Time to get my coup-on

We don't have cable service so I can't watch TLC, but this new fascination with "extreme couponing" has leaked into daytime network television (which I can watch). And being newly unemployed (again, but by choice this time) and being a new mom who is at home for most of the day -- I am inclined to try out new ways of saving the household money, even if it involves a little more thought and legwork.

After seeing some of these couponing gurus on Rachel Ray and Nate Berkus (alas, this is my life now...) - I ventured to this site, www.savvycouponlady.com, the other night.

I was quite intrigued by the philosophy, as outlined (very thoughtfully and concisely, I might add) on the site.  Extreme couponing involves changing the way you shop altogether.  Rather than going to the store once or twice a week to buy the ingredients or supplies you need in the immediate future.  The idea is to compile coupons for the items you regularly buy, then keep your eyes peeled for the in-store deals to align with the coupons you have so you can take full advantage of the discounts from the store and the manufacturer's coupon. This is called "stacking" since you're compounding the power of the lone coupon for extreme savings.

For example, let's say you clip a coupon from the Sunday paper for $2 off when you buy three 12-packs of Coke products.  Let's say you're an avid couponer so you regularly get 4-6 Sunday papers and you end up with 4 of those $2 coupons.  Then your local grocery store has a sale where if you buy four 12-packs of any Coke products, it's only $10 - and that store also regularly doubles manufacturer's coupons - you could "stack" the savings and get four 12-packs for $6 (that's $1.50 a 12-pack!).  However, the ideal would be to stock up on 12-packs to last you 12 to 18 weeks, which is the normal cycle for in-store sales (i.e. If your household drinks a lot of soda, take advantage by getting twelve 12-packs for $14 - the in-store sale would add up to $30, but you use the $2 off coupon four times since each was for three 12-packs which means, with doubling, you deduct $16... That's $1.17 a 12-pack!!).

Using this philosophy, extreme couponers are also usually borderline hoarders since the way to get the most for your money is to buy in bulk. They usually have a whole room in the house filled with shelf after shelf stocked with obscene quantities of paper towels, cereal boxes and the like that they have bought for dirt cheap. They also have to dedicate hours upon hours - every single day, for some - to couponing (clipping from the newspaper, organizing them in special binders, and searching online for even more deals).  Unfortunately (or fortunately?) I don't have the space or the mental fortitude to take it that far, but I definitely like the idea of changing my approach to grocery shopping in order to save some money! And I could probably tuck some economy-sized jars of Pace Picante under the baby's crib. ;)

Maybe this coming weekend I'll go out and buy a couple Sunday papers, start amassing some coupons, and see if I can at least be a "moderate" couponer... Wish me luck!