Have you seen the television shows all about extreme couponing? They feature someone each week who walks you through what she - or he - does to get cart after cart of groceries free - or nearly free. Well, I like those shows but theyre making a big to-do about something Ive known about for many years. I used to do extreme couponing myself but it became too much work. They make it seem like they just got all that food for free, but really, they worked a full-time job - and more - to get it.The most difficult thing about extreme couponing is going to the store, piling up all those carts full of stuff, standing at the check-out for a really long time - while getting dirty looks and comments from those in line behind you - then carting everything out to the vehicle, dragging it all in when you get home, and putting it all away. Then you go out and do it again! If youre to save as much as you can you have to shop at more than one store. If its warm outside, and you have refrigerated or frozen items, it may be necessary to go home, drop off the first truckload, then turn around and go back out to a different store.It takes massive amounts of high-value coupons to make a dent in that grocery bill. Sure, most people know that there are usually coupons in the Sunday paper. Thats not going to save you much. Its necessary to ask others to save coupons for you. You have to go online and download more coupons to your grocery store savings card - or print out paper coupons. Youll find many sites online that offer a huge amount of coupons which you can print. Youll often find more of the printed type rather than those which can be downloaded to your card.There are a few steps to take in order to keep up with all the paper coupons. Most coupons have short expiration dates so it can be some work to check the dates often. Each month - or more often, its necessary to check expiration dates to see that theyre still valid. Coupons have to be sorted and handled often.Another big job, when it comes to extreme couponing, is the scanning of the grocery store ads. Its important to compare the coupons you have with things that are on sale. Its a lot of work to do that as well as make a list of things to buy from each store. You have to circle expiration dates or other specifics which arent immediately noticeable by glancing at the coupon just so you dont stand in the store for hours reading each coupon.
Yes, Its possible to save a lot of money on groceries, and even get hundreds of dollars worth of food and products free, but it takes a lot of work. Its truly a second job and thats putting it mildly. You must have a lot of spare room for storing bulk items and lots of room for looking through papers and cutting coupons. Youll spend hours clipping, sorting, throwing away, and handling coupons. More time and effort will go into shopping, carrying, and storing groceries. Youll have expenses for gas to go to various grocery stores - locally or in other towns - and gas to go pick up all those coupons from other sources. Youll invest a good bit of money for ink and paper while you print coupons from your computer. For some people - only some - its worth all the effort.
Source: www.howstuffworks.com
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