Thursday, January 6, 2011

A couple of weeks ago I watched the special ‘Extreme Couponing’ on TLC and was instantly inspired. (In case you missed it – the show will be on again on TLC on the 15th info here). I know the people they showcased were truly ‘extreme’ and my guess is they had all been planning the big trips featured on the show for a while to impress the producers, but still – having a shopping bill go from $600 to $2 is pretty inspirational.

When I worked for the local newspaper right out of college I was spoiled with my daily free copies of the newspaper and the coupon sections that came with it. Every Monday I would go to work, grab the Sunday paper, and start clipping coupons. Of course, I didn’t know it at the time, but I was doing it all wrong. When it came down to it, I was just clipping every coupon they offered and ended up buying unnecessary stuff that probably ended up costing me more money in the log run because I wouldn’t have bought it in the first place  without the coupon.

Obviously, that first experience with couponing wasn’t the best. From then on I was one of those people who began to believe couponing wasn’t worth it and I was better off just buying by the sale ads. I also associated coupons with processed, junk food.

Now I know better.

This morning I discovered the mecca of couponing blogs out there and Oh. My. God. Why didn’t I discover these earlier? It’s insane the saving possibilities out there! I found that I could save on books, movies and music with Barnes and Noble coupons The savings were endless. And there’s actually methods to the insanity! Stacking coupons. Doubling coupons. Buying in bulk. etc. etc. etc. I’m dizzy with new found knowledge!

Here’s a few of my favorites so far.

• http://thekrazycouponlady.com
• http://www.southernsavers.com
• http://www.jillcataldo.com
• http://www.iheartpublix.com/
• http://hip2save.com/

Do you have any to add to the list?

I even found a couple of beginning couponers guides here and here.

I’m mainly interested in the health and beauty product deals. (The idea of paying pennies for toilet paper and laundry detergent is a good one.) But I was excited to see this Kashi deal today. (I love how she broke it down so you actually see how the stacking of coupons works!)

(As a side note I worked as a cashier for two years in college and never had an extreme couponer come through my line. Such a shame. I think it would have been fun. Spending two or three hours checking someone out would be better than standing around doing nothing. At least the clock would have ticked by faster that way.)

So… the question remains… Do you coupon?

Moving on.

My breakfast was missing something this morning… Fruit!

I had an apple mid-morning to make up for it.

For lunch I went with a classic Hummus Sandwich.

Sandwiched between the two slices of whole wheat toast I had hummus, cucumber, cheese, salsa, snap peas, and greens. It’s really amazing how light and refreshing a veggie sandwich is.

On the side I had some carrot sticks with a spoonful of almond butter.

They were so sweet, I saved them last for dessert.

Remember that Reality Show for Ford that I auditioned for a couple of months back?

Well, as you might of guessed, we didn’t get it. Ford announced all 6 teams today and sadly, Katy and I are not on the list. I was bummed not to picked for the show, but still thrilled that Katy and I were not only asked to audition, but were picked as finalists afterwards.

I don’t have much to say about the way Ford handled the show, but I know a lot of the other finalists did. Check out Katy’s post for the lowdown.

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