For the Heck of it!

I can see where they are coming from…

May 5, 2011.

The Coupon Information Corporation (CIC) expresses our great disappointment with TLC’s current series, Extreme Couponing, and hereby offers our expertise and other assistance to TLC and Sharp Entertainment (which produces the show) to enhance the program with more accurate and realistic information. In addition, we hope they address potentially illegal acts that appear to have been portrayed on the show.

Professionals in the coupon industry believe this show creates unrealistic expectations about how coupons work and promotes the misuse of coupons. For example, the show appears to portray coupons being used in violation of the terms and conditions printed on the coupons, such as using coupons to obtain products other than those specified by the coupon offer, and focuses on consumers who have procured large quantities of coupon inserts from unknown sources, which may raise civil and/or criminal issues.

In real life, individuals attempting to use such large quantities of coupons or attempting to use them in violation of the terms stated on the coupons would most likely have their coupons refused at the register or, depending on the circumstances, be investigated by law enforcement. According to media reports, TLC recently stated,

“While the series documents extreme couponing strategies, we take any concerns about specific tactics seriously and are looking into the situation.” We look forward to hearing what TLC discovers.

The CIC’s and other industry experts’ previous offers of assistance to the producers to make this an educational show were previously turned down. Nevertheless, we stand ready to help in the event the producers or TLC reconsider their path and seek to turn this into a show that accurately reflects appropriate coupon strategies and use, which would result in real benefits for TLC’s viewing audience.

I was looking at some of the coupon counterfeit notifications over at the Coupon Information Corporation and saw some that really blow my mind. I have some Hot Pockets coupons that look almost identical to the counterfeit coupons that are evidently floating around now.

The coupons I have are $1.00/4 and $1.00/3. I printed mine from coupons.com and smartsource.com. The counterfeit coupons are $1.00/2 and and $5.50/12 (doh!). It is no wonder cashiers scrutinize coupons the way some of them do at times. Fraudsters these days sure do make it hard on us honest folks.

Using the term “stockpile” makes my skin crawl. It seems really creepy to me to have a stockpile of groceries and household goods. Do I purchase a few extra items when items I normally use are at rock bottom prices? You bet I do. I’ve always kept a well stocked pantry and now that I’m couponing I have seen the wisdom in buying enough extra to last until the next sales cycle comes around.

Of course, I’ve only been couponing for about a month. I’ll revisit this post next year, IF I keep couponing for that long, and see if my attitude towards stockpiling has changed. I’ve been known to change my mind before. Who knows, I might clear out a corner of the garage, fill ‘er up and say “what was I thinking?”

Okay, here is another website of mine that probably won’t ever get off the ground: The Coupon Maven. Who knows? Maybe I’ll stick with this one.

Nevermind, I know why and how “coupon” became a verb, but it does seem strange to me at times.

Hubby and I went to Publix yesterday and got several good deals. Our total before coupons was $64.08. This included $2.89 for Nabisco Crackers that the checkout guy rang up twice by mistake. I called the manager when we got home and told him we were charged double and he said to bring in the receipt and he will reimburse us. This also includes $3.20 for a couple of combs and $2.59 for granola bars my husband bought. If I had known he wanted to buy granola bars I would have brought a coupon.

Some of the highlights of the trip were free Philadelphia Cooking Creme (have to figure out what to do with it!) and .87 Toll House Cookie dough. Yum.

Now, this might not seem like much of a big deal to seasoned “couponers” (hehe, “couponer” is a noun too), but this was our very first official extreme couponing trip. I only have inserts for 11/06 so far so I can only imagine it will get better and better as the weeks go on.

This was my shopping list and the: (M = Manufacturer Coupon, S = Store Coupon)

1/1 S Philadelphia Cooking Creme
1/1 M Philadelphia Cooking Creme, price 2/$4.00
Purchased 2, Final Price = Free

1/2 M Nestle Toll House Morsels, price BOGO $2.75
Final Price .87 each

1.25/2 M Nestle Toll House Cookie Dough, price BOGO 2.99
Purchased 4 each using 2 coupons
Final Price .87 each

1/1 M Smart Balance Buttery Spread, BOGO 2.89
Final Price 1.89 or .94 each

1/1 M Colgate Sensitive, on sale for $2.39
Final Price 1.39

1/1 M Garnier Fructis Shampoo
1/1 S Garnier Fructis Shampoo on sale 2/$5.00
Final Price $1.50 each

.25/4 M Campbells Mushroom Soup BOGO 1.33
Purchased 4
Final Price .60 each

Our savings were as follows:

Vendor Coupon -$9.74
Store Coupon -$2.00
Special Price Savings (BOGOs, etc) -$27.14

Total savings were $40.89 and we paid $23.19 for the transaction. Not bad for a first timer.