The season premiere of TLC’s Extreme Couponing aired this past Wednesday and all I can say is WOW!….this is not a show that I would usually watch (what’s that again about my guilty pleasure?) but I tuned in because of my new mom friend who is a self proclaimed “couponer”…huh? what’s a couponer, I wondered? well according to dictionary.com, a couponer (noun) is a person who seeks out or saves discount as for buying grocery items. So, when I found out about my friend’s love for couponing, I had to wonder, is she a coupon addict? a food junkie? or just plain savvy? I later went home and googled “couponing” and saw an overwhelming list of coupon blogs, reality TV shows and links associated with couponing…a topic that was once a dirty little secret has now taken a life of its own.

So, after watching 5 minutes of the show, I couldn’t believe how jaw dropping it was.  In one scene, a women takes us into her basement called “the cookie jar” which is filled with wall to wall amounts of toothpastes, spaghetti sauces, deodorants, you name it, she had it. She did clarify though that she is NOT a hoarder, so, with crazy eyes she says “hoarders have dust, I do not have dust, dust is the dividing factor.”  Seriously, that’s the dividing factor??!!

"The Cookie Jar" Basement

Of course everyone loves good savings, but when is too much to much?  Another women shows us how she and her sister spends hours and hours clipping coupons. During her visit to the supermarket she is excited that she has “the holy grail of coupons”.   Guess this is not to far from my addiction to shoes, designer purses, costume jewelry, makeup, gossip mags….blah blah blah.

I do admire how committed these ladies are to saving money, but it appears to be more stressful than fun.  That doesn’t mean I’ll stop watching…’cause now I’m hooked!

Extreme Couponing airs Wednesdays on TLC, 10/9c.