Extreme couponing - I'm becoming one of "those people"

[ODogg]

Re: Extreme couponing - I'm becoming one of "those people"

I could easily see somebody developing an OCD over this.

I agree, I already find myself thinking more about coupons and how to get them. You get a real "rush" when you get items for free in the store. It's no doubt the same rush that shoplifters who do it for a thrill get. It's funny I compare it to that because that's kind of what it feels like when I leave and think of all the free stuff (or nearly free) that I got...like I just pulled some scam.

So yeah I could definitely see how people become obsessed like crazy over doing this. I doubt I will though as I'm a bit too lazy to be truly obsessed with anything (other than perhaps getting NCAA early, LOL)!

[ODogg]

Re: Extreme couponing - I'm becoming one of "those people"

I think what he is saying is this:

let's say that you never buy frozen pizza's for whatever reason. Then comes the Sunday paper and a coupon for $3.00 off of a frozen pizza. You clip the coupon, put in your stack and go to the store and get the pizza, which is marked at $5.99. You ring it up and end up paying $2.99 for it.

You saved $3.00, but in reality, you just spend $2.99 on something you never would have purchaed without the coupon.

If that coupon was for $6.00 off, then it is free money. But unless it is a partial discount and you never intended to purchase that item without the coupon, then you are now spending money that you otherwise would not have.

Now if you were going to eat a Stauffers lasagna tthat was $5.99that day and are now substituting the frozen pizza, which costs $2.99, then I see your point again.

BUt if you are spending money on things you otherwise wouldn't buy, sure you are saving money, but in the end you are probably actually spending more.

Yeah that makes sense to me. I've heard that argument before from my old manager as well. I guess I only view it as spending money in a way which makes little sense if you do not utilize what it is that you bought.

To use your example: if you see that they have frozen pizzas on sale for $3.00 off so you go buy a bunch and then they get freezer burn so you throw them out then that was really a waste of money. But if you go buy the pizzas and eat all of them and they replaced other meals you would have eaten that would have cost more then you've done a good job of saving it.

So I guess the argument instead of being "you're buying stuff you wouldn't have bought without the coupon/sale so therefor it is wasteful" to me doesn't fly. I'd revise it to "you're buying stuff you end up never using without the coupon/sale so therefor it's wasteful" Because even if you never planned to purchase an item if it gets use and replaces something that would have been more expensive it's still a value.

With that being said, I *DO* see a lot of this argument being applied on these shows. Such as purchasing diapers at a "huge discount" when you don't have a child. That's just silly IMO. That *IS* wasteful. If nothing else donate them to a shelter or re-sell them on ebay. If you donate them then you're out of the money and item but at least you did your charitable contribution that can help someone else.

[Gotmadskillzson]

Re: Extreme couponing - I'm becoming one of "those people"

Those people on that show are hoarders and suffer from OCD. That is the bottom line.

Anytime you have to buy 15 newspapers, steal other people newspapers, look in the recycling bin for other people coupons, you are an addict and have a serious problem.

40 plus hours a week collecting and sorting coupons......got your little kids doing it too.......No different then an addict trying to get their next fix.

I have sseen enough of that show to see those people suffer from OCD and hoarding. Those people get a rush out of trying to beat their last savings amount. For them it isn't about the saving, it is about the rush.

Andrenaline junkies, that is all they are.

They need to combine Extreme Couponing with Hoarders, Picky Eaters and my Extreme Obsession. They all basically the same show broken up into 3 different shows.

[av7]

Re: Extreme couponing - I'm becoming one of "those people"

http://moneyland.time.com/2011/07/21/extreme-couponing-never-hotter-yet-never-more-pointless/

Even with though extreme couponing offers the potential to save big—with or without breaking the law—many personal finance writers don’t care for it. The folks at Bargaineering, BrokeProfessionals, LenPenzo.com, WiseBread, and YesIAmCheap have all bashed extreme couponing (the show and/or the idea), mainly because even these frugal-minded folks have better things to do with their time, and/or they don’t like or wouldn’t use many of the foods and products discounted via coupons.

For the most part, these writers were taking shots at extreme couponing even before retailers changed policies to limit shoppers from scoring the eye-popping savings like those on TV. In the past few months, CVS, RiteAid, Target, Publix, and Kroger are among the stores shifting their coupon redemption rules, often making it impossible for crafty couponers from snagging items for free like they used to.

From the time “Extreme Couponing” first aired, there has been plenty of skepticism that the savings exploits were remotely possible to replicate in real life. Now, with widespread coupon redemption policy changes at the chain stores, extreme savings via coupons seem more impossible than ever.

But strictly as a time-money discussion, is couponing worth your time? Probably not when it’s taken to the extreme. The answer depends on how much you really save—”saving” on certain items by purchasing lots of other stuff you don’t need doesn’t count—whether you’ll actually use and like the goods that wind up in your pantry, how much time all of this takes up, and what you’d otherwise do with that time if you weren’t scurrying around trying to make the most of coupons.

[ODogg]

Re: Extreme couponing - I'm becoming one of "those people"

http://moneyland.time.com/2011/07/21...ore-pointless/

It all comes down to balance, I clip and organize coupons while watching tv so it's well worth it to me, I'm not saving like they show on the show, nowhere close, but last month we saved $180 and our grocery bill was about $240, so you do the math....is that worth it for three hours of your time on a Sunday afternoon and lugging around a folder of coupons to the store and it taking a bit longer to shop? It 100% is to me, but to each his own..

[GAMEC0CK2002]

Re: Extreme couponing - I'm becoming one of "those people"

It all comes down to balance, I clip and organize coupons while watching tv so it's well worth it to me, I'm not saving like they show on the show, nowhere close, but last month we saved $180 and our grocery bill was about $240, so you do the math....is that worth it for three hours of your time on a Sunday afternoon and lugging around a folder of coupons to the store and it taking a bit longer to shop? It 100% is to me, but to each his own..

And at the end of the day, that's all that matters.

[Jonesy]

Re: Extreme couponing - I'm becoming one of "those people"

We don't really have this in Australia to this level and I'm kinda glad. Sure we have the occasional coupon's but nothing to the extent that you guys are talking about. I don't have a problem with it unless they become obsessed but I could see how getting stuck behind a 'couponer' at the register could be as annoying as hell.

It's a shame you never seem to see coupons for things like fresh fruit, meat and vegetables. It always seems to be mainly the heavily processed stuff that gets the discounts. I guess because there is generally more mark up on those products to begin with....

[mgoblue]

Re: Extreme couponing - I'm becoming one of "those people"

And at the end of the day, that's all that matters.

True...

If you enjoy it then that's all good...I just know I wouldn't, and it's not worth my free time after work (or on weekends), I'd rather actually enjoy my free time.