The new show, Extreme Couponing, sure has everyone talking about it. I've been couponing for years - way before this show came out. Whenever I'd have a stack of coupons at a store before, many times the cashiers would just grumble under their breath, or roll their eyes when they see me take out the stack of coupons. But lately I've been noticing a whole new attitude!
Now whenever I take out my stacks of coupons I just get asked tons of questions about my purchase. Not really nosey questions, but questions out of sincere curiosity. One cashier at Walmart last week, an older lady probably in her late 60's, was asking me how do I get so many coupons? Do I print them online or get them out of the paper? How many papers do I buy? What websites do I get my coupons from? Do I watch Extreme Couponing? Can you really get $1200 worth of groceries for $2.00? (I'll save that one for another article!)
Behind me in line was another older couple. I apologized to them for holding up the line with my coupons (I hate when people have to wait for me), but they were very nice and said it was no problem, and that they liked to see others being frugal too. As the gentleman behind me said that, he lifted his wife's hand and she had a little ziploc baggie with a few coupons in it and they smiled.
They watched in anticipation as my grocery bill total went down, down and down a little more. You could see them whisper to each other every once in a while. They even chatted with me a little. They mentioned how they, too, have watched the Extreme Couponing show and can't believe how people can get so much groceries for so little.
My total before coupons was $140 and after coupons it was $40. I saved $100 on that shopping trip to Walmart. When the cashier said how much my total was, everyone kind of sighed and said WOW! The nice man behind me in line even congratulated me! That was the first time that had ever happened to me! The couple behind me and even the cashier said I had inspired them to start couponing even more and they were going to try to save more money with coupons. I left feeling really good about my shopping trip. It was a much better feeling than some of my previous visits, where I had been left feeling like my transaction annoyed someone.
Maybe this new show has really opened people's eyes. I'm finding that my shopping trips are much more enjoyable, and I don't mind answering people's questions about my couponing. I used to get only snide remarks about why I was buying so much, but now people are genuinely curious about how to save money with coupons. I think this is a great thing, especially in today's economy!
I do think there are some negative aspects to this show as well though, but again, I will save that for another article.
What are your experiences since the show has come out?
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