TLC Extreme Couponing

I will have to admit, I have only watched TLC's Extreme Couponing once last season (not even a full episode) and once last night.  I generally don't watch much television, so I have only caught this show when I happen to be flipping channels at the time it's on.  Even then, I watch it only for mindless entertainment.  I consider this show pretty much a waste of time.  The only thing it's good for is the shock factor.  What it's not good for is legitimate couponers like myself and my frugal friends.  I just cringe when I see these women on this show and what they will do for their 15 minutes of fame. 

I truly wonder what these women are thinking when they dump 100+ bottles of Excedrin into their cart.  I am all for a MM deal, and shopping deals to help feed your family, I do it all the time, BUT there's a line that most of us would not cross over.  Isn't 5000 coupon inserts a week just a little bit over that line?!?  I thought that the 3 papers that I have delivered and the few extra inserts that I get from family and friends to total 8-10 (on a good week) was pushing the envelope!  Yes, I have "bought" things that my family doesn't use or need just to gain the overage, but I do it with the intention of using that overage for things that we DO need and use and I do not do it in excess.  I don't clear shelves, unless there's not much on the shelf when I get there.  I am ALWAYS very conscious of leaving stock for others. 

The other thing that I have been thinking about with this show and these shoppers is the time commitment this takes.  Some of these women said they spend 45-60 hours a week just on deal seeking and couponing.  Yes, they are saving their families huge amounts of money, but at what "expense"?   I would never trade quality time with my family for the extreme couponing that these women do.  Somethings you just can't put a price on. 

Another thing that makes this really bad for legitimate couponers is that manufacturers are only going to take this mis-use of coupons so long and things are going to start to change.  There's a lot of buzz on many of the money saving blogs about fraudulent coupon usage by these extreme coupon shoppers on the show.  The manufacturers are not going to sit on their hands and just let this happen. 

For those of my friends that are not couponers, please don't get the wrong impression of couponers from this show.  I can guarantee that NO ONE that I know shops like this.  I am guessing here, but I think that this show does not properly represent the other 99.99% of coupon shoppers appropriately. 

If you haven't had a chance to see the show, you can catch a few snippets here.

I am interested in hearing what your opinion is about this show.  Comment or send me private message, I'd love to see how my frugal friends feel about it!