of it.

So you saved $500 per month for two year, or $12,000 total, which you used to pay down your mortgage by 20%. In which case your mortgage was originally $60,000? Congratulations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I'm Considered a Extreme couponer. Ive been couponing for a few years and cut our $1000 a month budget by 50% , I went from heading to the store every pay day to only shopping when I see a deal I want. Ive also paid my Mortgage down nearly 20% in 2 years because of it.

So you saved $500 per month for two year, or $12,000 total, which you used to pay down your mortgage by 20%. In which case your mortgage was originally $60,000? Congratulations.

It wasn't a "mortgage." It was a "Mortgage."

[Anonymous]

Thanks to the "extreme" couponers in my area, I was chastised by my local target clerk because I had 4, yes 4, coupons. She even TOLD me that it was because of the Extreme couponers and now not only target but all the stores in my area are changing their coupon policies because of these nut jobs. I can't even shop at the safeway anymore because they are always cleaned out by these people. It is ridiculous. I am not going to drive to six different grocery stores to get deodorant because you have some stupid coupon you dumpster dived to get fifty of. I wish that these people would have some consideration of others. I am all about saving a buck, we are a single income family and money is tight but I agree, when your having the shakes at the cash register, then it is time for a therapist!

I think you also need to blame the stores. They should have coupon policies that are fair to all their customers, such as limits on the number of items someone can purchase (and not letting the same person stand there and break it into multiple transactions to get around it). A lot of people coupon at CVS to get the ExtraBucks, but those are always limited, so you can only purchase a couple of items and once you reach the limit, no more ExtraBucks. But if the store allows someone to buy 50 deodorants in one transaction and use 50 coupons, then that person is entitled to buy them all.

As for the clerk at Target, s/he is totally out of line, "chastising" you for using 4 coupons. I would have spoken to the manager if I were using coupons appropriately in Target and the cashier had an attitude about it. The cashier's job is to ring up your transaction and accept your coupons consistent the store's policy, not share his/her opinion on you using coupons.

[Anonymous]

I find it amusing how some people are worried about fairness to the stores. You do realize that coupons are a marketing tactic? Most people who use coupons end up spending more on other items that are overpriced. They may actually be spending more on the sale item/with coupon than they would on the same item in a different store. Safeway is the worst. They advertise great deals, and club savings tickets on items but I've realized that their sale price combined with a coupon is still more expensive than Giant.

If you want to save money do the following...

Buy dry, canned, or jarred goods, breads, yogurt, packaged cheese from Walmart or Shoppers
Buy produce in season only from Giant or even WF non-organic on sale
Buy meat from someplace like Costco and freeze portions that fit your family
Do not buy any premade foods, they are much more expensive
Ignore the coupons!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yaaaaaaawn.

YOu post this ALL THE TIME. If you are bored, go away!

[Anonymous]

I caught that "Extreme Couponing" show once and it was sort of mesmerizing to see how very greedy people are. Why does someone need all of that stuff? Why do stores allow it? You know someone is paying the stores to make up for that (all of us). Some of these people spend 40 hours a week on this stuff...why don't they just get a job?

[Anonymous]

I caught that "Extreme Couponing" show once and it was sort of mesmerizing to see how very greedy people are. Why does someone need all of that stuff? Why do stores allow it? You know someone is paying the stores to make up for that (all of us). Some of these people spend 40 hours a week on this stuff...why don't they just get a job?

Aaargh! For the millionth time, the stores are NOT losing money when coupons are redeemed, and you and I aren't paying for it. The manufacturers reimburse the stores (plus a handling fee) for each coupon. The manufacturers decide to print X number of coupons, knowing a certain percentage of them will be redeemed and the rest will not, and they are willing to reimburse the retailers for that because coupons encourage people to try out their product & perhaps continue to buy it in the future. If it did not make economic sense for manufacturers to issue coupons, they would not issue them. And it benefits the retailers to accept the coupons because (1) it does not cost them anything, and (2) it brings more people into the store and those people buy lots of other items. People who use lots of coupons will specifically seek out the store that has the most favorable coupon policy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I caught that "Extreme Couponing" show once and it was sort of mesmerizing to see how very greedy people are. Why does someone need all of that stuff? Why do stores allow it? You know someone is paying the stores to make up for that (all of us). Some of these people spend 40 hours a week on this stuff...why don't they just get a job?

I agree that the people featured on the show are nuts. However, it's reality TV and there are producers encouraging them to do certain things that are not normally within the way that they shop. Also, the rest of us aren't paying to make up for that. Stores are reimbursed for the full value of all coupons plus an 8 cent handling fee per coupon--so they are in fact making more money off of people using coupons than they are off of you paying full price.

[Anonymous]

what about stores that double coupons? Arent' they losing money on them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yaaaaaaawn.

YOu post this ALL THE TIME. If you are bored, go away!

I think she just needs more sleep.

[Anonymous]

what about stores that double coupons? Arent' they losing money on them?

Stores that double coupons are absorbing the cost of the doubling. The additional discount is essentially the same as a store coupon (as opposed to a manufacturer coupon).

However, just like with manufacturers coupons, the stores are making an economic calculation of whether it's worthwhile to double the coupons and absorb that cost. Just like when the stores print their own store coupons, they know that someone could pick up 20 copies of that week's Safeway flyer and use 20 of the same coupon. They presumably factor in that a few loonies will redeem a bazillion coupons for the same item when they make these decisions, and they can choose to allow it or limit it. For instance, Giant will double manufacturer's coupons up to 4 for the same item. So if you have 5 coupons for 50 cents off Cheerios, the first four will be doubled to $1 but the fifth one is worth only 50 cents.

I have not worked in the grocery industry directly, but several years ago I represented a large national grocery chain as a client and learned a lot about the industry. It is extremely competitive with very tight profit margins. There is a LOT of time spent figuring out how to move products, minimize expenses, get people into the stores, and get them to purchase the more expensive items. If coupons were killing the grocery stores, they would not accept them. They do not do anything that does not benefit their bottom line, and they are not slow to respond to changes in customer demand or in the market in general because they know people have many options of where to shop and will quickly go elsewhere. Even things like loss leaders and free products are ultimately generating more revenue than the stores would earn without offering them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I find it amusing how some people are worried about fairness to the stores. You do realize that coupons are a marketing tactic? Most people who use coupons end up spending more on other items that are overpriced. They may actually be spending more on the sale item/with coupon than they would on the same item in a different store. Safeway is the worst. They advertise great deals, and club savings tickets on items but I've realized that their sale price combined with a coupon is still more expensive than Giant.

If you want to save money do the following...

Buy dry, canned, or jarred goods, breads, yogurt, packaged cheese from Walmart or Shoppers
Buy produce in season only from Giant or even WF non-organic on sale
Buy meat from someplace like Costco and freeze portions that fit your family
Do not buy any premade foods, they are much more expensive
Ignore the coupons!

I'm a new poster here. You are WRONG and your advice is BAD. After being a serious couponer for about 2 years now, I can tell you with certainty that knowledgeable couponers do not pay overpay for their items. I have target price points for many of the groceries and household items we buy and I know it's the lowest price in the area. I shop 1x/week at Harris Teeter and CVS. We eat relatively healthy with lots of fresh fruit and veggies. We do buy some produce and fresh food items at Costco about every 2-4 weeks and our grocery/household item bills are down on average 50-80%. I get many items free and only stock up for about 6 weeks on any one item.

I love my HTs (I routinely show at 2 different stores depending on my week one may be more convenient than the other). I've had several conversations with the managers and they have always been pleasant. I follow the rules of the coupons and the store policies and the cashiers are always surprised in how much I save.