Extreme Couponing???

Evening y'all!  So I have been wondering for a long time now if people are really saving money by "extreme" couponing.  I have been a couponer for quite a while, but never considered myself to be "extreme" about it.  Jeff and I have been talking about all these things we would like to do and buy, but you need to have money to do that.  So, I have gone on a mission to try to figure out how and where we can save the most money without going without.  We have a habit of spending and spending, not thinking about all the other things that precious dollar could go towards.  I want to change that...so I need to know....how many of you are "extreme" couponers?  How much money are you REALLY saving?  I have a really hard time believing that you can buy $150 worth of groceries for $10.  $10 wouldn't even be the tax on $150 of groceries here in Nashville (we have a 7.25% sales takes on food and food ingredients).  I want to believe these people that are saving all that money, but the skeptic in me says there is no way. Maybe I just don't know how to coupon right.  Maybe I am doing something wrong.  I have set out to figure it all out and today I am embarking on the wonderful world of learning how to extreme coupon. 

Here's the thing though - I am not going to purchase crap that we ware not going to use just because I can get a deal...it doesn't work that way.  And quite frankly I shouldn't have to buy something I am not going to use in order to save money on something that I will use.  I also don't have the ability to "stock up" on the stuff that I will use.  Does that make a huge difference?  Ore should I start thinking about cleaning out our storage shed and our laundry closet in an effort to store the over abundance of canned goods I will probably end up with.  

Okay, I digress.  So last night I began searching for tips and tricks on how to become an "extreme" couponer.  I stumbled across a website.  The writer of the site has a free 8-week "course" on how to successfully save lots of money by couponing.  So I am starting this week.  

You can find her first lesson here: http://www.livingwellspendingless.com/beginners-guide-to-coupons/thebeginners-guide-to-coupons-2/part-one-how-to-start/

In a nutshell, Ruth says that we can't be successful couponers if we don't get organized and if we don't do a litle bit of planning.  So this weeks assignment is to start clipping coupons and to start getting them organized.  Well, I have a coupon app on my phone call Coupons 2 - I can scan the barcode of each coupon I clip and it will store and the coupon in the app.  So when I go to the store, all I have to do is open my little app, search for the product and it will show me if I have a coupon for it.  Well, I realized that this will only work if I have the coupons organized in some kind of coupon organizer.  So I purchased a binder and coupon wall from couponmon.com (Here's the link to the one I purchased: http://www.couponmom.com/-910 - I actually found mind at Super Kmart in Mentor, OH but I still paid about the same price as this costs including the shipping)

I have also decided that since I have like 6 or 7 different email addresses, I am going to make sure that I have a coupon account for smartsource, red plum and all the other coupon sites you can go to get printable coupons.  Oh how fun this is going to be!!!