Is "Extreme Couponing" for you?

There was a time when I thought I was an extreme couponer. I mean, I can score some MEGA deals and I have a modest stockpile and I cut our grocery budget by $400/month over the last couple years. I frequently get FREE items at the drugstores and save 60-70% at the grocery store. Sounds pretty extreme right? I thought so.

Then a few weeks ago, this show on TLC called Extreme Couponing comes along. WOW! I am no where NEAR extreme if that is the standards that it takes to be extreme.

Now, before I go any further, I know there are some people that have been on that show that do ALOT of good with the free things they get.

But hoarding more toilet paper than your family can use in a lifetime, using your kids closest for stockpile storage, clearing the shelves of every product and leaving none for other shoppers or committing coupon fraud to score a good deal is NOT practical nor how it works in the real world. Plus, I think it sets people up to fail. You see what their doing on TV but are unable to recreate that kind of shopping and it can frustrate you and cause you to give up coupons all together.

I know longer consider myself "extreme". I like to think of myself as a "practical couponer". Would you like to be a "practical couponer"?

Join me over the next several days as we talk about being a "practical couponer"!

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Coupon Information Corporation's response to "Extreme Couponing"

The Coupon Information Corporation put out this response to J'aime Kirlew and her appearance on TLC's Extreme Couponing:

CIC Position on Extreme Couponing

May 5, 2011.

The Coupon Information Corporation (CIC) expresses our great disappointment with TLC’s current series, Extreme Couponing, and hereby offers our expertise and other assistance to TLC and Sharp Entertainment (which produces the show) to enhance the program with more accurate and realistic information. In addition, we hope they address potentially illegal acts that appear to have been portrayed on the show.
Professionals in the coupon industry believe this show creates unrealistic expectations about how coupons work and promotes the misuse of coupons. For example, the show appears to portray coupons being used in violation of the terms and conditions printed on the coupons, such as using coupons to obtain products other than those specified by the coupon offer, and focuses on consumers who have procured large quantities of coupon inserts from unknown sources, which may raise civil and/or criminal issues.
In real life, individuals attempting to use such large quantities of coupons or attempting to use them in violation of the terms stated on the coupons would most likely have their coupons refused at the register or, depending on the circumstances, be investigated by law enforcement. According to media reports, TLC recently stated,
“While the series documents extreme couponing strategies, we take any concerns about specific tactics seriously and are looking into the situation.” We look forward to hearing what TLC discovers.
The CIC’s and other industry experts’ previous offers of assistance to the producers to make this an educational show were previously turned down. Nevertheless, we stand ready to help in the event the producers or TLC reconsider their path and seek to turn this into a show that accurately reflects appropriate coupon strategies and use, which would result in real benefits for TLC’s viewing audience.

I love that response! What do you think?

The CIC also helped the FBI arrest a fraudulent coupon user (not J'aime).

The CIC has a database of counterfeit coupons that are circulating, so if you are ever in doubt about a coupon you find online, check it out here.

Extreme Couponer J'aime ADMITS to fraud yet says she did nothing wrong!

Remember the controversy over Extreme Couponing and J'aime Kirlew? You know, the one who used coupons at checkout for products she didn't even buy, by using the reading the "codes" on the coupons and figuring out which ones would still scan if she bought a product by the same manufacturer. For example, she used coupons for Carl Buddig lunchmeat 16oz packs, only she didn't buy 16oz packs, she bought 2oz packs.

There is an interview with J'aime in which she admits exactly what she did (matching coupon barcodes to product barcodes so she could use the coupons on items they were not intended to be used on) and yet says she did nothing wrong.

I guess she missed that part of the fine print that says "valid only on product/sizes listed. any other use constitutes FRAUD."

What do you think?

The Coupon Information Corporation put out a response to her and TLC's Extreme Couponing Show. More on that tomorrow.

TLC's response to coupon fraud on Extreme Couponing

Budget Savvy Diva provided us with this update on the coupon fraud on Extreme Couponing.  (See more posts on what prompted this here and here.)

We feel strongly about exposing this as much as possible - because what she did effects all of us - making it harder to use coupons in the future.

In the most simple terms this couponer Jamie committed coupon fraud on national television, fraud for which she was caught for a year before. She also teaches couponers in a coupon class all about it --- for a pretty penny -- $35.00 !!!!!!

What she does wrong:

- There is a way to figure out coupon codes.

You see the bar code ?

There are numbers under the bar code - well you take the first set of numbers and you look for UPC on products from the same company and if they match up, then the coupon CAN be used on that other product. So people will take a high value coupon for one product and use it on a low cost product - sometimes being from completely different products.  Like using a detergent coupon on toothpaste.

The Couponer Under Fire

This is what she does - and she is proud of it.

The repercussions of such couponing are large... such as lower value coupons and more extreme restrictions at store like Krogers

Many upset bloggers and couponers have let TLC know how they felt - and TLC has FINALLY responded.





TLC said in an  statement to EW: “We have received a strong response to the premiere and are listening to and reading the various comments around the show — as with all programs, we appreciate the feedback. While the series documents extreme couponing strategies, we take any concerns about specific tactics seriously and are looking into the situation.”

I don't know...sounds hokey to me.  They haven't actually acknowledged any wrong doing, even though the show aired over a week ago. It doesn't take a rocket science to figure out what was done wrong.  They should already be certain that what they aired was a person committing fraud.

What do you think?  

TLC's Extreme Couponing - What They Don't Tell You

 Here is a great article from A Full Cup on what the TLC show Extreme Couponing doesn't show you!

1. It Takes Time to Coupon
It takes hours of planning to take a $2,000 bill and get it down to $100. Extreme couponing like you see on the TLC show is a part-time or even full-time job in regards to the hours put in.

2. Extreme Couponing Isn’t for Everyone
The average person won’t put in all the time to be an extreme couponer. But if the show got you excited that’s great! Using coupons will save you money. Start off with a goal of saving 10% to 20 % off your grocery bill. As you learn the tricks of couponing you can work on increasing your savings, or find a happy medium where you save plenty but don’t go to the extreme to use every coupon.

TLC's Extreme Couponing - Extremely WRONG

We at $aving Toward A Better Life and Luxury Living Frugal Style  feel very strongly about this issue! Coupon fraud hurts everyone. You can see the other posts pertaining to this issue and TLC here and here

It came out not too long after last week's episode aired that Jaime Kirlew has in the past knowingly committed coupon fraud, videoed it and posted it on the internet and taught coupon classes where she taught other people how to commit the coupon fraud as well!  One of the methods she teaches is to "decode" the coupons.  Coupons have UPCs just like products do.  For the register to take a coupon it has to be "coded" to work the product UPC.  Sometimes coupons will scan and be accepted by the register for the wrong product because it has the same "code" - usually these are products within the same brand.  Just because the register doesn't kick the coupon out doesn't mean it's right to use a Crest toothpaste coupon to buy a Crest toothbrush.  The coupon should be used for the product listed on the coupon - any other use is fraud.

Jaime posted videos online showing her couponing "practices".  Although she took them off her own site, nothing that has been put on the internet can ever truly be erased.  Here is one video:



Here is what it wrong in this video:

• Her Olay Coupon She used a $5/1 Olay coupons.... while that may seem like a problem the only OLAY coupon for $5 was off of OLAY Regenerist!  She used them on ANY Olay products.  WRONG!

Lucky Charms- She bought the single serve ones and used printable coupons on them.  Every printable on cereals I have seen has always had a size restriction and the single serve have never been included.

   

She argues with the cashier about her coupons and why they do not scan, well they are not scanning because she used THE WRONG coupons!  (Not that she used too many)

   

THERE IS NO SUCH COUPON AS $5 OFF WINDEX!!!!!

These are not the only coupon fraud issues in this video - however fraud is fraud no matter how much or how little!

TLC should have never allowed this person on the show.  They need to hire coupon experts to run background checks and analyze a couponer's methods before allowing them on the show!  TLC is playing a part (can't decide if it's knowingly or unknowingly) in (1) giving couponer's a bad name, (2) giving stores a reason to make it more difficult to coupon correctly and (3) making manufacturer's less likely to be so generous with the coupons they put out.

Thank you Jill at Supercouponing.com for e-mailing the links to these videos.

TLC's Extreme Couponing or Extreme Fraud?

Yesterday, we dissected the concept behind the show and all the flaws that it had (it's impractical, it doesn't actually teach you how to do the couponing, it sheds a bad light on couponers and makes us all look like hoarders, etc...)

I also mentioned a case of outright coupon fraud on last week's new episode. 

Lauren at Luxury Living, Frugal Style has been doing some research on this particular segment of the last week's show and the "bloggers" featured on it.

I wish TLC had done their homework before selecting people, like Jaime Kirlew, who has shown that their coupon ethics and usage of coupons, is not always ethical or legal, there have been many blogs posting about this person. Using coupons on products that they are not intended for is FRAUD and STEALING! In my opinion by having this person on the show, TLC is saying that unethical coupon usage, fraud and stealing are acceptable!

TLC's Extreme Couponing - A little TOO "extreme"?

Since we don't have cable, I haven't seen the TLC series Extreme Couponing.  But even if we did have cable, I'm not sure I would watch it.  From what I've read about it and from the comments I've received from thsoe that have watched it, all it is doing is shedding a bad light on couponers.  Some of the people on the show are over-the-top and impractical.  What some of them are doing is not what couponing is about.  Some of it borderlines hoarding (not all couponers are hoarders but it seems the show would like you to think that).  And some of what you are seeing (especially in the most recent episode) is blatant coupon fraud.  It worries me that TLC would let that go on.  (more about that part later in the week)

Lauren at Luxury Living, Frugal Style has been doing some research on the show and the bloggers featured on it.  This is the first in a series of posts about it.  Here's what she has to say:



The other night I debated on watching the show or not, and in the end I gave in and watched it. Honestly I feel it was a waste of my time, I see nothing that anyone can learn from it and all I see is it making couponing for the rest of us normal couponers difficult. I do not like the way that couponers are portrayed in this show, it shows more of a hoarding than a couponing type of people.


I have gone back and forth on if I should or should not post this but in the end you can tell what I picked :)


There are many things that I see wrong with this series:

Extreme Couponing on TLC right now!

TLC's show Extreme Couponing just started about 15 minutes ago.  Watch it and let me know what you think!  (I don't get that channel!)

Want to find out a little more about the people on tonight's episode?  Read their bios at We Use Coupons.  Nathan Engel (one of the first to be featured on Extreme Couponing talks a little about tonight's show.  Scroll down a little bit to see the bios on tonight's people.

Extreme Couponing Casting Call!

Are you interested in participating in an upcoming episode of TLC’s Extreme Couponing? If you have the expertise to get amazing deals and accumulate fantastic stockpiles of goodies, they’d love to hear from you! E-mail them at extremecouponingcasting@gmail.com.

I'm thinking about applying....maybe.  I don't know.  I don't think I'm "extreme" enough for the show.  And part of me is afraid that they might actually pick me!  LOL!  I'd be terrified to try to do a very large transaction "right" in front of cameras!  What if I messed up????  Do you think I should?  Are YOU going to apply???

You can learn more about Nathan and his experience on Extreme Couponing over at his site We Use Coupons.

More about Extreme Couponing airing TONIGHT on TLC! 8/7c

December 29th, at 8pm (eastern), Nathan Engels (Mr. Coupon) who is behind the We Use Coupons forum, will be featured on the NEW TLC show Extreme Couponing!

Here is a little bio on Mr. Engles and what to expect from his segment of the show:

Nathan Engels - Villa Hills, KY - Cartographer
Nathan started clipping coupons four years ago when he and his wife took a closer look at their finances. Now, debt free with more than 10,000 items stockpiled in his garage, Nathan is preparing for the biggest haul of his life. On his latest visit to the supermarket, Nathan is leaving with over 2,000 items - his most massive checkout to date. With 1,100 boxes of cereal, 300 toothbrushes and 60 bottles of hand soap, Nathan is looking forward to topping himself and saving thousands of dollars in the process!
Retail value: $5,743.00 Nathan's cost after utilizing his coupons: $241.00 - 95% savings!



Also be sure to check out Frugal TV.   Frugal TV is a series of videos at the We Use Coupons site where Mr. Coupon answers all your couponing questions! 

If you've never checked out the We Use Coupons forum before, I'd encourage you to do so as it's a great resource for couponers, beginner or advanced!