Extreme Couponing - let's hear it!

The Extreme Couponing series aired tonight on TLC and it was full of register surprises...especially for some of the "experts"!

In the two episodes they showed this evening, there was everything from a woman who did 18 back to back transactions to another who spent 5 hours in the store because she didn't know the coupon policy before they started ringing up her items. She didn't realize that she could only do the "get $10 off when you buy $50 deal" once per person. She had 7 transactions and she had only brought her boyfriend to the store with her. In order to do her 7 transactions and get the $10 off each one, there needed to be 7 different people (1 per transaction). She solved her dilemma by calling her friends in a panic and begging them to come to the grocery store so she could do five more transactions.  Another couponer on the show said it felt like the walls were closing in around her because her overstock had seeped into nearly every room in the house.

I did learn something new while watching the show.  I didn't realize there were cool canned goods shelving units that automatically rotated your stock when you rolled the item to the back of the shelf, pushing the oldest cans to the bottom of the unit.  When you have hundreds of cans of soup and veggies, I guess you need a gadget like that!

Of course, I loved seeing all the coupon binders! If you don't have your coupons with you, you can't take advantage of any unadvertised deals. And if they aren't organized, it will take you forever to find them. Love seeing those organized binders!

In the end, the thing to remember, is that we will NOT be able to see those kinds of savings in one shop in this area. No stores are going to let you do 18 back to back transactions or call in your friends so you can break the rules. Also, keep in mind that the Houston Kroger that was featured in one of the segments, no longer doubles coupons, since they taped that segment there. It would be horrible if, as a result of highlighting this extreme level of couponing on national television, that stores stopped doubling all together.

Did you watch the show? What did you think? I am looking forward to next week when I hear Nathan (from the original Extreme Couponing episode in December) will be back.