Going to Extremes

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Going to Extremes

March 12, 2011 by The Minnesota Farm Woman

I watched a television show this week on “Extreme Couponers”. I love a good bargain myself, so thought I would tune in for some money saving tips. I was not surprised to find out that some people can get a large amount of groceries for a little bit of money by clipping coupons, checking the sales ads, and hitting the bargains at all the stores. I was surprised, however, at the volume of groceries that these people purchased. NINE shopping carts full? Who needs all that stuff? Each one had a special room in their house to keep all their bargains. One family had their supplies insured for over $30,000. Another lady pointed to her 1000 rolls of toilet paper and said “When I see all this toilet paper, it makes me happy.” Really? Toilet paper makes her happy? Puppies make me happy. Puppies and family dinners and finding a $10 bill in the pocket of a jacket that I haven’t worn for a while, but I honestly can’t say that toilet paper has ever made me happy. (UNhappy, maybe, but you will never see that story in print!) Here in America, we live in a world of extremes. We cheer for extreme makeovers of houses for people who can’t afford the taxes on them. We watch people eating extreme foods in huge portions and call it entertainment. Our athletes take things to the extreme, especially their salaries. Our actors and actresses go to extremes with their plastic surgeries and call themselves beautiful. Here in northern Minnesota we are extremely nice people who put up with extremely low temperatures and extremely deep snow. We have extremely long winters and extremely short summers. During those short summers we have an extreme amount of mosquitoes. I for one am happy to be living a much simpler life in an extremely beautiful area, mosquitoes and all. I wish Toilet Paper Lady all the best, and I hope she doesn’t get mice.

14 Responses

on March 12, 2011 at 5:42 pm | Reply MQ

That was a HOOT! TY for the giggles. Yet another reason NOT to own a t.v.

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on March 14, 2011 at 5:29 pm | Reply Michelle Lintvedt

I SO love these!!!!!!!!!!

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- on March 15, 2011 at 5:03 am | Reply Chris Quaal Vinson
  
  Thanks, y’all!
  
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on August 13, 2011 at 8:21 pm | Reply wildreed

“hope she doesn’t get mice” — that would be too funny!!

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- on August 13, 2011 at 8:47 pm | Reply The Minnesota Farm Woman
  
  Yes, it would! Thanks for reading and commenting!
  
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on August 13, 2011 at 9:29 pm | Reply Elaine Pry

Enjoyed your intelligent and funny piece. I think I am going to like you.

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- on August 14, 2011 at 4:56 am | Reply The Minnesota Farm Woman
  
  I’m glad you liked it. I have such fun writing these things! Thanks for reading, and for commenting.
  
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on March 12, 2012 at 4:29 pm | Reply Lynn

I imagine,
they would be some very happy mice. How would she even know if there were mice in the TP? There’s no telling what could be lurking under 1000 rolls of toilet paper.

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- on March 12, 2012 at 5:41 pm | Reply The Minnesota Farm Woman
  
  True!
  
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on March 13, 2012 at 11:54 am | Reply dawnaurora

Great post. Never thought of it that way and never thought that anyone would get warm fuzzies about toilet paper.
Could the bigger issue be that something is missing in their life? Tissue right now is filling that void

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- on March 13, 2012 at 4:44 pm | Reply The Minnesota Farm Woman
  
  Very true. I thinl it is a form of hoarding, and they say hoarding is about some sort of loss….
  Thanks so much for reading, and for commenting!
  Chris
  
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on June 14, 2012 at 6:00 am | Reply btwmommy

Yeah – and those hoarders cause the prices to increase for all of the rest of us. Even as extremely frugal as I am, and a LOVER of saving money – I do not have anything positive to say about extreme couponers.

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on June 14, 2012 at 10:12 pm | Reply Marilyn

I once got in an argument with someone about extreme couponing and Frosted Flakes. Someone said that they would use the “overage” if there was one and donate the nutrition-free overly sugared food to a food bank. I said I thought that was rather unethical. Suggesting that it’s okay for people who are experiencing financial difficulties to have to eat crap food because it keeps their stomachs full but doesn’t help them thrive just doesn’t sit well with me. Using coupons, rebates, etc. to get what you need to feed your family and wipe your butt is fine, but when it becomes some kind of a game I think it borders on mental illness. And, even poor people shouldn’t eat Frosted Flakes!

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- on June 15, 2012 at 4:58 am | Reply The Minnesota Farm Woman
  
  It is just another method of hoarding. I can’t even watch the show any more. Thanks for reading, and for commenting!
  Chris
  
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