extreme couponing....glorified hoarders?

We didn't have cable for the last 6-7 months we were in Asheville.  It was a decision we had made both for financial reasons and other reasons.  We were spending way too much time watching TV, so we figured that while saving money, we'd find more productive ways to use our time.  (Of course, we had a digital antenna so we could still get ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX & PBS, so it's not like we unplugged the TV altogether...)

So now, we have free cable included with our apartment.  Ohhh, it's like opening pandora's box!  Well, not *that* bad, but it's still been quite the time-suck for us.  We've discovered new shows, new-to-us shows, and crap-shows-that-are-entertaining-to-us.  One of the new-to-us shows is Extreme Couponing.

Now, we didn't live under a rock.  We knew this show existed, and had caught an episode or two when we would dog-sit for friends who had cable/satellite.  But, yesterday was our first real opportunity to watch several episodes of this show.  And oh my GOODNESS, some of these people are over the top!  (Most of these people are over the top)  They have tens of thousands of dollars of groceries in their basements, pantries, closets and, in some cases, under beds.  Some people even have hundreds of dollars of products that they don't have the need for--diapers when they don't have kids, pet food when they don't have pets--just because it was free.  Now, there are some people who will get those freebies they don't need and donate them to charities.  I would LOVE to be able to do that!  To get 100 bottles of ketchup, keep 3 or 4 for us, and donate the rest.  That would be amazing, and hopefully I can work towards that :)

When I first saw the show several months ago, I decided I'd look into couponing.  I knew there had to be a "catch" with the "crazy" deals these people were getting, but I also knew that there had to be some truth to it as well.  So, I've read up on it some, and tried my hand at it a little, usually unsuccessfully.  But today, I really feel like I got a few good deals.

I used a coupon for a free body wash at CVS and, well, got a free body wash!  Full sized....no tricks.  Just free!  If you want one, too, you can "like" the CVS Minue Clinic on facebook and then print off the coupon.  Tah-dah!

My other "deals" were on trash bags and worcestershire sauce.  A month or two ago, I signed up for a free sample of Glad trash bags with Febreeze freshness.  They sent me a free trash bag, and several coupons.  One was $1 off any of the Glad/Febreeze trash bags.  Knowing that Harris Teeter is doubling coupons up to $1.98 face value this week, I decided to see if I could get a good deal.  I found a box of 34 trash bags, regularly priced at $8.99.  They were on sale for $5.99 if you have a VIC card, and then my $1 coupon was doubled, so I got the bags for $3.99.  That's a 44% savings!

For the worcestershire sauce, I knew last night I'd need to buy some for tonight's dinner, so I did a search and found a $1 off coupon I could print.  So, the bottle originally cost $3.45 and the $1 off coupon was doubled, so I got it for $1.45, which is a savings of 42%!

Like I said, it's a very small "haul" (as the extreme couponers call it) but still.  I felt slightly accomplished.  I have gotten a lot of my good information by reading the Money Saving Mom blog.  Very informative, and that's where I've gotten a lot of my freebies (like a coupon for a free pantene shampoo that I redeemed last week).
 

Time to go make room under the bed for my "stockpile"!!  ;-)

ETA: If you do decide to sign up for any freebies, etc, I recommend creating a separate email address for all of those.  We have one that's specifically for coupons, email grocery fliers, etc.  Not surprisingly, it gets a TON of spam, but at least it's not my primary email, so I don't have to deal with it constantly :)