Extreme couponing kind of fascinates me. Its like a train wreck: I can't look away. Some of the people on the show seem a bit.. off. I mean, really, what do people do with 400 pounds of dog food? Or carts and carts of ketchup? How much laundry detergent does one actually need?
Personally, I do use coupons for items I need or will use. We get the Sunday paper, so I clip them there. I'm sort of afraid of the black hole that is online coupons. I do feel like it helps our budget quite a bit. But I don't go cray cray.
I recently read this article about couponing for a cause. Through their church, these women do the couponing thing and donate the goods to local food banks. I think that is awesome, and felt inspired. With working a (more than) full time job and taking care of a medical student, my time to "give back" has been limited of late, and I have been feeling it. I do think that food banks are wonderful resources in the community, especially in this economy. So with my last local paper, I also clipped coupons for the food bank and put them in a seperate envelope. When I did my usual grocery store run, I picked up these goods for the local food pantry. Combined with the coupons and the in-store deals, this all cost about $11.50. (Keep in mind I live in New York, where food prices are through. the. roof.)
I just noticed Shammy Boy in the window. Lol.
I think this is something I'll continue to do--certainly not as seriously as the extreme couponers, but when I'm clipping coupons I'm going to put a couple aside for the food bank. When I'm already in the store and see one of those items on sale, I'll grab it. I'd encourage anyone who feels up to it to do this same. Such an easy way to lend a hand!
What about you? Do you coupon?
What a great way to give back to the community! We have been couponing for about a year (not extreme!). I enjoy saving a few dollars here and there on things I know we have to get. Plus we have a grocery store that doubles coupons under $1 - so that's awesome. I got sucked into the Extreme Couponing show, too! It's crazy to see how much "stuff" those people get!
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