When is couponing too much?

I started couponing about 9 months ago and it's been quite an adventure. I find myself to be a conscious shopper - making sure I know what's on sale and taking advantage of what my local stores are offering. But when does it become a little too much? When does this hobby become about the adrenaline rush instead of what we need.

Personally, I belong to a couple blogs that tell me what's on sale and what the great deals of the week are. This past Friday, you were able to pick up free chap-stick at Walgreens. I personally don't shop at Walgreens, I limit myself to about 3 stores that I shop at so I don't over buy and drive myself crazy with "DEALS DEALS DEALS". In the comment section of this post, a lady had commented that she had picked up about 100 chap-sticks!

My first thought was, "Really, do you need 100 chap-sticks? That's insane." I really can't judge, because personally I think I have 15, but I also share it with my mom and am willing to hand out to my friends in need. The other tendency that my mom and I have is that we leave our chap-sticks in our jeans and wash them away and there's the occasionally losing them out and about. Hence I stock up on them.

But 100 is a little extreme. First, I never knew that Walgreens would have that many in stock. Secondly, how about leaving some for other couponers. There are so many times I go to one of my stores and the item I want is out of stock. I always wonder if someone bought all of it. Third, this really increases consumerism and causes the chap-stick company to needlessly create more inventory when they don't need to. I feel like it's creating more waste because it's artificially inflating the demand. In this instance, I really think the fellow couponer has crossed the line of too much.

So if you're deciding to jump on the bandwagon of this new craze, I would suggest a couple things. Start off by buying what you need. Buying a couple here and there of the items you need will create a stockpile in no time. For me, I know I am set with aspirin, ibuprofen, chap-stick, shampoo, deodorant, and cereal to last the year! Then leave some for the rest of us savers and be conscious of what you're buying. Make sure that you need it, will use it, or will donate it. If not, then you're wasting the savings on products that you'll never use. Those are simple tips on being a conscious couponer!