my toothpaste stockpile is one of the things i think i may have too much of, at the moment. i have six unopened tubes. but it's the type my husband likes. i also have too much shampoo/conditioner/soap/bodywash/lotion but that's not necessarily from couponing, that's just how i am. i've always had too much of those things. but the brands/scents/types/etc that i'll never use, i donate.
right now, we're oddly stocked up on bathroom TP. not intentionally, just because i found some really good deals recently. so we're stocked up on it - in the brands we like - for the next few months.
i think it was last October or thereabouts, we bought about $70 worth of Chunky soup...and that's after the fantastic coupons i had gathered. yes, it was a LOT of soup. but my husband likes having it for lunch (quick, easy, and remarkably low-calorie), and my mom likes it when she gets home from work and is too pooped to cook......so we're down to about a dozen cans or less now.
the only thing i admit to having a truly ridiculously big stockpile of is fabric softener. we probably won't have to buy any for YEARS. but the bottles and boxes are tucked away in empty cabinets.

the best way to start saving money with coupons, is to get items that you normally purchase, but get them when they're on sale - and preferably matched with a coupon....whether or not you actually need it right now. just bought dish soap? but it's on sale this week for 97¢ and you've got a 25¢ off coupon? go ahead and get it!
and don't be afraid of your freezer...it's remarkable what you can freeze for longer storage!

there's only one grocery store here that doubles coupons, and they're on the other side of town and have a really strict coupon policy....we just don't end up going there very often.
there's a small store near us that doubles coupons on Saturdays, and i like going there for that but my husband usually doesn't feel like taking me

i LOVE to shop. and i love a bargain. couponing is a hobby that lets me do both, and help provide for my family!
but we don't have room for extra shelving, and our kitchen has very little cabinet space, so i'm not a crazy extreme couponer like they show on tv.
but that's another thing - someone who uses coupons the way i do? that doesn't make for "good tee-vee"... y'know?

I saw an episode where a guy was buying stuff to make care packages for the troops. Now thats a good reason to do the extreme couponing!

I belong to a deals/coupons forum for canadians and many of us are just shocked at some of the behaviours on that show!! I like to think that its all staged for tv, and those extreme stockpiles end up getting donated, not just chucked when the products start to expire. I coupon and have saved TONS of money - mostly on diapers, which I've managed to get for free or nearly free! Its worthwhile for us because we've saved over $1000 just this year, but you have to be careful... dont buy just because you have a coupon, and dont buy junk food just because its cheap/free! (guilty of that occasionally, but getting much better!!)

Yes it is crazy! I wondered the same thing about products that expire.

What I DO want to know is how they get paper towels, tissue, etc for free, or nearly free?? I can't find anything in my local papers or online that has a coupon that good! lol

I think this is how it works.....and why I could not be organized enough to do this!

Say your grocery store has BOGO on paper towels for $3 each. You buy 6 and have 3 $1 coupons. You already got 3 free through the store, and now you got the rest free with your coupons. I think its all in the math as far as how many coupons and items you need to make it free. Thats why they have so much darn stuff!!

Ahhhhhhh, that makes sense. No, I'm not nearly organized enough for all that!! I just wanted to save a little on my grocery bill. lol

when it comes to paper products, it really depends on how brand loyal you are, as to how much you can save.

my mom only likes one brand of paper towel... i dislike the waste and rarely use them at all, but when i do i prefer the Seventh Generation or other 100% PC Recycled types.... and we recently discovered that there are two brands of bath tissue that we'll all agree on.

so that limits how much i can knock off the prices of those things. but i still do get coupons for all of them. if we were more open to different brands, i could probably get them closer to free....

but even still, a fifty cent coupon here and there helps. and if you catch the right promo at the drugstores, the prices can be even better.

i don't know how long it will last, it might just be for today or this week, but here's another really good deal on All You - if you go through Ebates
(which is free to register for, if you aren't already. when you shop through them you get a percentage of your purchase price back, quarterly, as a check or paypal deposit)

but, yes, go to Ebates and then search for Magazines.com

they have All You for $19.97 (it's #1 in their Top 10 Titles thing on the left hand side of the screen).
and then you'd get 51% ($10.18 - plus a $5 bonus if you're new to the program!) in your Ebates account, which makes the price of the magazine $9.79, for 12 issues - 82¢ an issue.

now, see, the reason i suggest all coupon users to subscribe to this magazine is that you'll probably save the entire purchase price in coupon use in the first two issues.

don't expect to be wowed by the articles, but some of the recipes are actually okay - and there's a two-page centerfold calendar month in each issue which is sortof handy.

you can check this list to see all the coupons in the May issue.


but when the Ebates deal is over, you can still get it for 83¢ an issue if you subscribe for 30 issues for $25 here. and on Amazon starting at $10 for 6 months ....handy if you've got Swagbucks to redeem for gift cards!

Yea that show is crazy! I also do the majority of my shopping at Trader Joe's. And buy my paper goods, beauty products, diapers, cat food and that sort of thing at Target.

I prefer to buy fresh, organic food for my family and you RARELY see coupons for that stuff. I wish they did have more coupons for organic food but they really don't.

There have actually been times that I watch that show and think that these people have more stuff then they will EVER use in a lifetime and there are people out there with NOTHING. I know that sometimes they donate but a lot of the time they just keep it in their 'stock pile.' So that makes me a little sad.

I know TessaD, I was laughing and saying how they need a "intervention" type show for these "hoarders!" I feel bad for the kids, their mom would rather coupon than play a game and such. My own mom was obsessed with coupons when I was little and it was miserable! shopping trips with her took 4 hours! I watch and think how freakin mortified I'd be if I were the kid and my mom emptied the whole entire deordorant basket into the cart! OMG!