Let me explain Extreme Couponing to you.

Some of you (and really if you're reading my blog, probably most of you) might have caught a special that aired on TLC in the past couple of weeks called Extreme Couponing.  It was an hour long reality show that interviewed 4 shoppers, then followed them to the grocery store to watch how they saved using coupons.  I watched the show this past week, and I've had a few days to mull over my feelings about the way the show was produced- and the people being highlighted in the show.

First of all, everyone needs to remember that Extreme Couponing was on TLC, land of "reality" shows like "MY NAME IS BUDDY FOGETTABOUTIT!" Cake Boss, "I eat chalk because it tastes great" My Strange Addiction, "I want my Nee Nee" Toddlers & Tiaras, and Sarah Palin's Alaska.  Ahem.  You really can't take anything on this channel seriously, because as the National Enquirer of TV channels, the aim of each show is-- wait for it... entertainment.  So right off the bat, you need to take Extreme Couponing with a dash of (free) salt.

Can we talk about the things that TLC didn't mention?  Let's see... that at least two of the four highlighted individuals make money as re-sellers of the items you saw in their stockpiles.  One of the other stars of the show donates whatever her family can't use to various charities, and does so regularly (not just when there are TV cameras around).  But the thing that annoyed me the most about the show was the misconception that you, too, can walk into a grocery store armed with a tote bag of coupons and walk away with hundreds or thousands of dollars of merchandise for close to nothing.  This is the thing that I really want to make clear:  it does NOT work that way.

Yes, couponing can be a lot of work and it can save you a ton of money.  Yes, you can get great deals.  But you can't just walk into a store and scoop up hundreds of toothbrushes in a display.  The show neglected to mention that ALL of these couponers were told by producers that they should plan for the biggest shopping trip they've ever done.  The couponers called their grocery stores and pre-ordered products through store management.  This, you can do, and it's a great way to do your favorite store a favor.  If you know you've got 50 coupons for macaroni & cheese, call the store before the sale begins and ask if you can order a case of the item so that you're not wiping their shelves clean.

But on Extreme Couponing, the producers asked the stores to put all this pre-ordered product on the shelves and make the couponers load the product into their carts.  Think about it- does your local grocery store have 260 packages of the same brand of noodles on the shelf?  Mine sure doesn't!  Some of the couponers who appeared on the show have since written blog posts explaining that they didn't actually clear the shelves of everything in stock.  I think it's important for people to realize that just like so many other TV shows, this show was set up in a lot of ways, and that this kind of haul is NOT normal, certainly not on a regular basis.

If you had a chance to look closely at the coupons being used in the show you'll see that at least one person on the show split up her shopping into separate transactions and used catalinas (the coupons that print out at the register) to pay for part of the next order.  One other person was pictured using coupons that didn't cover the items he was buying- not sure why the store let him do it... maybe for the publicity?  Did you notice that 2 of the shoppers shopped at the same exact store?  Did you know that some of these stores have since changed their coupon policy, so even if you went back to the SAME store with the SAME coupons, you couldn't re-create the deal?  Did you notice that at least some of the shopping was done in a state with no tax on groceries?

Extreme Couponing is like most other shows on TLC-- it takes a facet of reality and portrays it in a way that makes it entertaining.  I love Toddlers & Tiaras, but I don't believe that all pageant moms are nuts and all pageant kids are maniacs.  I  enjoy watching hoarding shows, but I don't believe that the true motivation behind the shows is to help people who have a problem getting rid of items in their homes.  I don't believe for a second that Sarah Palin spends every day canoeing around Alaska and talking about how simple her life is.  And I for sure don't believe that I could walk into Shaws tomorrow and get $1000 worth of grocers for 50 bucks-- and I hope you don't, either.

By the way... Extreme Couponing did well in the ratings and was picked up for 12 episodes, so if you enjoyed it, you'll be able to see lots more in the future.  Just remember to have your salt nearby when you watch.