Extreme couponing

Although I have never been a "reality show" fan, (never seen Survivor or any others, I guess my life is crazy enough) I have been tuning in occasionally to watch this extreme coupon show. I thought I would pick up some tips on how to use my coupons more effectively or something like that, but the "reality" is that they should combine this show with the one about hoarders. Has anyone else noticed that these people who spend 60 hours a week to get a $5 grocery bill never have vegetables or protein in their baskets? They really look unhealthy and they are literally devoting rooms of their living space to this obsession. Living space is supposed to be just that, living space, not storing 20 years worth of cheap shampoo space. I don't know about you, but these people scare me. I am ALL about saving money and making sure my family has food to eat, but really?

I learned when I moved into my ex-husband's house that there is not a single thing that cannot go bad after a period of time. Case in point: he had a 6-pack of Diet Coke in the pantry for 5 years. There is not a single natural thing in Diet Coke to go bad, and yet when I popped one of those suckers open, it was rancid. Who would have thought? So what are you going to do with those 2000 energy bars? Even if you didn't get tired of eating them, it would take a loooong time to get it done. Ok, so you say they will donate them to food banks. The thing is-they won't. They have built shelves and devoted rooms to this obsession and they work hard at getting that stuff. They wouldn't give it away in a million years. They would look at each item and remember the rush they got from getting them and they will not let it go. It's a slippery slope.

As for me, I will stick to my sunday paper and the internet for my coupons and I will not give up a minute with my daughter to save 40 cents. I average a savings of 45-55% just doing that, so why change?