Coupon Integrity | Do's and Don'ts

It has been fun watching the "Extreme Couponers" try to reposition themselves with claims of turning down an invitation to be on the TLC show, or claiming that those free items they sell at garage sales benefit them with trips, or, quite frankly, are wishy-washy about what their mission is. When I say wishy-washy, they don't want to call out the behaviors of Extreme Couponers for fear of alienating them, and they don't want to be perceived as Extreme Couponers because you, the reader, will be turned off. So in this instance, you are either on the bus or you are off the bus.

At this time, I want to relate a real world story. Before we started couponing, we were hitting Zero or negative on our budget. Today, we are able to save a couple hundred bucks. Yep, that's about it. We are working on other budget issues. In other words, couponing does not drive us, we use coupons to help defray other expenses. We realize savings, not resale profits.

The issue of stockpiling we have is with the concept of stockpiling. It essentially means hoarding. We don't have a stockpile, we have our normal household items in normal quantities (one plus a back-up) and we use our savings to defray other expenses. We do not go buy more stuff for the sake of buying more stuff.

Another thing, we do not pay other people to coupon for us. That is kinda over the top. We met a couple in a store who related to us that they were being paid in gift cards for their groceries if they would coupon for someone else. We didn't understand this at all. We don't know who the couponer is that is paying them. While their is really nothing wrong with this (the couple looked like they needed some help), we are curious the intentions.

That said, the following was taken from as an excerpt from Discounting coupon rules might get you in trouble

I only post this for new couponers who think they might want to go the Extreme route. There are many pitfalls, don't fall into them and good luck this month realizing your own savings!

Don't use a coupon for anything but the exact item and size listed. This was a disappointment to The Frugalista, who hates acknowledging the difference between the toothpaste with mouthwash and the toothpaste with whitening power.

Do feel free to apply coupons to small sizes. "If the manufacturer doesn't limit the size, by all means use it on the trial package (to save money)," Miller said, even if this leads to getting the trial size for free. "If it makes the product free, it becomes free. Take advantage of that."

Don't buy coupons, especially coupons for free items. "We've found many, many examples of free-product counterfeits being sold on eBay," Miller said. His organization maintains that selling or buying coupons is illegal because it violates terms printed on coupons. This is an unpopular stance among couponers who turn to clipping services to stock up on extra coupons. It's also puzzling, since clipping services seem to be flourishing online without consequence. EBay permits the sale of manufacturers' coupons with certain restrictions.