Me vs. Extreme Couponers

I couponed when couponing wasn't cool.

Before coupon binders were the norm.

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Waaaayyyy before stockpiles were a status symbol.



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But it wasn't till last year that I began spending a little more time couponing. 

I had just had baby #3. 

(Repeat:  Three kids - all in daycare, all in diapers.  Not cheap.)

I could no longer afford to only use X brand of toilet paper.  I had to use whatever was on sale...that I had a coupon for.  My aunt, The Coupon Queen, showed me some of her tips and shared a website that matched up the sales with the coupons. 

And wa-la, a pro-couponer was born.

That being said, I thought I would love the show, Extreme Couponing.  I thought it would give us low profile couponers some tips & tricks.  I HATE IT!

A lot of them commit fraud.

A lot of them are "shelve clearers."  (Which is a huge no-no in the coupon world.)

They don't tell you what a lot of them spend on the coupons themselves.

And thanks to their greed, they've made it harder for us regular couponers to use coupons.  (FYI - Since the show aired, three major national retailers have changed their coupon policies to make it more restrictive. 

All thanks to some random woman who decided she needed 92 bottles of mustard...for her family...that doesn't like mustard.

It's Thrifty Thursday and I'm planning my grocery trip for tomorrow.  As I stare at my stack of coupons, I feel a sense of dread. 

Now, when I march up to the cash register at Target with my 7 coupons, I get stared at, glared at, and even laughed at.  One of the cashiers said, "Oh...you're on of those people." 

I wanted to so bad say, "If you mean a frugal mom with three kids that works 40+ hours a week rather than taking government assistance and a husband who makes next to nothing serving the public, then yes, I am one of those people.  Thankyouverymuch!"

But I refrained.  I regret it.