Have you heard about the show called “Extreme Couponing All Stars”?  It is a brand new show that is on the TLC channel.  If you loved the show “Extreme Couponing”, then you won’t want to miss this!  It combines everything you liked to watch in the original show with a brand new, exciting, shopping challenge that pits one Extreme Couponing All Star against another one.  Who will win?

The first episode of “Extreme Couponing All Stars” just aired a few weeks ago in December of 2011.  More shows are on the way, and you can watch many of the clips from the TLC website that talks about the show.  Each episode features a challenge that puts one extreme couponer against another one, in a shopping challenge.  Whichever one ends up having the highest percentage of savings at the end of their shopping trip wins that round.

The show will start off with a total of twelve couponers.  Elimination rounds will eventually whittle down this group to the three contestants who had the all- around top percentage of savings from their shopping challenges.  Those three will advance to the finals.

There are nine rules that must be followed for the elimination rounds.  Extreme couponers must spend at least $500 retail (before their bonus card or any in store savings is applied).  They have to have purchased at least 15 different items, (and they cannot have more than 50%  of their total retail purchase come from one item).  They cannot preorder more than three different items before the shopping trip begins.

Contestants are not allowed to use cash value catalinas in the contest.  They are allowed to do one prescription transfer, but it has to be done during the allotted shopping time.  They only get thirty minutes to complete their shopping (before heading to the registers).

The extreme couponers cannot pay full price for anything they purchased on their shopping challenge.  Not even one thing!  They also are limited to bringing only one person to the store with them.  That person can only help by being the “stand in” for any additional transactions the store policy requires.  Each extreme couponer will be scored on a 100 point scale.  The rules for the final round get a bit stricter, which will add to the overall tension of the episode.

As far as I can tell, it appears that the person who wins the final shopping challenge will basically get “bragging rights”.  They will be able to say that they are officially the best of the Extreme Couponing All Stars.

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The holidays are fast approaching and I have zero doubt in my mind that all of you extreme couponers are already well prepared, or close to it.  You’ve got your coupons clipped, your matchups found, and your stockpile is already almost at capacity.  You will be well set for the holidays.  Unfortunately, there are many people out there who are far less fortunate.  So extreme couponers, listen up!  You could really make some families’ holidays!

Holiday Meal Boxes

Around the holidays many families don’t have much to celebrate with.  While a lot of us will have overflowing feasts with family and friends, several families will have very little to eat and could use your help.  Holiday Meal Boxes are a common form of donations in many communities.  My whole family (aunts, uncles, cousins-all 25 of us) pitched in to make a Holiday Meal Box for a less fortunate family.  These boxes have everything necessary for a nice holiday meal including a frozen turkey or ham, potatoes, vegetables, pumpkin pie mix, stuffing, bread, coffee, and dessert.  Some boxes, like the one my family made up, also include gifts for the children in the family.

How You Can Help

Here’s where your awesome couponing skills and giant stockpile come in handy!  Surely you will be able to make up a Holiday Meal Box or two for families in need!  Donation centers ask for these boxes for Thanksgiving and Christmas, so you have plenty of time to find great coupons and matchups.  Put your skills to work! Search your community for food banks, donation centers, community organizations, and churches that might be looking for Holiday Meal Boxes. 

Other Ways to Donate

You don’t have to come up with a whole Holiday Meal Box.  You can use your couponing skills and donate in other ways too!  Donate individual items to food pantries and food drives.  Donate children’s gifts to Toys for Tots (donation locations are often at police stations and fire stations).  Donate warm clothing for the holiday season at places like Goodwill, or look for children’s coat drives.  If you don’t have anything material to give, you can always donate your time by helping charities or serving food at food banks.

Extreme couponers really know how to save big and score big.  Tis the season, right?  Why not share a little this holiday?

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Extreme Couponing, the show that educated America about the joys of couponing, is back!  The show is just getting started and from the buzz on our Facebook page, it sounds like you all are just as excited for it as ever!  And why shouldn’t you be?  Watching the show this season just reminds us of all the good that can come from couponing!

Donating To Those Less Fortunate

We’ve seen this a couple of times on the show: extreme couponers donating goods to other people.  When you are an extreme couponer you end up with A LOT of things for nearly free or free, and a lot of the time you just aren’t going to be able to use it all, or you wind up with a free product you won’t use period.  So when you realize that you have something that just might end up sitting around in your stock pile room, gathering dust, why don’t you donate it instead? You have plenty of options for donating!  Most food shelters and churches are always willing and happy to accept donations of non-perishable items.  Aside from food, these shelters also appreciate items like toothbrushes, soap, and shampoo.  When the holidays roll around, you start to see a lot more food drives that you can also donate to! 

Saving You Some Major Cash

The most obvious good thing about extreme couponing? You can save SO much money!  Money that can be better spent elsewhere, like at the gas pumps or for school supplies for the kids.  Extreme couponers know how to coupon to save money, but what else can you do?  Consider this: there aren’t many coupons on produce, so coupon where you can and make up for the rest with a garden at home.  I have fruit trees in my backyard that supply me with delicious apples, lemons, and pears.  A vegetable garden is always a great option and you don’t need a lot of space at all.  Plant vegetables that your family likes to eat so you don’t have to buy them in the store!  Do the same for herbs!

You’ve seen the show and you know how much you can save with extreme couponing.  Put those savings to use in good ways! Happy Couponing!

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You know you’re an extreme couponer when…

• your stockpile looks increasingly similar to Costco, and, like Costco, you often find yourself lost in it.  In fact, you’re considering employing a stock boy to help out.
• your Tivo is filled to the brim with episodes of TLC’s Extreme Couponing, and you religiously look for coupons for Tivo.  You also know the names of the couponers featured on the show.  You follow them on Facebook.
• the biggest and best zippered binder from Staples just won’t cut it anymore.  When are they coming out with the bigger and better one?
• you’re best friends with everyone on staff at your favorite grocery store.  You know birthdays, anniversaries, favorite colors, and allergies.
• you get five papers every Sunday, but the best news is always found in the inserts.
• you frequently insert the phrase “there’s a coupon for that” in regular conversation.
• you can recite several stores’ coupon policies on the fly.  ”What’s that? You don’t take internet printed coupons?  I think you do! Let me refer you to your coupon policy…”
• you’ve replaced your kids’ “Hooked on Phonics” with “Hooked on Coupons.”  It’s never too early to get them on your team.
• you proudly display the bruises you’ve received from intense dumpster diving sessions to your checkout clerk.  ”See this bruise?  It saved me ¢75 on that bread right there!”
• you have coupon parties.
• you haven’t paid for toothpaste in over a year, and you have enough of it to last you for the rest of your life.  And your grandchildren’s lives.
• you have a special pair of coupon clipping scissors, and you keep them sharpened at all times.  You used a coupon for those too.
• you feel guilty when you pay full price for anything.  Even frozen yogurt.
• you’ve actually converted others, who want to join you on shopping trips. “Teach us your ways, oh coupon master.”
• you call in your order ahead of time.  And they have a lane shut down waiting for you.

Did I forget anything?

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When I think of addictions the first things that come to mind are smoking, drugs, spending beyond your budget, etc.  These all sound like terrible things that have damaged the lives of countless people but what about the healthy addictions?  People who just have to get in their morning run,  the woman who is totally addicted to fresh veggies (me) and the teenager who did a community service project through his school and now he can’t get enough.  These addictions can be part of a healthy and fulfilling lifestyle.  That is how I view my addiction to couponing.

Of course, just like anything else, there always comes a point where you can go overboard.  Almost every woman in the world is addicted to chocolate but you don’t see us eating 12lbs of chocolate a day.  Yes, some coupon addicts can go overboard.  I find that the biggest problem with extreme couponers is that they will purchase items that they will never use just because it is a bargain.  I also find that couponers will sometimes buy WAY too much of a product just because it is a great deal.  In this instance they are not even saving money.   That product will most likely go bad on their shelves and that is like throwing away money.

I do not hoard thousands of dollars worth of product in my home and hide cans of soup in my husbands sock drawer but I find saving money to be absolutely fulfilling.  I do my best to get great deals on things my family will absolutely use in the next few months.  If I happen to find a free deal on something we will not use I get it anyway and donate it to the local homeless shelter.  Saving money this way allows me to give back as well as save money for my family. It is an addiction that I am very proud of.

While you are out there being the rock star of savings, make sure to think of the good you can do with your money saving talents.  Weather it is in your home or in your community make your addiction, A Good Thing!

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Extreme couponing savings can be amazing. Imagine feeding your family and maybe even the community around you for less than a hundred dollars a month! Some extreme couponers can do even better than that with their coupon clipping.

It seems pretty easy to get that great grocery savings until you realize that many extreme couponing can spend up to six to eight hours a day on their grocery lists, from scouting for coupons and deals, to matching coupons to sales, to making multiple shopping trips to the store, not only to shop but also to grab even more coupons and plan out their shopping strategy.

This time is what it takes to get that 95-98 percent off savings. And even with all of that, they may not be saving that amount every week. So how much time should you spend on extreme couponing? Of course this depends on your situation, the number of people that you have to feed, and how much time you actually have to dedicate to extreme couponing.

A good rule of thumb is to figure out the per hour “salary” you are getting from extreme couponing. For example, if you spend five hours a day, five days a week, that is 25 hours of work that you have put in for extreme couponing. For simplicity, let us say that if you worked for an employer, you might make a salary of $10 an hour (use your real salary if you do work). That means in 25 hours, you could make $250. Now, look at your coupon savings. Did you save at least that amount of money by clipping coupons to the extreme? Usually the answer is yes, but you’ll have to figure it out on your own.

If you just don’t have that much time or the inclination to devote so much focus to using coupons and calculating deals, you can still get plenty of savings. The way to do this is to go extreme couponing just in one or two stores. This way, you can generally spend only about 30-60 minutes per week on your extreme couponing, but still wind up with plenty of savings, many items for free, and a nice stockpile. You may never approach having a wall of diapers, but you will still be racking up the discounts.

You can even reduce this time even more, if you rely on others to do the match ups for you and tell you where to get the coupons that you need. At freecoupons.com, we do just that, with several popular stores. Then all you need to do is print your coupons or collect the Sunday inserts that you need to do the deals.

Just remember that everyone’s situation and time available for extreme couponing is different. It isn’t an all or nothing problem, so don’t give up and find out what works best for you.

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While it is wonderful that Extreme Couponers can get thousands of dollars of groceries for less than $100, things can be a little different when you don’t live in a city or suburb. Extreme couponing in a small town requires different strategies than does using coupons the average way.

Why Are Small Towns Different When It Comes to Grocery Savings?

There are a few reasons why extreme couponing in a small town can be different from shopping in a more populated area:

The only place in town

There is less competition, so stores don’t have to worry as much about having rock bottom sales and prices. They know that unless you want to drive out of your way, you will pay the prices that they set within reason.

Coupon policy changes trickle down

Recent changes in store coupon policies, especially price matching, can put those in a small town at a disadvantage. Many price matching policies have changed to limit the distance of comparison stores, so there may not be a store within your range that you can price match against.

Low price stores

Box stores, such as Walmart and Target, known for coupon match ups and low prices may not be available in a small town. The same goes for drugstores. This is where many extreme couponers get all of their freebies.

Lack of inventory

Small town stores generally experience issues with limited inventory. They have smaller shelf space and they smaller quantities. There is often a lack of variety of stock as well. Clearing the shelves at a small town store may consist of taking all six cans of soup.

How Can You Practice Extreme Couponing in a Small Town?

It might take a little more work, at first, to do extreme couponing in a more rural area, but you’ll quickly learn which strategies work best for you. Here are some of the proven tips that will get you your grocery savings.

When to shop

You’ll have to pick the best time to shop to make sure that the products that you need for your coupons are available. Go as early as you can the day the sale starts. You can also time your shopping for when the supply truck comes in (although they have a tendency to be late) and on the very last day of the sale (in case the store was holding back some inventory).

Submit a special order

If you know that you will be stocking up on a particular item, ask the manager to put in a special order for you that can be held back in the stock room. I’ve done this a couple of times, such as when whole chicken was on sale and I needed four of them. The store makes the extra sale, you are guaranteed to get the product, and other shoppers won’t face an empty shelf. Everyone wins!

Ask if the store will price match

Sometimes small town stores will be competitive with the pricing at larger more urban stores if you just ask. Bring in a flyer to prove the pricing and ask to speak to the manager. Be discreet, as you will be more likely to be successful if the store doesn’t feel like they have to give everyone that lower price.
Extreme couponing in a small town is not impossible. In fact, you may wind up being something of a local celebrity when others notice how much you can save.



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One of the problems with Extreme Couponing is the fact that it is easy to get a lot of things that you might not normally buy. In one way, this is a really good thing. With coupons, you can pick up products for free that you once might have wanted to have but didn’t think were an absolute necessity, you can try and like new products that you might not otherwise have been exposed to, and you can generously donate extra items to someone who could make good use of them.
In another way (and you knew this was coming), extreme couponing could lead you to buying things that you don’t really want or need. You may wind up spending more money in the long run, if not on the products themselves, then on the storage space needed for items that are just sitting on the shelves.
Tried and True Products
It is easy to contemplate stocking up on tried and true products that your family would consume anyway, canned soup or a favorite brand of tuna comes to mind. But be wary of stocking up on items that you have never tried. If you get something for 70 percent off but don’t like it, that means that you still paid 30 percent to throw or give it away.
The determination to get a great deal can be addicting even when it isn’t practical. For some real examples, look to the Extreme Couponing show where shoppers have stocked entire walls with mustard they don’t like or diapers when they don’t have any babies.
The Donation Problem
Many extreme deals come from combing high value coupons with great sales. The problem is that manufacturers are most generous with their discounts on new products, obscure products and pre-packaged convenience products.
While food pantries may be able to use some of these products, you may find that many of the best extreme couponing finds, such as single candy bars or microwave popcorn may not be on the most wanted list for food pantries.
Avoiding the Pitfall
If you want to avoiding buying things that you really don’t want or use, you may have to take a few steps.
First, make your grocery list and check it twice or maybe trice. Cross out anything you know your family doesn’t want or need. Reduce the number of multiple on new products. If you really like the product, try it and go back later in the week. If the shelves are cleared from other extreme couponers, get rain checks, or just wait for the next sale. It will come along, if not at the original store than at a different one. Remember those manufactures are trying to get people to try that product and are offering incentives across many stores.
If you really have trouble resisting an extreme couponing deal, enlist a friend of family member to keep you in check and act as a sounding board when you aren’t sure if you are buying what you really want.

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Is there a backlash to “Extreme Couponing” and if so, how will it affect the price you pay for groceries?

Extreme Couponing is the practice of using as many coupons as you can to get your groceries for free or nearly free. From dumpster diving for coupons to stockpiling years worth of supplies, the goal of an extreme couponer is to never pay money for groceries ever again.

While getting hundreds or even thousands of dollars worth of free food using grocery coupons can be exciting, there are a few people that aren’t so thrilled with the way this practice works, namely the owners and managers of the stores themselves. That is because smart shoppers can take things a little too far by clearing the shelves and making it harder for markets to sell to the people who are willing to pay full price.

If you do use coupons, you may have already seen changes lately that are affecting how much you can save. Some stores are cracking down on extreme couponers by changing their coupon policy. Rite Aid, Target and Publix are three places that have recently limited coupon use or have placed additional restrictions on coupons.

Another change you may have noticed is in your coupons themselves. Many manufacturer coupons specifically say, “Do Not Double,” and there is talk that the cents or dollar off value of coupons will be coming down. So that $0.75 off coupon for toothpaste you usually expect may now be only a $0.50 off coupon for the same product.

This all comes at a time when the “Great Recession” has made it harder for families to afford the new higher cost of feeding everyone. Coupons, if you are willing to do the work, can be a way to offset the rise in food prices.

To cope with all of this backlash, shoppers will have to be prepared by carrying a copy of a store’s coupon policy and including a combination of other grocery saving strategies to bring down the bill. For example, buying in bulk and buying generic products, growing your own food and cooking from scratch are all ways to spend less money.

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Well, it is starting to happen. People who were once excited about extreme couponing are now tired of, well, getting the best deals on groceries. Why? They are suffering from too much too soon and have found themselves actually getting sick of coupons! Can you image?

What is Extreme Couponing Fatigue?

You know that you are in the middle of Extreme Couponing fatigue when the thought of putting together another store match up list or even look at another grocery coupon fills you with dread. When you stay up at night just thinking about having to get to the store before every other extreme couponer clears the shelves before you get there, you may be ready to throw in the towel.

If you are just tired of using coupons and tracking the deals, you are not alone. But don’t give up, there are ways to make it all better.

Why Does Extreme Couponing Fatigue Happen?

There are several reasons why you can come down with extreme couponing fatigue.

• You may have been trying to keep up with the folks on the TLC show, getting discouraged when you can’t get the same $1,000 worth of groceries for less than $1 that they do. (There are lots of secrets that they don’t show you on television, from months of planning for one trip, to stores that wave normal coupon policies just for the show, to actual coupon fraud.) The more realistic coupon trips that they should show just aren’t as interesting for television.

• You may have jumped in with both feet and tried to work all of the deals all of the time without giving yourself time to be selective with products and the amount of effort you are willing or able to give.

• You may realize that some of the seeming requirements of extreme couponing, such as dumpster diving and hoarding just aren’t who you are or want to be.

How Can You Avoid Extreme Couponing Fatigue

Most people suffering from extreme couponing fatigue will suddenly go cold turkey and not want to coupon or even shop for a long time. To avoid having this happen to you (or if you feel it already happening) take the following steps to keep you sane and saving money.

• Choose where to save. Forget about buying things for free just because you can or clipping every coupon in sight. Focus on the products and brands that you would buy anyway and only those.

• Let someone else do most of the work for you. Instead of spending hours or days preparing for a grocery shopping trip, take advantage of the many match up deals that are posted online, such as on FreeCoupons.com. Find the store you like to shop and use the guides to make your list and print coupons or assemble Sunday insert coupons.

• Share your shopping. Team up with a spouse, a sister, a friend or a neighbor to share in couponing. You could either coupon and shop together for grocery deals or split up the stores. Having support and someone else to keep you accountable will mean that you neither stockpile a barrel of uneaten relish nor give up on using coupons completely.

• Select the strategies that work for you and leave the rest behind. Instead of dumpster diving for example, you could purchase two or three copies of the paper and have enough coupons to do the deals that you need, ask friends and neighbors for their extra coupons and inserts or use a coupon clipping service.

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