Extreme Couponing

My husband likes to watch shows about people with bizarre problems. Many of the shows are depressing, but some are just confusing.

Extreme Couponing is a very strange show. I understand how awesome it is to save money. I also appreciate the desire to donate to charities. What I don't understand is why a family needs hundreds of boxes of Maalox or sleep aids. People obsessed with couponing seem to have a variety of problems.

Many of the individuals on the show grew up in poverty. Others had problems later in life that drove them to couponing, such as layoffs or illness. These people needed to save money to get through hard times. I understand that, especially when it comes to food, hygiene, and cleaning products. What I don't understand, I why anyone needs 40 bottles of hot sauce or 30 tubes of mascara.

Some of the people (mostly the women) are shopaholics. They just want to shop and get a good deal. Those are the people that end up with ridiculous things they are never going to need or use.

Everyone on this show is incredibly organized, but they are basically hoarders. They are obsessed with owning things, but don't have the money to buy much, so they coupon to get their hoarding fix.

It also seems like some of the people on this show just want to feel needed and important. I suppose there's nothing wrong with that, but they certainly aren't buying massive amounts of mustard because they need it.

What really bothers me is that their families might actually be eating the crap these people buy. Most of these people talk about how they won't have to go back to the grocery store for the rest of the month or longer. Much of the actual groceries they buy are canned soups and pastas, ramen, candy, cereal, precooked frozen foods, flavored water, soda, and packaged lunch meat. None of that adds up to a meal. The nutritional value of a diet created primarily from couponed food cannot be very high. And the sodium! Don't get me wrong, I'm no health nut, but I try to stay away from processed foods and buy organic whenever possible. If they are honestly only eating things they can buy with coupons, the certainly aren't eating fresh fruits and vegetables.

In addition to the lack of nutritional value of processed foods, they don't last forever. Cereal expires. Even in a large family, there's no way these people can use all the products they buy before they expire.

I think it's impressive that people can take advantage of store and manufacturer deals so effectively, but to what end? They have dozens of unhealthy and unnecessary products that they have to rearrange their entire lives to acquire and store? It just doesn't seem like it is worth it.

I bet they don't even recycle.

Coffee and books.

Lately, my life has been full of big changes.  I am finally off night shift after 10 months.  Of course, that's because I am unemployed.  Until I find another job, I have quite a bit of time on my hands during the day, but I have no shortage of things to do.
 
I am taking a graduate English class, which involves reading about 10 Neo-Victorian novels.  I like to go to cafes to read, but my lack of funds has made that habit impractical.  In lieu of that indulgence, I created a comfortable place to read in our spare room.  I have also learned how to make most of the tasty fall drinks that I normally purchase for $4+ a piece.

The first is Starbucks Caramel Apple Spice.  This recipe is pretty decent, although the syrup could benefit from some extra spice.  Overall, it is a success.

The second is another Starbucks fan favorite, the Pumpkin Spice Latte.  This recipe rocks.  I only wanted one serving, so I halved all the ingredients except the coffee.  It's amazing.

As a smoothie lover, I decided to make a Pumpkin Spice Smoothie.  It was disappointing.  Healthy food does not have to be terrible.  I will continue to experiment with this recipe until I can create the perfect, not too unhealthy, pumpkin spice smoothie.

Being unemployed may not be glamorous, but I'm getting by.