Why Extreme Couponing Does NOT Work Like the Show

Most everyone loves coupons when they can save them a couple dollars on things that they buy all the time. Unfortunately, TLC’s show Extreme Couponing has glamorized couponing and most think they can get a whole grocery cart full of food for free. It doesn’t work that way in most every store. Here are some of the reasons why.

If you never noticed, many of the couponers on the show casually mention that most of them spend 25-30 hours a week couponing. If you already have a full time job, you are adding another to your schedule but committing to that kind of coupon clipping each week. On top of this, they spend a lot of time traveling back and forth to various grocery stores because they cannot use all their coupons at one store for everything on their list. If you are a parent, you already have a very important full time job.

Most grocery stores have a policy about how many items can be purchased in a single transaction. Unless you are grocery shopping in the wee hours of the morning when there are fewer people and multiple transactions are possible without causing a disturbance, you are going to make many people very angry. Many stores will even limit how many sale items a person can have per day, or per group if you are shopping with a spouse or friend. Most stores in the Portland area and all throughout the country also have a policy on how many coupons you can use in any given transaction as well.

Many extreme coupon clippers will try to use combined coupons on items to get the maximum amount of savings when possible. They will load coupons onto their loyalty cards that often times give a discount on a product already. Many chain stores such as Fred Meyer have figured out this extreme savings that people have earned and now state that coupons cannot be combined with sales prices or other coupons.

There are many other reasons that extreme couponing does not work out for the average grocery shopper. One of the biggest reasons is that grocery stores only carry so much of a specific product. Often times there are limited quantities to begin with and large ticket items such as sports drinks, laundry soap, and soda go quickly when they are on sale. What the show does not show you on camera is that many people take advantage of rain checks for not having specific items that they use later when shopping. Combine this with other savings such as a certificate for spending so much in one trip and you are making severe earnings that most people do not have the opportunity to make. Also, many of these sale items are limited to a specific number before you have to pay full price for them. This allows more people to receive the savings over one person purchasing them all at once.

Overall, there are many reasons that extreme couponing is not feasible for the average person. Not only does it take a lot of time to do, but consider the gas and mileage you are adding to your car and the irritation you are causing by limiting your time with your friends and family to clip coupons. When you spend so much in gas going from grocery store to grocery store, in the long run, you really aren’t saving much of anything.