All the talk this week seems to be about the TLC show Extreme Couponers. I’ve never actually watched the show, I have a slight aversion to the idea of people hoarding via coupons. The buzz seems to be generated not only by the immense savings generated by these shopping trips, but by the massive amount of product purchased….and seemingly not used.

So here is what I know:

In order to save your family money on groceries by using coupons you do NOT need to:

– Remodel your house to create storage for what you buy.
– Spend 6-7 hours a week cutting coupons.
– Call ahead and place special orders for your shopping trips.

You get the idea.

You can put a small amount of effort into organizing and planning for your shopping trips, roughly 3-4 hours a week. This includes time for menu planning, list writing, coupon clipping and actual shopping.

Not sure where to get started? You can check out articles I’ve written on The Frugal Mindset, The Art of Gathering Coupons, and How To Organize Your Coupons..

You can stock pile your groceries and not be a hoarder….you can buy things that are “freebies” and donate them to a local food pantry or shelter.

The down side of the Extreme Couponers show is that it is setting people up with unrealistic expectations and even making others feel so overwhelmed that they don’t want to try and save money with coupons at all. Start small, plan ahead and you will be on the right track to decreasing your grocery budget in no time!