How do they get everything for free?!

United States
October 26, 2011 11:11pm CST
I'm watching extreme couponing, and they get so much for free. One person got over $700 worth of stuff for less than $30. On another episode a mom paid $27 for over $1000 worth of stuff. I would like to be able to clear shelves for free. I don't know where they get all these coupons from. It's more than you can get online. I've gotten the printable coupons, but you don't get enough to clear shelves. I would love to get over $800 of food for just $40 or $50 ... but it would be nerve racking in case you miscalculated. I see these people are nervous as a cats in a room full of rocking chairs! They get really anxious until they get the final check out price of zero or nearly zero dollars. Are there any extreme couponers here in Mylot? if so.. do you have any useful tips?
6 responses
• United States
27 Oct 11
Sadly I am not one of those. But my boyfriends mother, his sister and niece out in Arkansas are. They sort of live for coupons and scour every imaginable site, newspapers and magazines and are forever very organized and clipping away. However, I do see that they buy things that ordinarily they would not have. I mean who needs 18 stacks of Pringles, when they already have 20 at home. Actually my boyfriend mother is one of those that feels one has to stock enough food for a two year period. When we went down this summer, I was in total shock on how not only her pantry was overflowing but the basement and a closet were jammed packed. Most of the stuff has expired dates as she does not shift she keeps buying. She lives by you have to spend to save. lol So basically absolutely anything that is on sale they just have to have.
1 person likes this
• United States
27 Oct 11
Hi HWG! I see people have so much stuff that it has to be expired. I wouldn't want that much, but I certainly would like to have 3 months worth of stuff and keep rotating stuff. I've just never found that much to get on coupons that we eat. I see a bunch of stuff they buy, but they aren't groceries.. except maybe pasta and sauce. I would like to have a bunch of that.. but I want other stuff too. I spend so much on food for my family that I have not much for the month afterwards.
• United States
27 Oct 11
I can tell you that after really taking a really hard look in her food supplies she has an abundance of stuff that really no one really would need. For instance cases of cake mixes and cases of frosting. She does have cases of corn, loads and loads of rice, beans, canned veggies. But in all honesty who needs cases and cases of salad dressing. So yes they do get a lot of it very cheap but they buy so much that they spend, spend for stuff they ordinarily would not need for a while.
• Grand Junction, Colorado
27 Oct 11
I have had cake mixes in my cupboard that some how get pushed back to far and can't see when found its because I found weevils in something. Check out cake box and even though cake is in a sealed bag bugs. Those little things somehow get through plastic. I have had to throw out $100's of dollars worth of food all because of something being on a shelf to long or being brought in from the grocery store. This would be an unbelievable expense to have to through everything out due to bugs. That's what I always think of when I start to get to many boxed things in my cupboards
• Grand Junction, Colorado
27 Oct 11
I have never been able coupon like that. Years ago, the stores in my state took away all those couple and triple coupons. I wonder where some if them even find the coupons I mean I know the newspaper, and you can get a few from magazines, and some on line but still it doesn't add up to me. I have even signed up to some of them but still I never save more than a few bucks. I also can't see the point in have 20 bottles of shampoo di you really save anything when it will take you 2 years to use them all? Probably no cause they just keep buying them. Those that don't rotate their food products waste money by throwing the expired things out. To much is not always a good thing. I also think it encourages hoarding.
• Grand Junction, Colorado
27 Oct 11
We have neither of those stores any where around here. I know of a Kroger's in Eureka its about a 6 hour drive from here, lol, so the drive I wouldn't save to shop there. The local morning show I watch here a couple of the news people are into the extreme couponing and they say to get a notebook be very organized, check out the adds and stick to the sale stuff that was on your list. You have to be very regimented and that's not me. I think it's extreme to have that much stuff. I wouldn't mind having a month or 2 supply of a few things on hand incase of something happening, but any more than that unless your really organized and your rotating out items, its just a waste of money. @ HWG, your boyfriends family sounds like hoarders to me, no offense, but when the items your stock piling are expiring and your not getting rid of them then it's a problem or a sickness. Just my 2 cents worth!!!
• United States
27 Oct 11
Hi PQ and Beanie I am enjoying PQ topic as I have been in amazement with this situation as I mentioned in my box above. It is a very bad case of hoarding indeed! She lives in my boyfriends home in Arkansas and I often wonder that when I finally move there that my biggest project will be to discard all that food. I tried a couple things very reluctantly while I was visiting this past summer. Most everything had expired dates and I don't know if it is my picky nature but I was so grossed out. His mother says that someday we will all be in a crisis and we will not have enough food but at least we can make it there and be assured of it. My thinking is that there would be no way I could do that as lots of the dates were well over a year of expiration as it was. Yes Beanie, forget it she has cases and cases of deodorant, shampoos and lotions... the list goes on. Whoa I did not think I could find anyone to agree with me. Although my boyfriend does but no one there agrees with me that this what she is doing is really out of control.
• United States
27 Oct 11
I know! I don't know the secret of having thousands of coupons. They bring a notebook full of coupons.. and they also get store coupons too and get stuff for free or nearly free. I don't know how they do it. I think Ingles still does double coupons, and Kroger I think does.
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
7 Dec 11
I coupon. Have been for years. However, these days, coupons are not much. I mean, what good does "30 cents of 3 cans" do you? But I watch online and newspapers. Now..the extremers...there is something to htat that they are not telling us. Where do they get 100 of the same coupon so that they can buy 100 items all at once like that? I have done all they say...manuf. web site, store web site, online coupon places...you name it I've checked itout. I have found that the online coupon sites..they all have the exact same coupons availalbe...HOWEVER...you can only print the same coupon 2 and some times 3 times...then it tells you you have printed the max allowed. I have diligently been working on this for 3 months now...you can only print the coupons 2-3 times...so how do they get more? I have heard a few of them say that they have 3-4 computers/printers in their home and I guess it is tracked by IP address...but stlll....isn't IP the carrier to the home, not for individual computers? Anyway...Although it is fun to get for free...why get what you have no use for? Those 280 deodarants they bought...will dry up before they will ever make a dent in the stock! And I am sorry, but 60 hours a week working with coupons? And all you get is free food? It'd almost be more beneficial to get a minimum wage job! At least you could still coupon and get what you need, not what you dont need, and not spend as much time working so hard for what you don't need! Thos e 98 bottles of soda will go flat in a few months!And if you work for cash instead of food...you can utilize that cash in other ways...free food just means you won't be hungry...homeless, but not hungry!! So...I wish they'd fess up and tell us how they do it. HOwever, they are ruining it for the rest of us as they are doing it. Stores are going to put more stipulations on coupons (mine NEVER doubles coupons and limits quantities) so there is something to it!
1 person likes this
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
10 Dec 11
Yeah, kind of like "all that work for nothing....still don't have anything to make for dinner tonight"!!!!!!
• United States
10 Dec 11
Yeah, that is what I want to know. How do they get 100 coupons and 100 other coupons to go with it to get everything for free... I mean 100 energy bars for free.. or 60 bottles of energy drink for free.. or 100 bottles of laundry detergent for free... or whatever. I notice that what they buy isn't what you could really feed your family with for a year.. they have stock that might last for a month.. but it might be 200 boxes of pasta, and 200 jars of sauce.. and rows and rows of this or that.. but it's not like any variety to really have food for every meal for every day. Exactly! Why hoard so much stuff.. I can see if they give it to a church or food bank or share with neighbors... but to hoard it until spider webs get into it.. is crazy.
@Jezebella (1446)
• United States
29 Nov 11
I am not one if those who managa to do that. But I do get excited when I save even 5 dollars. My boyfriend and I try to save as much as we can. Stores that do double coupons help alot to hehe. I would like to know how to do it without having a grocry store in my house.
1 person likes this
• United States
30 Nov 11
I love a great deal too. I wish I could save a lot, but I don't manage to. Now that my daughter is doing the shopping instead of me because I can't walk the isles... she doesn't bother with any coupons unless it is for her medicine.
@Jlyn10 (11966)
• Malaysia
27 Oct 11
I very seldom use coupons to buy stuff unless they are edible stuff that I get to eat on the spot. Sometimes my friends would send me printable coupons for McDonald's free burgers through emails.
1 person likes this
• United States
27 Oct 11
I use them. Like I gei $4 off from my daughter's Prylosec. It's over the counter. I wish the coupons I get were better. I never get anything free like those extreme couponers.
@ravisivan (14079)
• India
27 Oct 11
The desire to get discounts and use coupons leads one to buy unwanted things or more than what is required. We can use coupons for buying necessities.
1 person likes this
• United States
27 Oct 11
This reminds me of a venting session my boyfriends brother in law had with us. His wife, my boyfriends sister is one that I mentioned above but she spends and buy so much stuff for which she then gives away. He is not upset with her giving it away to the church members but he says she over buys to the point that she does not prioritize the home bills.
• United States
27 Oct 11
I would buy necessities.. like stuff to live on... but I wouldn't want to buy a bunch of stuff that wouldn't get used.
@phillyguy (3005)
• Philippines
27 Oct 11
That's true extreme couponing only save you little from all those coupons because when factor things out you can see that sometimes people even buy what they don't need just for the sake of getting it in a discount price while sometimes people just buy to much to take advantage of coupons but ends up they can't use all those items and just get wasted.