Free Stuff vs. Free Time

Today I need to talk to you about Extreme Couponing - the show and the activity. I watched what I believe are the only two episodes of the show that exist so far on TLC and I am simultaneously horrified and intrigued.

I mean, on the one hand, these people are clearly hoarders with a form of OCD that allows them to appear functional (and thrifty!). On the other hand, holy shit! Getting $600 of groceries for $6? I'm a little envious of that part...although most of them appear to be living on soda and packaged dinners.

I don't want couponing to be my "lifestyle" as many of them proudly proclaim that it is, but do you think it's something that you can dabble in? Or is it like heroin, where I'll start off trying to get free Hot Pockets and the next week I'll be spending 8 hours at the grocery store buying carts full of toothbrushes?

I do clip coupons and I do get excited when I save $10 or $20. I'd probably get even more excited if I was saving $500, but I feel like I'd have to share my excitement with my basement full of food because I would have no friends and my husband would leave me if I started spending every waking moment combing through coupon websites and darting out to the store at midnight to buy 80 boxes of Frosted Cheerios and 35 2-liter bottles of root beer.

That all sounds pretty judgmental...I think I'm just in shock that such a thing is possible. I guess I can't fault people who choose to spend their time that way. It would make more sense to me if they were using all the money they save to take lavish vacations or, you know, somehow enjoy life, but then they'd miss out on the deals...

I think what I'm saying is that even though I, who once created an Excel spreadsheet based on the order of the aisles at SuperTarget, have no desire to put that much effort into grocery shopping, I think I'd like to have an extreme couponer nearby in case of the Apocalypse or, as one of the husbands on the show suggested, a zombie invasion.