Extreme Couponing: Couponers Are Odd

At least according to this article from ABC regarding the new series of Extreme Couponing.

As much as I love to coupon and I love it when I see the 90% savings come through, I'll never be an Extreme Couponer of the level that could ever be on this show.  While I will watch it, I'm drawn to it on two levels:

1. I'm a couponer. So yes it appeals to me in that it's featuring something that I do and enjoy.

2. I like a good train wreck.  The truth of the matter is that I'm drawn to this show in the same way that I'm drawn to Hoarders.  There's something enjoyable about watching other people air their lives and laundry and OCDs.  And, for too many of the couponers they will feature on this show couponing has become an OCD of the same level as the people featured on Hoarders.  For that matter, many of the people they will feature on this show, probably are hoarders.

If you are new to couponing there are some important things to keep in mind as you watch this show.

1. 90% Savings is the exception, it's not the norm.  To achieve that level of savings you are either shopping at drug stores (where I achieve the highest % of savings) and using lots of register rewards and +UPs.  OR, you are buying lots of things you don't need.  To achieve that level of savings you need to purchase things that are on sale with coupons that make them free.  As we saw on the original Extreme Couponing show, that means lots of candy and lots of pasta.  I've done it.  I posted a shopping trip here not two months ago where I used the overage from my pasta (that I didn't need) to reduce the cost of the milk that I did need.  These types of deals don't come along every week.

2. You can only use so much!  There's a fine line between stockpiling and hoarding. Keep that in mind as you shop.  You don't have to get EVERY deal you see.  The deal will come back around and you'll have a chance at it again later.  I promise!

3. This is TV! - There is a reason they call it EXTREME Couponing and that's because they are showing the most extreme examples they can find.  They work with these people and with the stores to create extreme situations.  They aren't going to show you the frustration that couponing can bring when a store imposes limits on coupons that weren't there the day before, or when a cashier just doesn't want to deal with coupons that day so they make up their own rules.

So as you begin your couponing journey, keep these things in mind.  Be happy with the savings that you get and know it's more than you got before you started couponing.  Learn more every day, but there's no need to spend hours and hours every week planning your grocery trips and clipping coupons.  You have to balance the money you are saving against the time and the cost to your life in other ways.

$10 Itunes Bonus from Coinstar

Coinstar has another bonus going right now.  If you cash in $40 worth of coins at a Coinstar location and opt to get an Itunes gift code instead of cash, they will give you a code for an extra $10 credit at Itunes.  So cash in $40 worth of coins for an Itunes eCertificate and get a $50 Itunes eCertificate!

Major Email Lists Comprimised

I've gotten at least 5 different emails today from companies whose email lists I'm subscribed to letting me know that their email list provider (Epsilon) has been compromised.  Two of the big ones that got hit: Target & Walgreens.

What this means? If it's just the email list, probably just an increase in the spam I'll get (and you'll get if you were subscribed to their email lists).  According to the emails I received it was just email addresses.  Here's an excerpt from the email I got from Walgreens:

On March 30th, we were informed by Epsilon, a company we use to send emails to our customers, that files containing the email addresses of some Walgreens customers were accessed without authorization.

We have been assured by Epsilon that the only information that was obtained was your email address. No other personally identifiable information was at risk because such data is not contained in Epsilon's email system.

 The rest of the email was just a reminder of basic email security, not giving out your credit card info, ignoring scams, etc.

Extreme Couponing: Have you Set Your DVR Yet?

I was just looking to double check when the new series of Extreme Couponing airs, and low and behold I realized I hadn't set my Tivo yet to record it! EEK!

So, if you are a procrastinator like me, be sure to set your DVR (or vcr, if you are old school) to record Extreme Couponing on TLC.

The first two new episodes of the new series will premier Wednesday 4/6 at 9PM EST

9PM - "J'aime & Tiffany" J'aime plans to use her coupons to get $2000 worth of groceries for around $100; Tiffany and her husband rethink their coupon strategy.

9:30PM - "Rebecca & Jessica" Rebecca plans to fit her party into her monthly food budget; Jessica plans on 18 separate transactions to buy more than $600 worth of groceries.

If you missed the original Extreme Couponing show that originally aired last December, you can catch it at 8PM and if you can't catch the 9PM airings of these shows, not to worry, they will re-air at 11pm & 11:30pm EST as well as again on April 10 at 9 & 11:30pm EST.

$5 Off $40 at CVS

Head over to CVS' Facebook page and like them (if you haven't already) and then just enter your ECB cardholder info and they'll provide you with a $5/40 coupon that you can print off and take into CVS and use.

I thought this was a really good (and cute) deal from HouseWares deals today, unfortunately not one I can convince myself we need.  But, I thought I'd share it, you get a set of 4 salad plates and 4 coffee mugs with inspirational sayings/ words on them for just $24 + shipping (usually around $4).

GiveAway Pile Getting Bigger

I keep adding to the pile of free samples that are going in the Random Free Samples giveaway, closing April 6.  I'm going to have to find a bigger package to ship it all in.  I just added a packet of Starbucks Vanilla Infusion coffee!

All you have to do to enter is be a Google Friend Connect Follower and then comment to this original Giveaway post.  Once you do that initial entry, there are 3 other ways you can enter (listed on that post). Be sure to do all 4 entries for the best chance at winning!

Comments on this post will not count towards entry, so please go to the original giveaway post linked above to comment.

Michael's Coupons

There are several Michael's coupons available for printing here:

• 40% Off any 1 Regular Price Wedding Item
• 30% Off Entire Candle Purchase (sale and regular items)
• 25% Off Entire Purchase Wall & Tabletop Framed Art, Frames & Display Cases (regular & sale price items)
• 40% Off Entire Regular Price Purchase Artist Canvas & Paper (not including scrapbook paper)
• 40% Off Entire Regular Price Purchase - Artist Paints, Pencils, Pastels & Markers
• 15% Off Entire Purchase Celebrate-It Basic Narrows, Basic-Basic, Sheer Creations, Home & More & Mega Roll Ribbon
• 15% Off Entire Purchase Kids Books

New Pet Food Coupons on Coupons.com

Got Pets? Be sure to check out all the new pet food coupons available on Coupons.com:

Buy 1 Get 1 Purina Friskies Tasty Treasures, any variety
Buy 1 Get 1 Free Greenies
Buy 2 Get 1 Cesar Canine Cuisine entree with purchase of two
$3.00 OFF 1 bag of PEDIGREE Food for Dogs (8.8 lb bag or larger)
$3.00 OFF 1 bag ProPlan Select Dog Food
$2.50 OFF 1 Kibbles N Bits Dry Dog Food 14lbs
$2.00 OFF 1 Wardley Advanced Nutrition Product
$1.00 OFF 1 bag of 9Lives Dry Cat Food 3.15lbs

New Grocery Coupons on Coupons.com

There are lots of new grocery coupons available on Coupons.com this week, here are just a few of them:

$1.00 OFF 1 Newman's Own Thin & Crispy Pizza
$1.00 OFF 1 package of Hillshire Farm® Lunchmeat (8 oz. or larger)
$1.00 OFF any 1 lb. of LAND O LAKES® Deli Cheese
$1.00 OFF 1 Progresso Panko Crispy Bread Crumbs
$1.00 OFF 1 Kahiki product 13 oz. or smaller
$1.00 OFF 1 Pemmican Beef Jerky or Beef Brisket, 3.25 oz
$1.00 OFF 1 McCann's Irish Oatmeal product
$1.00 OFF 1 Hidden Valley Salad Kit
$1.00 OFF Power of Fruit Frozen All-Fruit Bars
$1.00 OFF 1 Truvia Sweetener
$1.00 OFF 1 Weight Watchers Frozen Novelty Carton
$1.00 OFF 5 Totino’s Crisp Crust Party Pizza Products
$0.75 OFF 1 Farm Rich Snack
$0.75 OFF 1 Kix, Berry Berry Kix, or Honey Kix
$0.75 OFF 1 Chex Cereal
$0.75 OFF 1 any flavor/variety Cascadian Farm product
$0.75 OFF 1 Cinnamon Burst Cheerios cereal
$0.75 OFF 1 KRAFT 2% Milk Singles Cheese product
$0.75 OFF 1 Roman Meal Bread
$0.75 OFF 2 Frozen Pillsbury Grands! Biscuits
$0.60 OFF 2 Pillsbury Toaster Strudel Pastries
$0.50 OFF 1 Original Cheerios cereal
$0.50 OFF 2 Pillsbury Rolled Refrigerated Pie Crusts
$0.50 OFF 1 any flavor 8 OZ. OR LARGER Gardetto's Snack Mix
$0.50 OFF 1 any flavor Yoplait Kids Cup Yogurt
$0.50 OFF 1 package of STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix
$0.50 OFF 1 HORMEL NATURAL CHOICE Deli Sandwich Meat. Any variety
$0.50 OFF 1 package of KRAFT HOMESTYLE Macaroni & Cheese Dinner
$0.50 OFF 2 flavor 4.5 OZ. OR LARGER Chex Mix OR Chex 100 Calorie Snack
$0.50 OFF 1 can of Diamond Crystal Sea Salt
$0.50 OFF 1 package of any Tetley Tea
$0.40 OFF Totinos Rolls Snacks
$0.35 OFF 1 Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Grahams
$0.30 OFF 1 can of Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
$0.30 OFF 1 FRENCH'S Classic Yellow Mustard
1 Free bottle of Ujuice when you buy TWO (2) Bottles of Ujuice

Get all of these and more at Coupons.com