Another interesting coupon article!

Another interesting coupon article! If you have time, read the comments, most of them kind feel the way I feel about the extreme couponing thing. Again this is not my article but Yahoo Finance.

Here is the LINK to the full article on Yahoo.
Below is a copy of most of it.

Extreme Coupons TV Show Draws Extreme Backlash

Farnoosh Torabi
Monday, June 27, 2011

Last month I described five reasons to steer clear of extreme couponing, and now I think I have a sixth: It brings out the worst in both consumers and retailers.
Industry watchers say TLC's popular reality show, Extreme Couponing -- which depicts coupon-obsessed men and women spending 30 to 40 hours a week cutting coupons to net pounds and pounds of groceries for pennies on the dollar (exhausted yet?) -- may be causing more harm than good in the real world.

On the retail front, some big retailers -- wary of couponing copycats -- are pushing back on former coupon allowances for ordinary shoppers:
• At Rite Aid, shoppers can no longer combine buy-one-get-one-free coupons or promotions -- a strategy that, in the past, allowed customers to get two free items. The chain is also limiting the number of coupons a shopper can use per item to four, as long as there is enough stock. Before, the store accepted "multiple identical coupons for multiple qualifying items."

• Target now forbids "stacking," the act of combining manufacturer and store buy-one-get-one-free coupons, in order to receive both items for free.
Meanwhile, viewers are trying to take on the TV show's tricks to no avail -- and becoming depressed by their inability to replicate the savings achieved by the pros on the show. "Is Extreme Couponing Hurting Self Esteem?" asks Leah Ingram on her blog Suddenly Frugal. Phil Lempert, food industry expert and editor of Supermarketguru.com, told her that "shoppers no longer feel good about saving $10, or 10-to-20 percent. They're becoming depressed that they are not able to buy $1,000 or more groceries for 25 cents."

And, believe it or not, some of the coupon-obsessed across the country have reportedly turned to newspaper theft to take advantage of as many coupon circulars as possible. Some subscribers complain that their papers are missing coupon inserts, while some regional newspaper companies report papers have been stolen from coin-operated racks. Now, that's extreme.

Want to read more...Click on the LINK.