I watched a part of the TLC Extreme Couponers marathon early xmas morning in a hotel. I had not seen the show in some time.

I realized how my coupon usage and stockpiling changed due to that show.

-I only stockpile what I need. I do not get items for overage.
-I keep my stockpile in two neat boxes. It does not overtake my house.
-I find myself using less coupons. The stipulations on the coupons are becoming so restrictive, I have to make sure I can use them all before I order a set.
-I do not order or purchase a Sunday newspaper.
-I find generic is cheaper vs sale with coupon.
-I find myself making more of the items I need vs buy them. It makes no sense to overpay for something I can make on my own. I have not explored bread yet.
-I check Ebay for the rest of the non-food items I need.

Just yesterday there were several episodes of Extreme Coupon (EC) on TLC. My sons who do not live at home were at our house because we were celebrating Christmas with the grandparents that evening...they were catching up with eachother and the TV was on, both were amazed at the savings of these ECers, but quickly realized the items the people were stockipiling could not be used by the individuals in a reasonable amount of time. I noted that many of these people share their items with others in need and some have very large families. They know that I am a coupon user and I have a small stockpile as well, but usually no more than three or four of an item that I use frequently. They also recognize that I share with them. All the items in their Christmas stockings came from using coupons and getting items free. I do believe money can be saved using coupons, but I think it is up to the individual to decide what is right for them. Making many items from scratch is a definite money saver...there used to be a newsletter called the Tightwad Gazette (available as a book from the library) which details many household item that can be made from scratch...some of the things are dated, but truely still lots of good information.

I have tried to be more practical with the deals that I get; if my family won't use it, I won't buy it. But it is so easy to get addicted to getting all the deals; the andrenaline rush is amazing!

I too have limited to stuff we will use and within a reasonable amount of time. Although I am working on a 1 year supply of many things for 'emergency' purposes. I also have started to steer away from many processed foods, so that eliminates a good half of my coupon usage right there.

Valerie, wife to Petemommy to EmmaLaila and Abigail

Since the airing of that show my coupon usage has definitely changed. I did the opposite of you; I really stepped it up. I knew when the show first aired that the outcome would not be positive for the couponing community. What manufacturer is going to stand by and allow unlimited use of multiple coupons so that consumers can scoop up their product(s) for free? How long are retailers going to offer store incentives that allow us to combine MCs with retailer money to get stuff for free?

So I decided that if I could get a non-perishable product that we use on a regular basis for free, I was not going to pass it up as long as I had the behind cabinet storage space to stockpile it and doing the deal did not take a lot of extra effort or waste a lot of time or gas.

This morning I got the Simply Slim at WAGs. I paid $.84 after using a $10 peelie and got a $10 RR. I'll use the RR to buy (4) Jif peanut butter that are on sale 2/$5, so my OOP for the peanut butter will be $.21/jar. Took all of 5 minutes to run into WAGs and buy the product.

If I knew for sure that the product wouldn't harm me, I might be tempted to try it, but I don't feel comfortable taking "just anything" so I probably won't use it; it was just a means to an end.

My coupon usage change sounds identical to Mother Nature. I live in a small town and it used to be easy to get the deals because very few people used coupons. That show ruined this area. I've had women step right in front of me to grab things off shelves that are good deals. I've stockpiled for years. Now there is a lady teaching extreme couponing at the local college. There is no need to even try to shop for deals. The store employees are in high alert and the shelves never have a sufficient quantity. I can only hope it is a passing phase. I'm very thankful for the stockpile I accumulated prior to this taking off

I am with dancinmama - I believe in the adage "Make hay while the sun shines." I guess we are all at different levels when it comes to stockpiling so I am sure there is a point where most of us would say "enough is enough," but I have definitely stepped up my stockpiling over the past year. (I am nowhere near as "extreme" as anyone on the show, though.) I feel like I'm just starting to really hone my skills and doing larger transactions without fear. A year ago I would have freaked if my subtotal before qs was in the triple digits...now it's no big deal.

And overage is one of my favorite things in the world. It's sometimes the only way to get discounts on items that rarely if ever have coupons.

I have not found generics to be cheaper where I live. Thankfully in PHX the major grocery chains either double or make all qs worth a dollar and most places are couponer friendly (with the usual exceptions like Walmart...). I know it's tougher to coupon in other areas though.

I go in fits and spurts. I try and keep certain stockpile items up, but I'm not standing at the store at the crack of dawn on Sunday waiting for the deals.
I get lot of stuff on clearance, that hasn't changed (yet)

I use the phrase, "Get while the gettin' is good".

I don't have any grocery stores that double, so most of my couponing is at the drug chains with an occasional deal at Target or Staples.

I've been using multiple coupons to stockpile since the early 80s and in those days, free non-perishables were unheard of unless you did some sort of rebate on them, and obviously it was not enough to build a stockpile. As soon as WAGs initiated the RRs in addition to their ESR program, I figured out how to stockpile for 100% free (including sales tax) and I knew it was golden.

I will agree with a previous poster. Before EC, it "seemed" like I was the only couponer around. Most cashiers loved to see my under $1 OOP and cheered me on. There are still some of those cashiers out there, but there are a lot who seem to get bent over someone saving a dime....or $50 . And now there are just too many of us trying to do the exact same thing. The market is saturated.