At what point is this considered an addiction?

[thickie]

“Opinion” as defined by Mirriam Webster is; a view, judgment, or appraisal formed in the mind about a particular matter. While I’m certain this post will not be popular I am also certain I’m going to say something that a lot of you are thinking but are far too polite to say.

Having not been on HCW but for a couple of months, I am still a newbie of sorts. While I am having the time of my life, I am quickly recognizing that couponing, bargaining, etc., is quite an addiction. For some of us it takes the place of things we formerly had no control over like smoking or eating or whatever.

What concerns me is that reading some of these posts makes me question why some of us do this. For example, (not to pick on anyone in particular but I need an example) there is a post on this board regarding the Energizer deal at CVS. Yes, I too about wet my pants when I realized I would be able to get batteries, good batteries, for .29 cents per package if not less. I also admit I got caught up in the planning of the trips and purchasing the batteries but at what point have we lost our minds and allowed gluttony to overtake us?

Staying with this particular deal for my example, most of us purchased somewhere between 10-30 packages of batteries. Christmas was coming and we all wanted to be prepared. It’s a great sense of accomplishment for some of us and a bit of a rush. I get all that! The thing that concerns me is the gluttonous attitude of some people on these deals. I read a post this evening where the person got over 100 packs of batteries! No wonder the rest of us stared aimlessly at empty shelves where we heard Energizer batteries used to be! Even when I found some, they all had this strange sticky residue on the front of them where an instant $1.00 coupon used to be. So even the batteries left behind for us commoners were violated! Seriously, who needs 100 packs of batteries? I'm sure these power buyers are all donating them and I hope they really are but really, isn't that just totally overboard? 8 pack of AA - 800 batteries? LMAO that's ridiculous! Then we wonder why we get flagged, denied, looked at and so forth.

Ahh, I’m ranting and I’m so sorry but it just frustrates me because this is a prime example of why people hate us! So my question is, in your opinion, at what point does it go from being a fantastic deal and getting the best for your money to some crazy strange contest of who can get more stuff for free for no other reason than to get stuff free?

:shrug7:I'm sorry. Don't hate me. Just my opinion and we all know the saying. Opinions are like...we all have one!

[hbaqueen]

I understand what you are saying..while I know the early bird gets the worm I have to admit I was annoyed when I went to Target to get 4 - FOUR - only 1 2 3 4
of the Glade Flameless candles and they had NONE. And on another board someone was WHINING that they ONLY got 55...WTH??????? 55? Really WTH are you going to do with 55 of them? They arnt much good for donating and even if you use them in every room and give them to every person on your Christmas list why would you need more than 55? I think sometimes we all get carried away with the rush. I have finally learned my lesson and only buy what my family will use within 3 months. If I have extras or we find we odnt like something then I will donate it or if during the summer I will yard sale it. But that is only if I overjudged or we grew sick of the product, didnt like it ect I no longer buy things JUST BECAUSE they are cheap and or free.
I Understand WHY people do it and everyone has ther igt to do what they wish and my family needs and your family needs are going to be different I get that but I think we as couponers would get less evil looks, rude cashiers ect if we all just toned it down a bit.

[faeryedark]

I totally get what you're saying. I think the line is drawn (and it differs for each individual) by what you're going to concievably use, give away, whatever. It's different when said items are just gotten to be had and may even never be used. I have 60 + pks. of Scott t.p. that I got for free and I can guarentee you it will get used, and it saved our family $. I also have a bunch of glucose monitors that I've done rebates on or got for ECBs (Nova Max) but I'm finding homes for those...they won't sit around and not get used.
I am curious as to how others feel about this because I do try to be fair.

[thickie]

I understand what you are saying..while I know the early bird gets the worm I have to admit I was annoyed when I went to Target to get 4 - FOUR - only 1 2 3 4
of the Glade Flameless candles and they had NONE. And on another board someone was WHINING that they ONLY got 55...WTH??????? 55? Really WTH are you going to do with 55 of them? They arnt much good for donating and even if you use them in every room and give them to every person on your Christmas list why would you need more than 55? I think sometimes we all get carried away with the rush. I have finally learned my lesson and only buy what my family will use within 3 months. If I have extras or we find we odnt like something then I will donate it or if during the summer I will yard sale it. But that is only if I overjudged or we grew sick of the product, didnt like it ect I no longer buy things JUST BECAUSE they are cheap and or free.
I Understand WHY people do it and everyone has ther igt to do what they wish and my family needs and your family needs are going to be different I get that but I think we as couponers would get less evil looks, rude cashiers ect if we all just toned it down a bit.

I love your 3 month rule! I think we'll have to implement that here. DH will be ok with that compromise I'm sure!

[thickie]

Let me add this - I am in no way trying to judge anyone. As Faeryedark points out, the line is different for all of us. I'm just a curious kid in a grown up body!

[pokey]

I won't be popular when I say this, but I totally agree that people can get obcessed with getting something for free.

To say a Nova Max will be donated is fine, BUT some clinics have refused them. The strips are too expensive!

Why not be honest and say I did it for the $20 ecbs. :shrug7:

I found one and I did get it for the $20 ECB.
Our local clinic didn't want it?:frown:

[queenofthehivemomof5]

I have moved your thread to Hot Under the Collar because it really does not belong in the CVS forum, which is for deals not opinions.

Opinions are allowed of course, but not everyone will agree with you of course.

I am one that does not agree with you 100%

Couponing and deal hunting is a sport so to speak, and really it is first come first served. How much of anything someone buys is up to the individual really when all is said and done. There are many folks out there that get deals for reasons other than personal consumption, they donate, ebay, yard-sale, etc. And you can judge them if you want, but it is part of the nature of the game.

Sometimes I hold back on posting how many items I have gotten because I don't want others to judge me, but it is what it is sometimes, sometimes I clean up on a deal, and sometimes "I snooze I loose" and don't get any. I am lucky to live in an area with few deal hunters though so mostly there is plenty of item in stock at the few stores I shop at.

I choose to have a policy about my extreame shopping habits though... I usually wait till the last day of a sale week to do my average weekly shopping, enabling me to get rainchecks on items that are out of stock (then I can get more coupons if I want!). For things like hot deals using catalinas etc I do a few smaller trips.

Do I clear the shelves, sometimes, and sometimes I don't. Do I resell, sometimes, depending. Like right now I know I have in excess of 100 bottles of shampoo that my family will not get to use in a justifiable time. They will either be donated or yard saled, or both. Was I a glutton for getting so much? I don't think so. I aquired these bottles over the course of a few deals and months this summer, making several trips, trades, and much time figuring out the best way to get them for free or get paid for them. Only one time durring many of these trips did I clean the shelf and that was the last day of the sale at 1 hour before closing. Others had plenty of time to get thiers, I came, I saw, I conquerd.

So to me coupon gluttony is getting things, you don't need, wont use/resell/dontate, and the stuff just sits there expiring and going to waste. BUT...I don't control or rightly care what people do with the stuff they buy! Some people have too many clothes, shoes, purses, or tools too! I just happen to have too many bottles of shampoo!

[thecoop]

“Opinion” as defined by Mirriam Webster is; a view, judgment, or appraisal formed in the mind about a particular matter. While I’m certain this post will not be popular I am also certain I’m going to say something that a lot of you are thinking but are far too polite to say.

Having not been on HCW but for a couple of months, I am still a newbie of sorts. While I am having the time of my life, I am quickly recognizing that couponing, bargaining, etc., is quite an addiction. For some of us it takes the place of things we formerly had no control over like smoking or eating or whatever.

What concerns me is that reading some of these posts makes me question why some of us do this. For example, (not to pick on anyone in particular but I need an example) there is a post on this board regarding the Energizer deal at CVS. Yes, I too about wet my pants when I realized I would be able to get batteries, good batteries, for .29 cents per package if not less. I also admit I got caught up in the planning of the trips and purchasing the batteries but at what point have we lost our minds and allowed gluttony to overtake us?

Staying with this particular deal for my example, most of us purchased somewhere between 10-30 packages of batteries. Christmas was coming and we all wanted to be prepared. It’s a great sense of accomplishment for some of us and a bit of a rush. I get all that! The thing that concerns me is the gluttonous attitude of some people on these deals. I read a post this evening where the person got over 100 packs of batteries! No wonder the rest of us stared aimlessly at empty shelves where we heard Energizer batteries used to be! Even when I found some, they all had this strange sticky residue on the front of them where an instant $1.00 coupon used to be. So even the batteries left behind for us commoners were violated! Seriously, who needs 100 packs of batteries? I'm sure these power buyers are all donating them and I hope they really are but really, isn't that just totally overboard? 8 pack of AA - 800 batteries? LMAO that's ridiculous! Then we wonder why we get flagged, denied, looked at and so forth.

Ahh, I’m ranting and I’m so sorry but it just frustrates me because this is a prime example of why people hate us! So my question is, in your opinion, at what point does it go from being a fantastic deal and getting the best for your money to some crazy strange contest of who can get more stuff for free for no other reason than to get stuff free?

:shrug7:I'm sorry. Don't hate me. Just my opinion and we all know the saying. Opinions are like...we all have one!

You may be referring to me. I pay for my vacations by buying up lots of free or close to free items (I resell them at a local flea market three times a year, I also donate alot to a local battered women's shelter. I never clear off the shelves. I never take the stiky coupons off of packages I am not buying. I go to between 10 and 16 CVSs to do my deals. I live in Baltimore and we have over 40 CVSs in this city/county area. This was all done over a two week period. So before you go off on a rant, ask how and why. Another saying "walk a mile in my shoes.....". thanks. I promise I dont hate you or dislike you. I just thought you may want to know where I am coming from

[couponsmakecents]

I have moved your thread to Hot Under the Collar because it really does not belong in the CVS forum, which is for deals not opinions.

Opinions are allowed of course, but not everyone will agree with you of course.

I am one that does not agree with you 100%

Couponing and deal hunting is a sport so to speak, and really it is first come first served. How much of anything someone buys is up to the individual really when all is said and done. There are many folks out there that get deals for reasons other than personal consumption, they donate, ebay, yard-sale, etc. And you can judge them if you want, but it is part of the nature of the game.

Sometimes I hold back on posting how many items I have gotten because I don't want others to judge me, but it is what it is sometimes, sometimes I clean up on a deal, and sometimes "I snooze I loose" and don't get any. I am lucky to live in an area with few deal hunters though so mostly there is plenty of item in stock at the few stores I shop at.

I choose to have a policy about my extreame shopping habits though... I usually wait till the last day of a sale week to do my average weekly shopping, enabling me to get rainchecks on items that are out of stock (then I can get more coupons if I want!). For things like hot deals using catalinas etc I do a few smaller trips.

Do I clear the shelves, sometimes, and sometimes I don't. Do I resell, sometimes, depending. Like right now I know I have in excess of 100 bottles of shampoo that my family will not get to use in a justifiable time. They will either be donated or yard saled, or both. Was I a glutton for getting so much? I don't think so. I aquired these bottles over the course of a few deals and months this summer, making several trips, trades, and much time figuring out the best way to get them for free or get paid for them. Only one time durring many of these trips did I clean the shelf and that was the last day of the sale at 1 hour before closing. Others had plenty of time to get thiers, I came, I saw, I conquerd.

So to me coupon gluttony is getting things, you don't need, wont use/resell/dontate, and the stuff just sits there expiring and going to waste. BUT...I don't control or rightly care what people do with the stuff they buy! Some people have too many clothes, shoes, purses, or tools too! I just happen to have too many bottles of shampoo!

I too must say I disagree with the original poster and agree 100% with what Queen says. I am married with one dog and one cat. I have one whole room donated to nothing but stockpile items with 4 shelving units and about 40 crates stacked against the wall. We just moved into this house in Sept and I had a yardsale in which I sold items I had stockpiled over the past 6 months.

I also may sometimes clear the shelves and may skip a deal here and there. I use most of my stockpiling in the following ways:

Personal Use
Donations to many charities
Troop packages
Yardsales

Have I bought too much of one item? Maybe.
Will I continue to shop the way I do? You bet I will!!!!

None of us know why others buy so much and really it is none of our business. We live in a country that is driven by supply and demand. If the demand is there they will supply it. We also live in a country that has plenty of waste and I will be the first to admit to some of that waste. But will I judge people for what they buy or why they buy it... NO WAY!!!

Many people sell their items on ebay or in yardsales. I for one funded my vacation to Orlando in Oct to celebrate my 18 months of remission and did not have to pay a dime for the vacation. I am saving now for a trip to Isreal in 3 years for myself, husband, mother and sister. Many people pay their bills from what that make off selling these items. I for one would not tell them not to buy the deals and take away a source of income.

I believe that we are each responsible for providing for ourselves, our families, our community, and our country. If we do that by working outside of the home or by getting good deals and trading/bartering/selling our items I would much rather get what I need than depending on someone or something else to meet my physical needs.

I was raised to be self-reliant and this to me is just a natural outgrowth of that self-reliance.

[Houstonmommy]

OP-I agree with you. I had these same thoughts even before I started couponing. Whoever suggested the 3 month rule is brilliant.

Don't get me wrong, I love saving money and it has changed our budget drastically but there's a point where it gets to be a negative influence, always on the prowl, an obsession, etc...for ME.

It's hard to put into words, but the pursuit of money (or savings) is an area where I am careful for various reasons, the main one being my relationship with God.

Eh, I'm probably not making myself clear but the point is that there is a line where this hobby, job, or whatever you want to call it becomes detrimental to one's spiritual, mental and physical health...as with most anything in this world. But the pursuit of money is one area where I tread lightly.