All good things must come to an end.
It’s a sad, but true fact of life that is now affecting the world of extreme couponing.
Thanks a lot extreme couponers… and TLC for making their lives into a reality TV show seen by millions of penny-pinching viewers.
Week after week inspiring expert couponers tune into “Extreme Couponing,” which profiles extremely frugal individuals making a killing at stores that allow them to double or triple their coupons.
I watch the show quite frequently and bemoaned the fact that stores in my area are no where near as generous with their coupon policies. In fact, at some of the stores I shop at I am given a hard time when I use a single coupon. I’ve actually had store cashiers try to talk me out of using the coupon, insisting that it won’t work, before they even scan it.
So imagine my frustration when I watched nearly every person profiled on TLC’s “Extreme Couponing” walk out of stores with hundreds of dollars worth of items for practically nothing, simply because they mastered the double/triple coupon strategy.
I watched in awe, but deep down I knew it was just a matter of time before stores cracked down on the extreme couponers strategic money-saving techniques. And lo and behold, I was right.
According to The Consumerist and CouponSherpa.com, one of the leaders in the world of double and triple coupon days is putting the kibosh on its popular practice. Last week, Kroger announced it would no longer allow customers to double and triple store coupons in North Texas stores. The supermarket giant already stopped the practice, which lets shoppers multiply the face-value savings of coupons, at all of its Houston stores. Kroger managers say rather than allowing customers to double or triple the value of their coupons, they plan to lower prices on items storewide.
What do you make of Kroger’s new move? Are you affected by the modified coupon policy?