I listened to the narrator as he introduced the "Double Saving Divas," a pair of ebullient twins from Chicago, who have couponing down to an art form. I watched them on their birthday cashing in on every type of free birthday meal, ice cream, and jewelry they could. With a modest budget for the day, they cashed in big time. I saw their "stockpile" which included shelves of diapers....for the babies they do not have.
At moments, I was thoroughly hooked, and felt a miracle curing of my cold due to all the excitement. I watched a woman shopping for a family of seven, and a woman who began couponing after her husband temporarily lost a job, as well as a man making 1,000 care packages for the troops. Their rationales seemed reasonable enough. And watching the numbers on grocery bills drop from over $1000 to less than $50 is truly exciting.
While a fascinating show indeed, I worry that perhaps the whole story is not being told. Is there something compulsive about this behavior, or at least marginally unhealthy? Why is a man buying up dozens of women's deodorant? Just because it's free, does it mean we must have it? I think one woman purchased about 70 bottles of mustard, even though her husband doesn't even like mustard. Sure, it's non-perishable, but what are you going to do with all that mustard?
Do you think that using coupons like these people is somthing you can look up to because of how much they save, or are they just wasting supplies that can go to other people who may need it more?
