Shock & Awe



While I began couponing lllllong before TLC's Extreme Couponing came on the air, I know a lot of people have been inspired after watching the show.



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I love to watch. It inspires me to work hard, grab those deals and feed my family on less. I like to see people workin' the deals. I like seeing their totals drop. However, there are a few things that I am not a fan of... lets use a bullet list shall we?



**Shock & Awe: every week you see totals go from hundreds down to pennies. So if you are not doing that well, you must be doing it wrong, right? WRONG. Not every trip is like that. And if you believe that, you are going to get bummed out by your savings and give up. Remember that this is a REALITY tv show. They are going for the "WOW" factor. Are you more likely to watch someone who gets 74 bottles of mustard for free...or one? Remember, shock and awe baby.



** While some have had it happen, and others haven't, many of the people featured...have had their stores "help" them get those totals. A couple of times you see people just grab armfuls or dump things in. Because the store gets publicity, they are not going to stop them. So they are willing to "over look" a few things. Some people have said out right that the store let them do something that they normally wouldn't. It all goes back to ratings!

** Once again, seeing as this is reality tv, people aren't shown in the best light. For example, TLC had another show where a woman was frequently featured yelling at her husband. (That show rhymes with Mon and Late plus bate) I cringe when I see the one lady yelling at her husband. I am sure it is humiliating to him. ):

**And last but not least, remember this is tv. They can show us what they want. They film for hours (days?) and then that person's segment is 12 minutes long. That is a LOT of editing!!



(My biggest fans!!)

Why am I talking about this? Well I have 3 gorgeous kiddos who want Mom to be featured on the show. They are so sweet and tell me, "you are as good as they are!!" or " you're an extreme couponer". In their eyes I already am royalty. So, they helped me clip, sort, and file. They looked in the ads to help me find what they wanted. They matched sales and coupons. When we got to the store, and filled our cart, they waited anxiously at the check out. As the total was working it's way down, my 9 yr old was very worried...when it went from $208 down to $108.



You could just see their faces fall. I tried to warn them, but I guess they have watched too many episodes with me. They were dissapointed and I felt bad. Connor had hoped it would get down low enough that he could pay with his pocket change. I tried to explain and convince them on the way home that they did a good job.

So, take it frome me...and my kids. You are not going to get every order down to pennies. Some you will and some you won't. But just keep doin' what you're doin' and you will do GREAT!!