Hey GBD!  As a poor college student, I find TLC’s show Extreme Couponing to be equally insane and fascinating.  If you don’t know what the show is about, here’s how TLC pitches it:

“Extreme Couponing follows savvy shoppers as they plan and plot their way to unbelievable savings.

Witness amazing shopping skills and shocking stockpiles of merchandise, as everyday people go to extremes in pursuit of extraordinary deals.”

Here’s an example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-BsjPjm2bo

If you’ve ever watched this show, you know that “extreme” is no exaggeration!  Some people dig through dumpsters for coupons and clip coupons and plan their shopping trips for sixteen hours a day.  At first I thought the concept was ridiculous, especially the degree to which some people keep thousands of dollars worth of goods that they probably won’t use stockpiled in their basements.  Nevertheless, I can’t help but be drawn in by the fact that some individuals are able to walk out of the grocery store with a van full of goods and more money in their wallets than they brought in.  Although guests on the show may have taken it too far and couponing policies are not universal, I’d be lying if I said that this show hasn’t changed the way I shop at the grocery store.  For better or for worse, I get a little excited now when I can combine a coupon I printed from the internet with the weekly circular and see my savings total.  I am proud to say, however, that I don’t buy anything that I won’t be using in the near future just because I have a coupon.

What do you all think?  Is Extreme Couponing an example of smart shopping or an addiction?