"Extreme couponing" show is ridiculous - Page 7

[Storm Bride]

Originally Posted by weliveintheforest 

Check craigslist out.  There won't be anything really local to you but if you can fit in a side trip while in new west, langley, or somewhere, you can stock up for $3-4 on farm fresh ones.  We usually buy 5-6 dozen at a time since we go through them a lot faster than they go bad. If you paid a lot for gas it wouldn't be worth it but we use so many eggs that when I have to pay $6 at the grocery store I feel like crying.

I should try that. (I never use craigslist - the format bugs me, but I don't know why, yk?) The problem is that I really don't leave North Van all that much, except for Hula Hoot (biweekly and over until September), and I don't know where I'd put 5-6 dozen eggs. We have such a small fridge. When I have three dozen in there, which is only when they're on sale, they dominate my fridge!

[jenP]

Originally Posted by Storm Bride 

I should try that. (I never use craigslist - the format bugs me, but I don't know why, yk?) The problem is that I really don't leave North Van all that much, except for Hula Hoot (biweekly and over until September), and I don't know where I'd put 5-6 dozen eggs. We have such a small fridge. When I have three dozen in there, which is only when they're on sale, they dominate my fridge!

you probably don't have to keep them refrigerated.

[laohaire]

Originally Posted by jenP 

you probably don't have to keep them refrigerated.

If the eggs have NEVER been refrigerated, they don't have to be.

If they have been refrigerated, you have to keep them refrigerated.

You might be able to ask a farm to set aside X dozen eggs to be never refrigerated for you. It's best to ask them to not clean them too (cleaning can damage the protective layer). You can clean them as you use them, or as you put a dozen in your fridge.

[umsami]

Thanks laohaire.  I never knew this.  Great info. :D
 

Originally Posted by laohaire 

If the eggs have NEVER been refrigerated, they don't have to be.

If they have been refrigerated, you have to keep them refrigerated.

You might be able to ask a farm to set aside X dozen eggs to be never refrigerated for you. It's best to ask them to not clean them too (cleaning can damage the protective layer). You can clean them as you use them, or as you put a dozen in your fridge.

[jenP]

Originally Posted by laohaire 

If they have been refrigerated, you have to keep them refrigerated.

This was driving me crazy with curiousity! I was thinking, for instance, apples - they don't have to be refrigerated. If they have been in the fridge, I can take them out and put them on the counter, no problem. Why would eggs, which don't have to be refrigerated in the first place, have to be KEPT refrigerated if they HAD been?...so I googled around and found an answer that makes pretty good logical sense: "After eggs are refrigerated, they need to stay that way. A cold egg left out at room temperature can sweat, facilitating the movement of bacteria into the egg and increasing the growth of bacteria. Refrigerated eggs should not be left out more than 2 hours. " (from http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Focus_On_Shell_Eggs/ )

Now it makes sense! :-)

[treeoflife3]

How long to non refrigerated unwashed eggs last sitting out?  a week?  a month?  If I were to buy a few dozen eggs fresh how quickly would I need to use all of them up?

[laohaire]

Oh... 6 weeks.

I do the float test if my eggs are aging. Put the egg in enough water that you could see if it floats. If it floats, it's bad. If it just stands on end but doesn't float, it's aging but ok. If it completely sinks, it's fresh.

I pay attention to even known fresh eggs when I pick them up - I seem to be able to tell when one feels lighter than it should be. Even a fresh egg can have an unseen puncture in the shell that would lead it to go bad. I don't float test every single egg, just pay attention. They should feel dense.

[L J]

Originally Posted by laohaire 

Oh... 6 weeks.

I do the float test if my eggs are aging. Put the egg in enough water that you could see if it floats. If it floats, it's bad. If it just stands on end but doesn't float, it's aging but ok. If it completely sinks, it's fresh.

I pay attention to even known fresh eggs when I pick them up - I seem to be able to tell when one feels lighter than it should be. Even a fresh egg can have an unseen puncture in the shell that would lead it to go bad. I don't float test every single egg, just pay attention. They should feel dense.

This is the most educational thing I have read online all week! I am a little happier than I should be to know this tip! Thank you.

[butterflylover]

I have heard many on the ECing show state they give to shelters, churches, missions, etc. One family sends thousands of care packages to the military. I think that is GREAT! 

[becoming]

Sorry if I'm repeating (not reading the whole giant thread), but... why don't these people use the time & energy they spend on couponing to get a real job? Then they would have money and could actually BUY their stuff like everyone else. Just a thought.

[littleplum]

Originally Posted by becoming 

Sorry if I'm repeating (not reading the whole giant thread), but... why don't these people use the time & energy they spend on couponing to get a real job? Then they would have money and could actually BUY their stuff like everyone else. Just a thought.

Probably the 9% unemployment rate?  Maybe?

[AFWife]

Originally Posted by littleplum 

Probably the 9% unemployment rate?  Maybe?

Thank you.

Or those of us that choose to stay home? We *could* spend that money on food...but we're trying to get out of debt so every penny saved counts!

[zebra15]

Originally Posted by becoming 

Sorry if I'm repeating (not reading the whole giant thread), but... why don't these people use the time & energy they spend on couponing to get a real job? Then they would have money and could actually BUY their stuff like everyone else. Just a thought.

Because I've been under/unemployed for three years and foodstamps only go so far and last time I checked foodstamps don't cover things like toilet paper, shampoo, detergent etc. ( ya we use those things around here )

Plus even before this whole personal financial mess I refused to pay for something I could get for free.  The coupon value is built into the cost of the item,

I spend 35-40 hrs a week networking, emailing, job hunting etc, I have a full time job looking for a job.  It's depressing.  I would gladly take a 'real job' and I would gladly 'buy stuff' like everyone else, ya know new shoes for DS, dental work, maybe even a much needed haircut!

[Hannah32]

Originally Posted by becoming 

Sorry if I'm repeating (not reading the whole giant thread), but... why don't these people use the time & energy they spend on couponing to get a real job? Then they would have money and could actually BUY their stuff like everyone else. Just a thought.

Was this remark intended to be as rude as it came out? Or is it just the internet communication thing? 

My hubby was underemployed for two years and we lived on one middle class salary. Looks like our fortunes may be rising at the moment, but I'll be sticking to coupons. They'll let me put more money in the bank. 

[xmysticprincessx]

There's a few things a lot of people don't realize or understand about Extreme Couponing.

1. The whole thing was staged. That girl only bought 67 bottles of Maalox because it increased her total, and the coupons for $5 off brought it down that much lower, making it seem that much more "extreme." It was the same girl who had to call friends to be able to get $10 off her $50 purchase. The $50 was pre-coupon, so if the Maalox was $5.50 each, buying 8 would be $44. She'd need another $6 worth of stuff to get up to $50 to get the $10 off. So between using 8 $5 Maalox coupons and the $10 off from the store promotion, she'd basically be able to get $10 of stuff she *needed* for free. (Which she probably does on her regular shopping trips, to get stuff like her fresh produce and meats. But for the cameras, she got extra cheap/free stuff with coupons to bring her subtotal up super high just so that it would come down super low and seem very "extreme.")

Same thing as to why the twins bought every package of dental floss- it was on sale for $1 and they had $1 coupons, making it free. But if they got 100 packages of floss, making their subtotal $100, then after coupons it was just sales tax, wow, that's extreme! The twins buying 20 pork roasts for $1 each, totaling $20, doesn't sound as exciting as the narrator saying that their total was originally $120 and they got it down to $20 after coupons. (Or even $40 before the store card on just the pork roasts doesn't sound as "extreme" as a subtotal of $180 before the store card and $20 after.)

The producers told the couponers to come up with the most ridiculous, most extreme couponing shopping trip they could come up with.

2. There are some "extreme couponers" who buy in large quantities to resell. Not trying to start an ethical debate here. (I can see where some are coming from. Using the Maalox example from above, someone would be able to stretch their grocery budget by getting 8 Maaloxes and $10 worth of fresh produce, milk, meats, etc for free, and then turn around and sell it at their garage sale, a flea market, etc to help make ends meet. Yes, it could be donated, but if someone is unemployed/underemployed, adding 8 bottles of Maalox at $3 apiece to the table of garage sale stuff could net enough money for half a tank of gas. Or to be put towards groceries. The couponer gets "free" money, and the buyer gets a product they would buy anyway at the grocery store for about half price.) On another deal site, one of the veteran posters said that one of the guys on Extreme Couponing made something like $12,000 from a recent garage sale. Its an unconfirmed rumor, but it wouldn't surprise me, considering what his stockpile looks like. For some people, couponing *is* their job because of how much they make in the resale of these items.

I'm not to make all couponers look bad, as many do donate their excess, whether to charity or give it away to family and friends. Just trying to give another explanation for buying large quantities.

***************************************************

Keep an eye on the drugstore ads. In the last year, I have gotten various homeopathic remedies really cheap or free after the drugstore rewards programs. Mostly products by Boiron, like Oscillo, Cold Calm, Arnicare cream, and Chestal. I've also gotten free Hyland's products too.

[phathui5]

Originally Posted by becoming 

Sorry if I'm repeating (not reading the whole giant thread), but... why don't these people use the time & energy they spend on couponing to get a real job? Then they would have money and could actually BUY their stuff like everyone else. Just a thought.

Because they're having fun couponing. And for the stay home parents who do it, it's something they can do to make money without having to work out childcare for their childcare, a home business.

For some people, couponing *is* their job because of how much they make in the resale of these items.

My husband's aunt did that for years, getting things for free with coupons and selling them at flea markets. It paid the bills.

[lilyka]

Originally Posted by becoming 

Sorry if I'm repeating (not reading the whole giant thread), but... why don't these people use the time & energy they spend on couponing to get a real job? Then they would have money and could actually BUY their stuff like everyone else. Just a thought.

I think it is the high of getting something for "nothing" (although the definition of nothing seems flexible here.  as does the definition of something when it comes right down to it)  and maybe it starts out normal and then becomes a bit of an addiction.  But really I could coupon like this for 40 hours a week (or more) or work at a grocery store for 15 hours a week and spend the other 25 hours focusing on my kids.  I chose to work at a grocery store (now I am stuck there full time and it is our only source of income but back when...) always knew what the deals were and where the coupons could be found (hey we had to make shit chat about something "ooo this is a good one, was it in the Sunday paper or the shopper?" was as good as anything else ), got parishables at a deep discount (I never pay more than $2 a pound for meat and used to get all bakery good for $,25 a package.  From loaves of bread to sheet cakes and have gotten produce for $.25 a package as well). And did not have to burn a lot of gas running all over to get my "Free" stuff.  (is it really free if you use an extra tank of gas each month running around?)

I also have to say you just can't do this everywhere.  I live in South Dakota and no one here doubles (not in town.  some of the country stores might but their stuff is often twice the price), the store I work out won't take many of the coupons they show on these shows (no "free" item coupons and nothing printed off a computer).  We already have a computer program that recognizes if you actually have the product (and we may not override) and soon it will also be able to read the expiration code.  When I was a cashier I never saw coupons for meat and very very rarely one for produce.  And cashiers are threatened with loss of employment for taking bad (expired, fraudulent) coupons and they do check at the end of each shift, so coming through the lines with anything remotely suspicious will take you a very long time and manager approval to get through, adding more time to your couponing *job*.

[Amys1st]

Originally Posted by becoming 

Sorry if I'm repeating (not reading the whole giant thread), but... why don't these people use the time & energy they spend on couponing to get a real job? Then they would have money and could actually BUY their stuff like everyone else. Just a thought.

I dont think this is meant to downgrade or be snarky. I know my DH said the same thing during a few of the shows. Mainly because he watched a women dumpster dive to get discarded coupons while her tot was there and the lady's dh was not happy about that. I also watched the couponer spend hours and hours getting ready for the shopping trip. I myself can see spending about 4 hours a MONTH planning your shopping if it means saving hundreds of dollars per month, but not hours and hours per day.

[AFWife]

Originally Posted by Amys1st 

I dont think this is meant to downgrade or be snarky. I know my DH said the same thing during a few of the shows. Mainly because he watched a women dumpster dive to get discarded coupons while her tot was there and the lady's dh was not happy about that. I also watched the couponer spend hours and hours getting ready for the shopping trip. I myself can see spending about 4 hours a MONTH planning your shopping if it means saving hundreds of dollars per month, but not hours and hours per day.

I can see that. I know that on the show there was a mom that seemed to talk DOWN about those of us that don't spend 60 hours a week couponing. Uh, I spend a couple of hours on Saturday and a couple of hours on Sunday...that's it.

[MidwifeErika]

I can hold no judgment towards these extreme couponers. Almost all of them shared a back story of being impoverished and afraid of inability to feed their family. Stuff like that changes a person. 5 years ago I stood in Aldi with our last $12 and tried to figure out how I was going to stretch it so we could eat for at least a week, if not 2. I will not judge people for buying "frankenfood"..... it is much preferable to no food. There is a hoarding element, but that often comes along with people going through a time of extreme need previously.... it is a survival thing.

Also, I completely am thrilled to hear there are people (like velochic) who donate foods they ethically feel good about to food pantries. That is awesome and amazing and I wish that happened everywhere. However, the vast majority of food pantries are constantly running empty and happily will take boxes of "frankenfood" to hand out to people rather than have nothing to give. We have MILLIONS of children in this country who go to bed hungry at night and who may only eat whatever they get at the school. So, I am thrilled to watch this show and have mention of how many thousands of dollars worth of products the people have donated to their local shelters and pantries. You can bet the people of the community feel blessed to have them there.

I use coupons and try to double up deals whenever possible. I shop sales and try to keep our grocery budget low. I don't go to the extent of what these people are able to do as none of the stores here double and I really don't have the interest in clipping hundreds of coupons each week (or trying to collect them from dumpsters). I feel we eat pretty well, but there are some boxed things that come in and stretch the budget and I really don't feel bad about that at all. I don't think that it makes me any less NFL than the next lady just because my kids are eating corn flakes that I was able to get for 0.17/box. It is what I do so that I can still afford to pick up a bag of apples and some quinoa even during a tough month.