Do we have any extreme couponers in the house?

Can you clarify what is meant by "extreme couponer?" If you mean a mass hoarder who is eccentric (or worse) who selfishly clears out shelves in order to stockpile 50 bottles of mustard that will never be used and who loves that silly TV show and would like to be featured on it, than that is not me.

If you mean a careful, conscientious consumer who has a method and strategy to shopping with coupons, checks sales flyers, comparison shops, submits rebates, etc., and has been living this way long before the term was trendy, then that is me.

we used to...

(i think a good number defected to bargain share(?) with the closing of grocery coupons...it was never the same again)

HatHed said:   Extreme as in "Knows to never pay retail, always looks for a coupon and is super tactical about the topic". Hoarding would be something I'd prefer to stay away from. When I think of the FatWallet community, I think "smartest shoppers" in the world. This you
I think anyone who spends any time here already knows not to pay retail. That's pretty....basic.

Is the article going to be the typical "a peek into the life of an "extreme couponer"", or something more appropriate such as "how anyone can add coupons to their routine".

Personally I'd love to see an article slamming certain shows (one in particular) that have repeatedly promoted unethical and at times, illegal coupon practices. Plus the reaction from everyday people who have had to deal with the aftermath when going shopping themselves.

I spent about an hour talking to Barbara Thau, the reporter yesterday. Talked mostly about things many here already know and understand--never buy anything without a coupon if one is available, check flyers, be disciplined and methodical. Also talked about using online coupons (with the obligatory plug for FW) and how user post codes and offers. She seemed genuinely interested in learning the couponer's mindset (and acknowledged she isn't one herself) as well as seeing the negative connotation that the term "extreme couponer" has with some of us. It was a nice chat, I think I did a pretty good job of getting my points across. I'm a couponer because of habit and financial necessity, but also just because I feel it's good sense and one way to be a good steward of my resources.

I'm not sure when it will appear, nor how many other people were interviewed, but the article will show up sometime on AOL's Daily Finance site.
Link

VivYip said:   we used to...

(i think a good number defected to bargain share(?) with the closing of grocery coupons...it was never the same again)

And dealagogo.com, those were the days!

"And Walgreens (WAG) now asserts that "management reserves the right to limit quantity of items purchased," Tilley says."
Managers should have always had the right to limit quantities?


"Target (TGT) has clarified that two buy-one-get-one-free coupons can't be combined to make both items free, Tilley says."
Duh. Again, that's always been the case. Nothing new.


"And WalMart (WMT), the world's biggest retailer, issued an updated policy last year "which states that only original copies of print-at-home coupons will be accepted in its stores," he says."
Yet WalMart is the single largest target for coupon fraud....