What sort of Mistakes have you made since couponing?

6months · #1 (**permalink**) 06-26-2007, 06:56:11 PM

For me, expiration dates have been the hardest learned lesson.
I bought 50 bottles of salad dressing because, well, we eat a lof of salad! But we don't eat THAT much salad. Certain flavors have a short exp date.

I took advantage of a great closeout deal on Kellogg's fruit snacks, used up all of my $1/1 coupons, and the kids said they tasted funny. Turns out that they were expired on the shelf.

So what sort of mistakes have YOU made?

mama22qts · #2 (**permalink**) 06-26-2007, 07:08:23 PM

When I first started out, I took advantage of most every freebie out there. I bought 20 boxes of Superpretzels because they ended up being free with coupons....guess what, no one will eat those at our house. I couldn't donate them because I couldn't find a place that would take frozen food. So I ended up eating about half of them and throwing the rest out. Now if it's something new for us, I make sure to buy just one or two, try it out, and then go in for the kill!

disneyfreq · #3 (**permalink**) 06-26-2007, 07:11:35 PM

I think the ones I make most often are:

Forgetting to hand them the coupons

AND

Not reading the tiny "off two" print and coming to the register with only one.

I'm better about the second now that I've learned to look for "excludes trial sizes" and other such fine print details that can be very important but I still pull the first one every once in a while. I'll have a stack ready to hand over and I somehow drop one in my purse or leave one in the envelope. On the converse, I have had coupons in my stack where I didn't get the item but I forgot to remove the coupon. A big no-no I know but never done intentionaly. So I guess in the long run my mistakes cancel each other out.

SyLph211 · #4 (**permalink**) 06-26-2007, 07:14:59 PM

I have handed over more coupons than products on accident and totally was embarassed about it

Expiration dates get me all the time, good thing my DH is so observant or else we would be having spoiled stuff all the time

I went on a "I want fresh tea" kick and bought over 100 boxes of tea, hey at a price of FREE I couldn't resist. I am now on box #3 and am so sick of tea, LOL... I can't give any more away either.

I get mad when someone else comes along and has bought all the products on sale that I have left the store cursing all the way to the car and then remember RAINCHECKS, sheesh, I always forgot I can get those things!

Of course have went crazy and used coupons on items I have never had before and totall hated it after I tried it, good thing you can donate this stuff to someone else.

mrsjschultz · #5 (**permalink**) 06-26-2007, 07:49:31 PM

I did it several times while starting out...tried using the "off two" coupons on one item (I obviously didn't read it that closely) and then when it beeps...no one knows why. A manager shows up, reads it out loud to me, and I look like a moron, lol.

northernmama · #6 (**permalink**) 06-26-2007, 07:56:43 PM

letting the good coupons expire! Forgetting I have certain coupons.

Cynthiabutterfly · #7 (**permalink**) 06-26-2007, 08:01:53 PM

I bought 64 boxes of Kelloggs fruit streamers, and gave away 20+. DS and DH ate another 30 before telling me that they were starting to taste like plastic. They sat in the closet for 4 months until the expired and I finally threw them away.

I bought 30 bottles of a-1 marinade, gave away at least 10, and used about 6 of them before they all expired. They were only good for 4-5 months.

A few times I've gotten really good deals, and went overboard with the # of transactions, then got home and realized I have no where to put it. I've got about 25 boxes of cereal in my closet (next to my underwear drawer, LOL) because there isn't anywhere else to put them. I was going to leave them in the trunk of my car, but then I wouldn't be able to go shopping to buy more! LOL

If you couldn't see a pattern here, it's that I don't know when to stop.

I've got 7 free milk catalinas, and 3 gallons of milk in my fridge right now because I couldn't stop buying cereal to get the free milk.

lmcconne · #8 (**permalink**) 06-26-2007, 08:31:31 PM

I've let some winetags expire without redemption. I get them through trades only upon occasion and do not have very many at any one time that I forget to keep track of the expiration dates.

Oh, and I have missed a few MIR postmark by dates. I focus on the purchase period and just expect the postmark by date to be reasonable that when it's just the day after the purchase period, then I'm more likely to miss it. This one really irritates me because who doesn't want free money.

luvmy3boys · #9 (**permalink**) 06-26-2007, 08:49:14 PM

Geesh~ Always forgetting rainchecks, never checking the expiration date!, buying frozen meals b/c they are free but knowing I hate those things and now they are taking up space in my freezer!!!

#10 (**permalink**) 06-26-2007, 10:08:21 PM

I used to underestimate how much to buy on EVERYTHING!! I forgot to factor in family coming over and saying OOOOHH can i have 1 of those.

Now I get as much as I can of everything because I have some family members that need some help here and there and I like having enough to be able to share.