Crazy Coupon Adventure

I have been couponing now for about two months. By couponing, I mean that I have a binder that I keep all of my coupons in, get the Sunday newspaper, save all the coupons I see, and print off coupons from the computer. I take the binder with me and plan my shopping trips so I can save on groceries and essential items. I really enjoy couponing for many reasons- it's relaxing(the preparation part), fun to plug numbers, great to try new products, and exciting to see the savings. While I have gotten some really great deals, I would not call myself extreme at all. I realized Monday night/Tuesday morning that I will never be an extreme couponer. I haven't watched the show "Extreme Couponer" but I think I witnessed it at the Saratoga Springs Walmart this week. I had been hearing and reading posts about people going to Walmart on Tuesdays in Utah County because they double all coupons that are under one dollar. For example, if a coupon is 25 cents, they will double it to make it 50 cents off. If a coupon is between 50 cents and 99 cents they will just "double" to make it 1 dollar. I thought it would be fun to try this out and experience doubling coupons. I invited my friend Stacie along with me. We got to Walmart around 10:30 p.m. with the plan to check out at 12 a.m. and get home at a reasonable hour. After going down the first aisle I questioned what in the world I was doing there. It was really overwhelming. There were people (mainly women) all over with their carts heaping over with products. Women were already waiting in line to check out with their items that they would be doubling at midnight. Stacie and I walked down the aisles trying to find the items that we wanted to get. Disappointed, at the many bare shelves. The first 5 things on my list were already gone- at 10:30 p.m!!! At this point I felt like giving up and leaving empty handed. But, how could I? I drove almost a half hour for this experience (A crazy experience! What was I thinking?) and to get some good deals. Stacie and I walked down each aisle trying to find what we wanted to get. Luckily there were still some items left for us. We noticed a women with a cart full of stuff and the gum that I had a coupon for. I asked her where she got the gum and she said, "I don't remember, but I probably took it all." That's when I took a double look in her cart. ARE YOU SERIOUS? I couldn't believe my eyes. She had tons of the boxes filled with gum. I then noticed her cart full of diaper wipes. Confused at how in the world she could possibly get so many coupons for the same product, I asked her a few questions and this is the gist of what she said, "I have my ways. It is legal and honest. I have people that cut out coupons for me and I am looking for some more helpers. If you want you can help me out and I'll pay you with about 20 coupon inserts a week." By this time I was so confused. How in the world does somebody get this many coupons and why do you want to spend your whole life engulfed in couponing? She then pointed to her coupons. She had an entire plastic filing box/tub full of all of her coupons. SERIOUSLY?!?!? I didn't know how to respond to her, so I just said, "WOW!" As we left, the lady gave us a wink and said, "Some day you will know." I guess when I am older I will know how to get lots of coupons too. However, she was kind enough to let me take one of her gums from the cart. Stacie and I got some really good deals. Our experience was a really big eye opener to me. I came home and told Garrett I wasn't sure if I ever wanted to use a coupon again. Some of those ladies were so serious about couponing. They had tons of each product in their cart. Then there was Stacie and me, with one of a few items.

A week or so ago, I told my brother about one of my great couponing trips and the money that I spent. He gave me a hard time and said that the time you put into couponing, you might as well work more to get paid more and not worry about saving the money. After my Wal-mart experience I can definitely see his point of view. These people were so EXTREME and it seemed like their whole life focused around couponing. What do you think about couponing???