I usually don’t like to make a New Years resolution. I don’t want to put pressure on myself to keep it and then feel like a failure when i don’t, but after seeing this show I think I will give this one a try.

Last night I watched Extreme Couponing on TLC. It’ s about:

Four of the country’s most coupon-obsessed savers who will do anything for a deal. Their game is simple – get as MUCH as possible for as LITTLE as possible.

And their not saving just a couple dollars here and there but crazy amounts of money. They pretty much get all their groceries for pennies! Here is an example of how much Joanie Demer from McKinleyville, CA saved on one trip to the grocery store.

Retail value: $638.64. Joanie’s cost after utilizing her coupons: $2.64 – 98% savings

“What?! WHAT! That is freakin nuts! What the F@#K!!!!” Is what I said as I simultaneously screamed at the t.v. and fell off the couch. Here is a picture of Joanie with her son and pregnant friend digging in a recycling dumpster for coupons:

If I was saving that kind of money I would probably jump in too! The other 3 peoples stories’ are just as amazing. I’m not talking about going to this extreme for my resolution but rather just to be more aware and on the look out for coupons. I never use them and after seeing this show it seems silly not too. If these folks can walk out of the store with that big of a savings maybe I can do that too, on a smaller scale, of course. One woman got 150 chocolate bars for free! Free I say! And even though I don’t need that many I wouldn’t say no to 5 or maybe 20.

Most of these people look online for their coupons and I found 2 sites in Canada where you can order coupons for free. save.ca and brandsaver.ca. If online shopping is more your thing there’s a great site that gives you codes for discounts on your online purchases, which is just like using a coupon.  promotionalcode.ca. That’s where I learned about the sale at Soia & Kyo and I got my winter coat 40% off!

If you want to see this jaw dropping dedication to saving money it’s on TLC again January 15th at 6:00pm.

Conclusion: there’s nothing wrong with using a little coupon every now and then.