Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Extreme Couponing

Did anyone else watch this tonight on TLC? I watched it while...ha...clipping the massive stack of coupons I have let build up over the past few weeks. Seemed an appropriate task for the show I was watching!

The whole show just baffles me.... being squeezed out of your house because of your stockpile? Five hours at the grocery store? An hour to check out? 18 different transactions? Shelf clearing? I definitely believe in a healthy stockpile --- it keeps my house going when life gets busy. But this is beyond a healthy stockpile!

I was completely dumbfounded by the lady that  actually bought 56 bottles of mustard when some members of the family don't even like it. I heard the lady say, "well this doesn't spoil".... uh... she might need to look at the bottom of that yellow squirt bottle. It DOES have an expiration date on it! At least the ones at my store do. I learned this the hard way. Summer before last, I bought 3 bottles of mustard because they were "free" after my coupons. Quite honestly, I over bought. Now granted, we don't use a ton of mustard. I don't like it on sandwiches particularly, and Princess Penelope doesn't like sandwiches at all! So for us, mustard is more of a seasoning.... a squirt in potato salad, tuna salad, baked beans, etc. So buying 3 bottles was really buying more than I needed, although I didn't really realize it at the time. I realized that it actually expires when I was cleaning out the fridge one day and just happend to notice the date. Three months past the expiration date and I was only 3/4 of the way through the first bottle I had bought. Ugh.

So, when I watch someone literally clearing the shelves to buy 56 bottles of mustard they DON'T NEED it just makes me go "grrrrrr". And then to take absolute GLEE in clearing the shelf  so no other shoppers can take advantage of the deal. It just strikes me as greedy and self-absorbed! Heck, I always feel a twinge of guilt if I happen to get the very last two of a great deal on the shelf.

I don't know, I guess the whole show kind of made me go  "ick." What did you think?

4 comments:

  1. I believe this is a form of hoarding and "sickness". My husband and I watched in horror as one of them bought a bunch of antacids. Really? Because you could get them for .50???

    If they were going to donate their stash to a food bank, this would be a wonderful project. I was appalled at how much I had to throw out of my pantry because it went unused. I wonder about them???

    ReplyDelete
  2. I totally agree with you Sharon! It could be a great project for a food drive. And honestly, I will pick up some free or money making items from quite regularly that we won't actually personally use because Princess Penelope's school always seems to have a food drive going on and those donations are always helpful.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Totally agree hun, there is no sence in taking that many bottles of mustard, just for the sake of"saving". That is the one thing about coupons that for me isnt top priority. I dont want to buy something just because I have a coupon for it. If I dont need it, I am not buying it. I hate being wasteful:)

    ReplyDelete