Extreme craziness

Have you seen the TV show Extreme Couponing? You should. It's really good ... in a "are these people really for real?" kind of way. Lucky for me, there were three episodes on back-to-back yesterday afternoon when I had a huge pile of laundry to fold and Ryan was happy running around destroying the basement.

I’ve seen the show before (I was just on mat leave, you know) but I never really paid it that much attention before. The concept – people whose sole purpose in life is to collect coupons so they can buy (and then stockpile) hundreds of dollars worth of groceries and personal items for pennies – is ridiculous to start with, but the dialogue and voice overs were so amazing I actually went and got a pen and paper so I could record some of the best clips to share with you.

The first story featured a woman who was using coupons to help save for a massive home renovation. She bought $439 worth of groceries but thanks to her coupons, only paid $7.11 (or something like that). The husband’s closing comment was: “Two more shops like that and we’ll have a new porch!”

I started getting really interested when the next woman explained that “the difference between hoarders and what I do is the dust.” Seriously, these people have stockpiles of crap that would outdo many corner stores. One lady even keeps her stash of cookies and treats under lock and key in a separate room she calls The Cookie Jar. If there’s ever a threat of nuclear disaster or an asteroid hitting earth, I would strongly recommend befriending one of these extreme couponers.

I love how the drama builds through the show, coming to a climax when the couponer arrives at the checkout with her parade of carts and usually a few family members in tow. “I’ve never seen my mom this nervous before,” says one little girl as the mom pulls out her pile of coupons. The music gets all serious, so you know something bad is about to happen – yes, there’s a glitch with the register! Disaster. Or as one story went: “Carla’s savings continue (at the cash) until they hit a hurdle.” Inevitably, the store manager arrives to enjoy his two minutes of fame and saves the day. Hooray!

Still don’t believe me that this show is fantastic? Check out this clip of Judy, who would like to change her middle name to Couponer and says “couponing to me is like breathing – it makes me tick.”

Unfortunately, I had to miss the story of  how "one woman used coupons to keep her family out of danger" because it was time to pick up Ella. I'll just have to make sure I clear my schedule for next Tuesday afternoon.