TLC's Extreme Couponing Show

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One week from tonight the show that most couponers love to hate returns to TLC. Extreme Couponing makes its triumphant return to T.V. on September 28 to a coupon storm of criticism and controversy surrounding the show and the practices of the people featured on the show. Most of the backlash directed at the show comes from avid couponers themselves who are worried that TLC's Extreme Couponing is giving couponing a bad name. Couponing blogs are abuzz with anger and upset at the show for what these practices are doing to the real world of couponing. Since the debut of the show, couponers have seen stores cracking down on the use of coupons in their stores. Many stores have dropped the practice of double coupons which once allowed most couponers on the show to score massive amounts of products for next to nothing. People who coupon on a much smaller scale are feeling the effects of these extreme practices, and retailers are finding ways to put a limit on the amount of merchandise and coupons that people can now use. Many stores have also rolled out new or updated coupon policies that make it harder for everyday people to use coupons to save their family money on groceries and everyday items.

How can a TV show have such an effect on people that it causes whole retail chains to revamp their policies? The answer is simple, people love to save money, and the prospect of getting so much for so little easily hooks people and keeps their attention. If you didn't already know, each week the show features two couponers who take viewers inside their homes and gives them a glimpse of their massive stockpiles. Viewers are captivated by the amount of stuff these extreme couponers have accumulated just by using coupons. Seriously, some people on the show could be running a small grocery store out of their homes with the amount of stuff they have accumulated. The show also takes viewers on extreme shopping trips where the extreme couponer purchases hundreds or even over a thousand dollars worth of products and is able to get the stuff for next to nothing. And, when I say next to nothing, I mean almost nothing. Some of these extreme couponers even end up with negative balances which means they get all that stuff for free. It's every struggling family's dream come true. That's why, since the shows debut, there has been a sharp increase in the number of people who use coupons. I for one am one of those people who started using coupons because of the show. I saw the people on the show getting so much for so little, so I decided to look more in to it. Here I am seven months later with a little stockpile of my own, and I couldn't be more happier that my eyes were opened to all the great savings and deals I was missing out on. Before I started using coupons I paid over $3 for a bottle of body wash or, even worse, over $8 for a razor! If I had only known then what I know now I could have saved myself so much money.

In conclusion, I have to say that I am not mad at TLC's Extreme Couponing. If fact, I am looking forward to its second season premiere next week. I am fascinated by the people who are featured on the show. It must take so much time and dedication to plan out those extreme shopping trips and my hats are off to those who are able to do it. That being said, I do hope that more emphasis is put on the fact that the show is not something that is very realistic in everyday life. These shows depict extreme shopping trips that only happen for a T.V. show. Sure, you can do similar shopping trips on your own, but, I believe, you would have a hard time trying to do shopping trips like this at most stores. It is also important to remember that when using coupons you want to use them responsibly. You don't have to accumulate a massive stockpile over night, and you are not the only one in your neighborhood who is looking for a good deal, so don't be a shelf clearer! Nine times out of ten the same product will be on sale again and you will be able to score it at the same price at another time. You don't really need more than 10 of any one item, so be considerate of others.

What are your opinions on the show? Will you be watching the premiere of the second season of Extreme Couponing next week?

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