This is a question for the ages. Given all the recent media attention to “Extreme Couponing” and the TLC Show featuring “Extreme Couponers”, one should take notice of the differences of the “Reality Show Stars” and everyday people like you and me.

First off, this is not my job. We do this because we really do love to coupon, save money, and provide the best for our children. We have found over time that the “Extreme Couponing” term is a term that carries negative connotations for some and obsession for others.

The word extreme is defined as the following from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

1. a: existing in a very high degree <extreme poverty>
   b: going to great or exaggerated lengths :radical<went on an extreme diet>
   c: exceeding the ordinary, usual, or expected <extreme weather conditions>
2. archaic:last
3. : situated at the farthest possible point from a center <the country’s extreme north>
4. a: most advanced or thoroughgoing <the extreme political left>
   b:maximum
5. a: of, relating to, or being an outdoor activity or a form of a sport (as skiing) that involves an unusually high degree of physical risk <extreme mountain biking down steep slopes>
   b: involved in an extreme sport<an extreme snowboarder>

While we find a few of the definitions to be somewhat not applicable, the phrase today appears to try and connect the “Extreme Sports” connotation with coupons. While this may be true for some the first definition tends to be the most applied.

We have used coupons for years and we have never gone to the lengths of “attacking a store” or telling other in-store patrons to “pick another lane”. We shop for what we need, what we use. Our “Extreme” approach is to do this spending the least amount of money on day-to-day items so that we can buy the best when it comes to meat, clothes, gifts, and vacations.