Extreme Couponing premiered on TLC tonight.  After watching the first two episodes I have to ask, why? I’m all for saving money, but these people are pushing store policies, maneuvering around them, and stockpiling food in every nook and cranny in the house. Yes, a few customers get extreme savings, but the result of them going around policies means stricter store rules and the rest of us suffer.  Also, the stores in my area don’t double let alone triple coupons, so most of us will never be able to match the savings.

One couple came home with $562.81 in groceries for $25.91, but they spent 5 hours in the store.  That doesn’t count the hours finding the deals and matching coupons or the fact that they shop in the wee hours of the morning in order to scoop up everything on the shelf. And it doesn’t count the humiliation of calling in several friends to get around the store’s policy of one $10 savings per person. Another extreme couponer split up her basket into 18 separate transactions that took over an hour to process.

I think it’s like anything else, some people go to extremes.  These family’s are organized hoarders with food and toiletries taking over their homes.  There has to be a balance.  I’d be more impressed if they were able to do this, within the rules, and without inconveniencing others.

What do you think about extreme couponers?  Want to become one?  Visit the links below to find others who have dedicated themselves to getting it for free.

UPDATE!

Apparently there’s a lot more fraud than I realized going on on the TLC Extreme Couponing show and one of the women featured has been caught making fraudulent purchases before.

Earlier this week, I posted an article about Jaime Kirlew, one of the shoppers featured in TLC’s new season of “Extreme Couponing.” Jaime made a name for herself last year when she posted YouTube videos showing her shopping at Target and fraudulently using coupons for one product on another (coupons for Crest Whitestrips on Tide, coupons for Olay Body Wash on Secret deodorant, and so on.) When commercials for the new show began airing, many members of well-read messageboards among the couponing community recognized Jaime from her YouTube videos and raised concerns about whether she would use coupons in a fraudulent manner on TLC’s Extreme Couponing.

– View the complete text and photos at Jill Cataldo’s site – http://jillcataldo.com/node/16258