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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think if I lived in America I would be....

37 replies

NotYoMomma · 21/05/2013 14:47

An extreme couponer?

I'm watching extreme compounding and just saw a woman get $1100 worth of shopping for her and her 7 children...

For $33!!!!

I'm like this --> Shock

Where are all the coupons in the UK?

I would love it!
Making lists, having that one area in life where I could be proper obsessed with with no shame lol

AIBU?

OP posts:
AllegraLilac · 21/05/2013 14:48

I'd be a face lifted Real Housewife type.

expatinscotland · 21/05/2013 14:50

They claim they are saving money, but are instead just hoarders. They stockpile stuff they don't need. Some even spend loads on sheds and storage for all this stuff they don't use. How is that saving money?

Original poster
NotYoMomma · 21/05/2013 14:53

I did see a woman with 200 bottles of BBq sauce but I would be a classy hoarder couponer.... I swear
;p

OP posts:
crashdoll · 21/05/2013 14:55

Did she actually get useful stuff or crap like 100 packets of nappies when she has no children in nappies?

NatashaBee · 21/05/2013 14:56

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

GoodbyePorkPie · 21/05/2013 14:56

If I lived in America I would be ...

47 stone.

SPsCliffingAllOverMN · 21/05/2013 14:57

I love Extreme Couponing!

I would live to try it. They aren't saving money though. They just have a shit load of shit they wont ever use

juneybean · 21/05/2013 14:57

Isn't it in UK that you can only use so many vouchers at once, they're stifling us :(

paulapantsdown · 21/05/2013 14:59

All they ever seem to get is toothpaste, disgusting looking hot dogs, vitamin water and deodorant.

Apparently, more and more people are getting into this in the
US, so a lot of retailers are stopping accepting vouchers as the couponers just come in and clear the shelves of 4000 toothbrushes and no one else gets a look in. Not good for the retailers, who have to match part of the value of the coupon, or for the manufacturer who wants as many different people as possible to try the product. I agree they are mainly weird greedy hoarders.

They always say they are feeding their family for 25c or whatever, but they ever seem to buy anything you could actually make a meal out of!

wentshopping · 21/05/2013 15:00

Natasha you just beat me to it! No coupons for fresh/healthy food here. And who is ever going to use 300 men's deodorants or 200 packets of taco sauce mix.
I am so the opposite of extreme in that I forget to use the one coupon lurking in my bag.

youmeatsix · 21/05/2013 15:00

i love the programme too but have read too many reports that its all set up, shops wont take that many coupons, most dont double to the extent they imply on there, things like that. i think there are savings to be made and i love the ones who donate. a woman the other day (who bought the shed) had thousands of tampons or pads (she said feminine hygiene products) and she didnt even use/need them, why didnt she donate to a womens aid shelter?

Original poster
NotYoMomma · 21/05/2013 15:01

I would be too GoodbyePorkPie lol

Saw a woman get salad bags with coupons - they got them for a huge community party or some such.

They had a seperate room for sweets!

OP posts:
Booyhoo · 21/05/2013 15:02

it's all junk food or toothpaste etc.

and how much extra space would you need to hoard all the stuff you would never use? or would you donate it?

Booyhoo · 21/05/2013 15:03

youmeatsix

i saw that episode. yes she was buying a new bigger shed to house all this stuff, some of which (sanitary products) she would never use! why? jsut donate it to a womens' shelter or somewhere.

youmeatsix · 21/05/2013 15:04

i think i would spend all day trying to get even just one person to pronounce coupon properly

Original poster
NotYoMomma · 21/05/2013 15:06

I would donate! You could help loads of people if it was really like on the tv!

OP posts:
Primrose123 · 21/05/2013 15:13

I would love to try it too, but not to that extent. Why not get 10 free tubes of toothpaste, that would keep the family going for a while, wouldn't it? I don't know why they have to buy so many in one go - it seems very greedy.

I wonder if it's an OCD type thing. All the couponers I have seen keep their stock in perfect stacks. Do they ever use the stuff they get? They seem to take a lot of pleasure in saying, 'Look at all my stuff' and some even take photos! It seems to be an obsession with some of them.

I also wonder if it's that fear of having nothing. My grandmother, after living through two wars, and being widowed, always kept a small amount of money in the bank, and always had tins and frozen food, 'just in case'. Perhaps it's a sort of safety net for them.

I also wish they would say coupon properly. It makes me shudder every time they say 'kewpon'!

KatyTheCleaningLady · 21/05/2013 15:33

When I was in America, coupons were a waste of time. Always for crap I didn't need.

Ihaveavoo · 21/05/2013 16:15

Reminds me of those who do shit loads of competitions a day and win loads of crap stuff.

Mother2many · 22/05/2013 04:04

Well, there are extreme coupon people...not everyone is a "hoarder".. I would also buy wisely, but not over do it!!

Here in Canada, we can't coupon like the US does either... can't stack up and get things for free here! (unless you save your grocery points...lol)

missuswife · 22/05/2013 05:36

I like the programme but yeah, I live in the States and never see coupons for anything I want. Deals on fresh stuff (like meat or fruit marked down to so much per pound) but mainly I go to Costco for things like nappies or other stuff I use a lot of. I never buy any packages food so the coupons are no good for me. If meat is on sale I'll stock up and freeze it though.

Tee2072 · 22/05/2013 05:58

Hey guess what? That's how Anerucans say coupon.

Saski · 22/05/2013 06:28

I have an image of my mother clipping coupons seared into my brain forever, it was the rage in the 70's/80's in the US.

I had no idea that it was still a thing. Aren't most coupons in the US digital now? Maybe this is a sign that I'm actually young, I can't imagine clipping a piece of paper and presenting to a cashier for a price reduction.

Tailtwister · 22/05/2013 07:15

It's amazing to watch, but I agree they never really seem to buy much you could actually feed a family on. I love the bit where they scan all the coupons in at the end and they see the price come down. Don't they actually get some money back sometimes too?

CheerfulYank · 22/05/2013 07:27

I know someone who gets all kinds of free deodorants, mouthwash, razors etc, etc, and then at the end of the year has a huge garage sale and sells it all for a dollar or so each. She makes at least a few thousand.