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After hearing more about last night’s show on TLC (which I didn't even watch!), I remembered this post that I shared back in December after the first episode of Extreme Couponing aired. I found it interesting as I re-read it this morning that I’ve done a nutty thing or two myself for a deal; however I will say that several years of couponing has tamed my deal-crazed-self quite a bit! I have had a wee bit of frustration over watching the show because I feel like TLC hasn't shared the true heart of giving that so many couponers share, and I do question if any regular person could walk into the store and do what those shown on TLC were able to do. (On the episodes I've seen it looks like quite a few grocery store rules were bent for the show!) Either way, it is interesting what we'll do for a deal, and I've done quite a few ridiculous things myself!
I have done some crazy things to snag a deal these last few years. Just a few weeks ago, I went to Walgreens only to buy 12 Snickers Nutcrackers and 6 Scotch brand mailers. (Who goes anywhere in the cold with a three year old only to buy Snickers Nutcrackers???) After we survived the checkout lane, I realized I was missing those mailer coupons. Did I simply pay the $2? Of course not! I shoved the cart as close to my car as possible (safely but without unbuckling little Miss Reagan) and listened to her scream “Momma, Momma, MAAAAMMMMMAAA-AAAAAAAAAAAAAA” in the parking lot while I rummaged through my car to hunt down those coupons!
But that’s only a tiny smidgen of the ridiculous things I’ve done for a deal. I’ve purchased twelve packages of Preparation H Wipes because the overage on the wipes would pay for diapers. I’ve sweetly asked helpless Publix stock boys where the Phazyme is because Ineeded it (for a deal of course . . . Phazyme happens to be an anti-gas medication. . . I truly had no idea when I asked those poor kids.) I’ve purchased at least four Bayer Contour Diabetes Monitors although no one in our family is diabetic, simply to earn a few more Register Rewards (but I was able to donate diapers with the overage, as well as those Contour Meters!) I’ve found myself in the bottom of a newspaper bin late on a Sunday night trying to grab that one coupon stuck tightly in between the bottom rungs of the rack (only to find the coupons expired two years before I got there.) The CVS managers who work in a western Kentucky CVS on Thanksgiving know me by name because I’ve spent one too many Thanksgiving mornings hanging out with them instead of in the kitchen cooking turkey with my mother-in-law. And I’ve even found myself stalking the poor Frito-Lay, Coca-Cola, and Coors Beer distributors in hopes of winning a blessed tearpad. (Those of you who know me know that I’ve never had a beer in my entire life, which makes it that much more pitiful!!!)
Some days it goes even further than that. I have stopped naive, innocent shoppers to let them know they shouldn’t buy any of the Nestle Toll House Cookie Dough in their buggy because they’ll be BOGO starting in the next ad. I’ve gone up to brand new couponers and asked them where their Kotex coupons are (because of course I knew those Kotex coupons could score them a deal!) And the poor customer service desk at Publix cringes when I walk through the door (well, maybe not, but some days I wonder!!!)
So, there you have it . . . the truth!!! Please let me know I’m not alone in this! What’s the silliest thing you’ve ever done to grab a deal? I know some of you out there have a story to tell, because surely you wouldn’t be here if you weren’t passionate about a little penny pichin’ too! So go ahead, ‘fess up, it’ll be fun and make me feel so much better!!!
Does anyone remember the KY Jelly overage coupon I believe it was a dollar or so per box about 3-4 years ago at Walmart, well my plan was to get a few groceries and use the overage I also had a freebie for duct tape so of course I was going to get that. The funny part comes when the cashier is ringing up items and has this strange look on her face, my niece who was about 17 caught it very quickly and her and the cashier busted out laughing, I had bought 25 box of ky jelly, 6 rolls of duct tape, and clothesline which I needed lol….. the rest of the groceries were irrelevant lol that's a trip I will never forget…. we laughed hysterically but I spent 2.02 for about 150.00 worth of groceries
One time I bought 25 packs of Mentos that ended up being a $.50 moneymaker to pay for some splurg shrimp!
I’m with you on going out in the cold. I drag my 4yr old, 3yr old, 2yr old, and baby out to a run of Rite Aid, Walgreens, Target, Walmart, and Kroger in the fezzing snow to buy one or two items from each of the different stores. Atleast I do it all in one day though, but it makes for a lot of buckling in and out of carseats!
I know it’s terrible but I actually called out of work to snag the sensitive charmin toliet paper deal at target and I visited like 5 targets that day to get that specific tp since I had some valuable coupons for it.
Recently when target brought back the deal I think it was last week, I pretended to be sick and go home but instead I went target to snag up some more tp. Needless to say we have enough tp to last awhile.
Oh Lisa – that is too funny! 🙂
You could easly be on that show right now with the Similac coupon and wal-mart. Simiac is 3.88 and the coupon is 5.00 so you get the overage on everyone. Put togeather 2,000 dollars worth and your on the show. I’m sure any local wal_mart would love the posative publicity if your going to donate the formula…
you would need 400 coupons. Thats pritty doo-able..
Great idea David! (I’d love 400 coupons and all that to donate!!!) 🙂
Here is a story I posted on my personal family blog about an experience I had only a few weeks ago trying to snag up some deals with two Kids ages 22 months and three-and-a- half. It’s a little lenghty but it captures the entire trip:
we went to Walgreens to stock up on the sales for this week. It started it as a normal shopping trip. Joshua in the cart. Emma walking beside me. That is until we reached the end of the first aisle. Then Emma had toys in mind. I managed to get her to help me pick out Kleenex and toothpaste but then she lost interest and found the toys. At this point, Joshua is starting to stand up in the shopping cart trying to catch up with his big sister who is looking and playing with the toys. So I get him out because it’s safer for him to be down on the floor than in the shopping cart fighting to get out. The kids play with the toys while I figure out the sales and coupons. Next thing I know the two kids are chasing balls down the aisle, across the mid aisle and down toward the other end of the store. I managed to get them to put the balls away and distract them into picking out some cute little plates. That lasted about 30 seconds, but it was just enough time for me to get sorted out and tell the kids it was time to move to the next section of the store. And we do. But the attention span of the kids isn’t long enough so I bribe them by taking them to look for Nerds – you know, the little Wonka candies. Great idea Mom. The kids love it.
Well, we get to the candy aisle and Emma’s job is to find the Nerds. But Joshua on the other hand finds little toy lawn mowers, grabs two and starts running…I mean RUNNING down the next aisle pulling two toy lawn mowers behind. He runs all the way down one aisle to the mid-aisle and rounds the corner. And me?? Where am I during all of this? Laughing of course!! And chasing my nearly-two-year-old around the store. Emma? Uh. . . I think she must have been chasing me chase Joshua because I remember having both of them in my arms telling them they needed to stop! For a split second I thought about just picking up the kids and walking right out of the store without getting a thing in my shopping cart. But I couldn’t bring myself to do that. I have never left a store and after this experience, I probably never will, because of naughty children. For goodness sakes, I was LAUGHING with the kids. Oh yes, there were plenty of other customers in the store. I don’t recall getting any dirty looks and store management didn’t kick me out so I gathered up my children, put Joshua back in the cart – – buckled tight and told Emma to follow me. We got to the check out and I have my 19 items and about 30 coupons to fumble through. It figures that as soon as I get to the register that three other customers come up at the exact same time. Oh well. That’s their fault. Walgreens is good though, they call for additional cashiers when the line gets longer than two.
So I bought the items I set out for and saved $47.95. I paid $29.22 (with tax). Let’s see just how good I did (yes, I’m going to type this all out for you to read! After what I went through, I think I’m entitled to share my purchases! LOL):
•Huggies Diapers 82 count – $13.99 on clearance plus $3 Manufactures Coupon (MFC). PAID $10.99 anyone who buys diapers knows that’s a HUGE DEAL!
•Four boxes of 200ct Kleenex – $1.09 each on sale plus $1 MFC. PAID $0.84ea
•Colgate Total Advance Whitening Toothpaste AND Colgate 360 Toothbrush – 2/$6.00 on sale Plus $1.50 MFC and $1.00 MFC and I earned a $4.00 Register Rewards. PAID $0.00
•Four Charmin Basic Bathroom Tissue 6pk – 2.99 each on sale plus 2 $1.00 MFC PAID 2.49ea
•Carefree Femanine Product – $0.99 on sale plus $0.50 MFC PAID $0.49
•Two Edge Shave Gel – $2.00 each on sale plus two $1.00 MFC and I earned a $2.00 Register Rewards PAID $0.00
•Random Stuff for the Kids to keep them quiet – Plates and Nerds $3.00 total
All-in-all not bad for what I got and what I paid. Now, anyone need bathroom tissue or Kleenex?? We’ve got a ton!
During check out the kids were actually very good. Emma was a little challenging when we got in the car, but she settled back down. Once we got home, the kids had a bite to eat, but they were still pretty wild. Our bedtime routine was full of kids jumping, twirling, and running around instead of sitting quietly listening to stories. Oh well. They’re conked out now and my hubby just got home from class. We’re going to sit down together and watch a movie.
Thanks for humoring me as I shared my experience from tonight!
You’ve got WAYYYYY more patience than me Michele! Those situations usually don’t keep me laughing – I usually am almost in tears! Great job holding it together (and on our deals!)
A few years ago when Wendy’s did their Air Tran promotion, I could be found, on any given weekend, stalking people at the trash cans, getting their cups before they threw them in. I also looked through the trash for any cups that had been thrown away. My husband thought I was nuts at the time but those cups ended up paying for all but a one way fare for my parents to come and visit us from Maryland! These days, hubby is not surprised at anything I do to score a deal! LOL
Last year about a month before I married my wonderful hubby we were on our way to church Sunday morning and stopped by Walgreens to get papers. On the way out of the store a gust of wind caught the papers and sent my coupon inserts flying out into 4 lane traffic. My wonderful hubby immediately jumps out and runs into the 4-lane catching those coupons! NOW THAT IS TRUE LOVE 🙂
That is a man to love Sherry!!!
You guys are just so funny! I totally understand the situation even though I am a newby to couponing! My husband has been on my case for a year to do it and I kept coming up with excuses that my life was too busy to sit and print! BUT I started it a few months ago and I am obsessed with checking your page and printing coupons every morning. I even bought the binder and baseball card pockets too!!
Although I haven’t done anything extreme like you have Laurie I guess only because my mind hasn’t gotten that far gone YET!!!
But I am donating my first load of groceries to the Asbury Food Pantry this week!!!
Thanks for all the laughs!
When Kroger is not too busy, and my husband is not with me (because he gets so embarrassed and mad when I do this!), I go to the self checkout area and dig in the little trash cans near the register to find any catalinas or coupons that printed that a careless shopper discarded without even looking at the treasure!! To be fair – there’s no food in the trashcans so it’s not even similiar to dumpster diving 😀
Also… how do you find out when the Frito-Lay, Coca-Cola, and Coors Beer distributers are delivering… I’d love to get a first chance at the tearpads (which ALWAYS seem to be empty when I get to them) 🙂
I’ve gone hunting for those Kroger q’s too Jennifer! At Publix, I used to always see the distributor guys in the mornings. One time I even struck up a conversation with the Kashi guy, and he ended up GIVING me 14 boxes of Kashi breakfast bars for free because they were discontinuing the flavor (score!!!) Love those guys!