What was YOUR couponing mistake?

@HeatherWake : I started couponing around the same time you did. I also got a hold of many of those Crest $1 off coupons (with no restrictions) and bought a lot of those travel Scope Mouthwashes.
$0.13 adds up quickly when you buy a lot because we think they're FREE.

Just like those $1 Oral B toothbrushes (I have more than I need) and actually started donating them to many family members and friends (they would get a loot bag of scope, oral b toothbrush and crest toothpaste.

My biggest mistake (and I just noticed this last week), was I didn't organize my stockpile of toothpaste according to expiry date. AND while I was organizing my toothpaste, I noticed I even bought three that were ALREADY expired! 2010, 2011 and 2012 - that really shocked me, especially the 2010!

Lesson learned. I also don't need any more toothpaste ;)

I lost my coupon binder :( Biggest mistake ever!!!!!!!!!!!!

Letting good FPC's expire. I need to stop saving them up and just use them when needed or at least a few weeks before they expire so I'm not rushed the last day.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by okanagancouponingqueens

I lost my coupon binder :( Biggest mistake ever!!!!!!!!!!!!

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I lost mine twice, the second time a nice lady had taken it to customer service and i got it back. The first time was not so lucky.

Buying stuff I don't really need cause it's free.

I also got my mom into couponing but she went WAY overboard, and A LOT of her stuff expired. I'm thinking toothpastes, those free triscuit crackers, boxes of thinsations ect. To this day i still go pick stuff in her stockpile to find shampoo that doesn't smell like anything anymore and toothpastes that won't come out the tube.. HUGE waste, and in this case money isn't being saved anymore.. When you go buy specials with coupons for 200$ each week .. it's beyond the point.. so .. this is my mums mistake ...

another of mine , like it was mentionned before.. not organizing adresses and emails. I have about 5-6 people letting me use their adresses and i got alot of emails running as well.

Not bringing all my coupons when shopping then seeing a fabulous clearance section and missing out.

Also, i used to not keep tabs on trades. Id leave a rating when i got the envie but never kept track of what i was supposed to receive. I had TONS of trades and trains going on at once and would never have noticed if i got jiffed somewhere..

Definitely some good advice to learn from here, Newbies!!

*ALWAYS label your coupon bag/container...I also have "GENEROUS REWARD GIVEN IF RETURNED".

*Keep a trade list. I made one up on word...its a chart with 11 columns for date, name, address, what Im sending, what Im getting back, what site the trade was on, when *i* sent, if I got theirs, if they got mine, if I left feedback, if they left feedback. I do approx 10 trades a week, so its important to keep track!!!

*Always have your bag with you! I dont even carry a purse nymore, just my Glowgirl coupon bag, my cellphone case has my bankcard in it! I NEVER miss a good clearance anymore.

*Good idea to keep track of names/addresses/emails if you have multiples for online freebies!!

*keep an eye on expiry dates, stock newest stuff at the back, rotate your stock!

*Watch those FPC expiries!