Extreme couponing is a huge trend. Those who comb newspaper circulars and online sites for coupons say they can end up paying next to nothing for groceries while geting a thrill out of the deals. It's why sites like Groupon and Living Social are taking off. Another daily deal website, Saving Star, based in Waltham, Mass., just launched -- offering deals on basics at stores like the Westford and .
Other argue extreme couponing makes you buy stuff you don't need and can get a bit obsessive.
We asked our experts for their opinion. Here's what they said. You can join the debate by leaving a comment.
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Sally Rosenthal:
In my own life, I’m trying to simplify and consume less. When possible, I like to buy food directly from farmers or small businesses. As a result, extreme couponing at the grocery or drug store just isn’t for me. Besides, there are too many other ways I want to spend my time than planning extreme couponing shopping trips!
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But I can understand the lure—I imagine it’s quite a rush to get a hundreds of dollars worth of stuff for just a few bucks. I know many people employ extreme couponing to get items for food banks or other charities, a worthy use of one’s time in my opinion. But for those who spend hours each week to buy tons of stuff they’ll hoard and never use, I wonder if it becomes an unhealthy obsession.
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