Extreme Couponing or Extremely Practical?

Last week while I was out shopping for this batch of groceries, the cashiers and another customer both made the comment that they had never seen a real-life extreme couponing in action.  They said they’d watched the shows and all of that, but had never seen anyone shopping with so many coupons like me in real life.  When they called me an extreme couponer, I asked them to look at the merchandise in my basket and compared it to the people on TV and how they buy only a very few items, but a large quantity of them.  I also pointed out that I had merchandise in my cart that I didn’t have coupons for, something that is rarely shown on the crazy TV show.  Instead of being an extreme couponer, I consider myself extremely practical.

The other customer that stopped to speak to me asked why I was buying so much toilet paper.  I pointed out to him that it was an item that wouldn’t go bad and that I was buying it simply because I had the coupons.  The Fiora brand is new or new to me and my area, so I’m seeing lots of coupons for it.  I had coupons for $1 off any and $0.50 off any.  My local Price Cutter happens to sell this new brand at a great price of $2.29/4-Roll Packs, which has more TP per package than the Angel Soft Double Roll 6-Packs, by 3 sq ft.  They also doubled my coupon, making each package $1.29 per package.   Now THAT is Common Sense on a Roll.

At Christmas, my parents complained to me about how expensive my local Price Cutter store was to shop at.  I just chuckled and told them it was actually much cheaper than Walmart when you knew how to shop just right.  What do I mean by just right?  Those double coupons really stack up.  Last week, I bought the Sargento at Walmart but price-matched it with the sale price at Price Cutter.  The normal price is $2.68 and the price for these three packs would be $8.04 – $1.35 in coupons = $6.09 for the final cost.  At Price Cutter, the cheese is back to the regular price of $2.99 and had 3 coupons for $0.45 each.  This made it $8.97 -$2.70= $6.27.  Yep, I paid $0.18 more, but saved a ten mile round-trip drive.  I still think I came out ahead.

I further explained to this gentleman that as an extremely practical coupon shopper, that I don’t shop with a “normal” weekly or monthly shopping list.  I shop according to the coupons I have and those which will soon expire.  However, I don’t purchase the items we don’t use.  I don’t purchase something in hopes of receiving overage on a coupon to pay for a different item.  Purchases are made because we use the items and they’re on sale or a good buy, but ALWAYS because we use the products.  Something that you must get used to is also NOT being brand picky.  My kid is so used to me buying the “stuff” that she likes that she’s rarely picky about a brand or particular flavor.  She didn’t care that I brought home Chi-Chi’s Whole Wheat Tortillas, she was happy that I bought her tortillas.  I laughed at myself because I expected her to flip about brown shells.  Crazy me, I taught her to eat wheat bread since she started eating table foods!

Even though I used many coupons that I cut from my newspaper, I can still link you to several of these or similar coupons  that are printable.

• $1.00 off 5 Totino’s Crisp Crust Party Pizza
• $0.50 off 2 Yoplait Greek yogurt
• $0.55 off Two Sargento Shredded Cheese
• $1.00 off ONE package of OREO Grab & Go Cookies
• $1.00 off Two 64oz Old Orchard 100% Juice Blends
• $1.00 off TWO (2) KRAFT Natural Shredded Cheese
• $1.00 off TWO (2) JELL-O Ready To Eat Puddings