Price Check on Register 5

This might be one of the most thought provoking shows on TV.  I have been struck by awe, excitement and a healthy amount of fear as I sit and watch the TV show “Extreme Couponers” for the first time.  I’ve heard of it, and I even have a friend that dabbles in the finer points of couponing enough to save a lot of money.  I would really like to take advantage of the huge savings, but the time and labor that goes into dumpster diving for newspapers, clipping hundreds of coupons and checking the right blogs and internet sites to prepare for a big trip seems dizzying.

If you’ve never seen the show before, you need to know that there are people who literally spend 30 or more hours a week clipping coupons, 7-8 hours in a day scouting out deals at grocery stores, 6-9 hours shopping in the same store on the same day to load up 9 carts of products retailing over $1200+, and leaving without paying a dime and in some cases receiving store credit for their purchase.  Wow!

The very nature of couponing means that in some cases you have to buy in bulk (i.e. 100+ items at a time).  The first couple we saw were seminary students who donated 90% of the items they had bought and saved, and it was enough to fill a medium sized moving truck. The next several couponers had store rooms of various sizes that held, in most cases, more than 1 year of supplies and food for their family.

In my humble opinion, some of these people border line on being compulsive and obsessive, but I think there is a great need for people just like them.  I think that every philanthropic, non-profit agency who has food banks should employ a couponer on staff to keep their stock full, and to teach their community how to coupon.  As one lady put it, “If you’ve never couponed before, you haven’t been broke enough.”  This could supply a valuable base of products for each agency as they strive to provide necessary items for the people they serve, and give them the opportunity teach their community how “to fish” so to speak.  What do you think?  Do you coupon, or know someone who does?  Have you seen “Extreme Couponers”?  I want to hear from you and your thoughts.