You’ve probably heard of the show on TLC called Extreme Couponing.

I’ll be honest. I’ve only seen bits of two episodes.

I’m not really a fan of extreme couponing. Either the show or the practice. And before some couponing guru hops on here and screeches at me, let me explain why.

First of all, from what I’ve seen in the show and from learning about extreme couponing online, it seems that the best deals are on junk food. Hamburger Helper, hot dogs, frozen pizzas, sugary juices, cookies, candy, etc. And the cereal… oh, the cereal. And it’s sugary cereal more often than not. Now, I’m not gonna say that my family never eats these things (except Hamburger Helper… NO. Just, NO. *shudder*) but we eat them pretty rarely. So it’s not really doing my family justice to save money buying foods that we wouldn’t normally eat anyway.

Hey, look on the bright side: the money these couponers are saving can be applied toward their healthcare costs later on in life when this horrible eating catches up with them!

Secondly, and this one really bothers me, it seems that on the show, they’re showing couponers clear off shelves by buying all the product there and using a bunch of the same coupon over again. Like the one where the lady had 70 mustards. WHO NEEDS 70 MUSTARDS?! Do they even care about the average shopper that only uses coupons as needed, and NEEDS mustard, and intended to use that coupon to just buy one or two mustards? I’ve BEEN that shopper and it’s really freaking annoying.

Third- the stockpiling. This, I’ve got mixed feelings on. If they’re buying a million of something and then are going to donate it to shelters or send it to the troops, as I have seen a guy on that show do, then it’s not so big a deal. But when you have 50 boxes of cereal in your pantry, there’s no way you are going to be able to eat them all before the expiration date. If you have 30 boxes of cold medicine in your cabinet, there’s no way you’re going to have enough colds to use them up before they pass their date. Stockpiling things that can’t go bad is one thing… but stockpiling things that do have a use by date makes no sense to me. (And again, I’d just like to stress that if these items are being donated obviously I am totally cool with that.)

And fourth… well, this: TLC ‘looking into’ allegations of coupon fraud on ‘Extreme Couponing’.

So… am I against couponing? Of course not! I love to save a buck as much as the next gal. And I do use coupons regularly (and legally!). But I do not agree with eating a diet of all processed, sugary, fatty, salty foods in order to save money, nor do I agree with accruing things you don’t want or use just because they were cheap or free.

One of the many joys of living in a small town is that whenever you want to see a specialist, you have to go out of town- usually to Elko, which is 140 miles east or Reno, which is 170 miles west. I know, it actually sounds like a pain in the ass- and it is in some ways. But it’s also a good excuse to go shopping! We really don’t have much in the way of clothing stores here (not even a JC Penney!) so pretty much any excuse to go to Reno is a good one.

So when my BFF asked me to go with her to Reno so she could see her doctor, I jumped at the chance. After all, with my recent surgery and weight loss, I’ve been really wanting to dress better- and I’ve been needing new clothes that don’t hang or fall off or have holes (OLD NAVY I AM LOOKING AT YOU. What is up with the cheap quality of your shirts lately?!)

It had been so nice here, unseasonably nice. Sixty degrees and sunny and pretty.. which is so not normal for a northern Nevada February. So someone tell me, why is it that as soon as I have an opportunity to shop for new clothes…. WHY does it do this?!

That would be sideways blowing snow and rain mix on the freeway.

By the way, we did go to her appointment and lunch and then headed back home to stay in front of another storm that was moving in. We got home safe and didn’t die or anything but.. we also didn’t get to shop. Stupid weather.