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How I Almost Threw Away Fifty Dollars and How I Will Make Sure It Won’t Happen Again

October 21, 2011 · 28 comments

in Misc Tips, Personal Finance

I do a lot of shopping at Kohl’s.  I love the coupons they send, and I love the variety of items available at Kohl’s.

I recently spent quite a bit of money at Kohl’s because everyone needed new jeans, and I also needed a few other items. As a reward for all the money I spent, I received a voucher for $50, but the cash back voucher had to be used within a certain period of time.

Disorganization Almost Cost Me My Money!

So the other night, I was exhausted.  I had been staring at spreadsheets and little charts all day long and my brain needed a break.  Out of the blue, my daughter announced “I want to go for a drive”.  Well, the last thing I wanted to do was get up and go out in the cold and the rain.  But for some reason, when my daughter suggested going for a drive, that Kohl’s voucher popped into my head.  I asked what the date was and when my daughter told me, I remembered that the Kohl’s cash back voucher was expiring that day.  So, I grabbed my purse at 9:00 pm at night and headed out to Kohl’s.

My New Plan For Major Coupons/Vouchers

Seeing how I was ‘thisclose’ to throwing away fifty dollars, I decided I needed a plan to make sure I don’t lose track of such savings.  I have decided that whenever I get a major coupon or voucher from a store, I will tape it in my calendar to the date one week prior to expiration.  Since I check my calendar daily, I will be getting a visual daily reminder that I must go to that store and use the voucher or coupon.  (I am not referencing a coupon for 50 cents off 10 cans of canned fruit.  I am talking about the $10 off coupons I get in the mail from Eddie Bauer and such.)  Sure my calendar might look a little messy, but I can’t risk missing out on major savings like that again.

Have you ever missed out on using a cash back voucher before?  What tricks do you use to make sure you use all the cash back savings you have earned?

 

 

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{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }

Krantcents October 21, 2011 at 3:11 pm

I bought a $20 Groupon deal for $10 and did not realize that there is an expiration date.

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YFS @ YourfinancesSimplified October 21, 2011 at 10:15 pm

I did the same thing. Bought my wife a 60 dollar spa day from groupon and let it expire 🙁

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Jon - Free Money Wisdom October 22, 2011 at 5:58 pm

If I am not mistaken, I think Groupon will refund you the money you spent–you don’t get the promotional value, but you get a refund for how much you paid Groupon. You get to use it on a future deal.

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Kris October 23, 2011 at 10:41 pm

That is good to know. I almost let a Groupon expire, but ran to Barnes and Noble at the last minute to use it.

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Kris October 23, 2011 at 10:43 pm

Did she let it expire, or did you not give it to her in time? 🙂

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Kris October 23, 2011 at 10:47 pm

Yeah, Groupons do indeed expire unfortunately. I haven’t used Groupon much, and I can’t decide if it is a good use of money, or if I would just spend to spend because I got a good deal.

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retirebyforty@retireby40.org October 21, 2011 at 3:50 pm

I think I’ll put a reminder on my Google calendar a week before it expires.
I have a $100 American express card and a $50 McCormick & Smitch card at home. I don’t think they have an expiration date, but I’d better go check.

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Kris October 23, 2011 at 10:46 pm

So what did you find out- is there an expiration???

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Jenny October 21, 2011 at 5:03 pm

My wallet (if you can call it that, really it’s just a folder to hold your vehicle insurance papers that I repurposed) has a clear pocket in the front. I just tuck the coupons in there so I see them often, and as a bonus, they’re always there so I have them when I’m in the store, no forgetting them at home.

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Kris October 23, 2011 at 10:45 pm

Great idea with the clear envelope. What I need is a bigger purse for that very reason!

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Suba October 21, 2011 at 5:21 pm

I did exactly this unfortunately. But mine was $10 instead of $50. I remembered the Kohls cash the day after it expired. I shop at Kohls only for our clothes and that is once an year of less, so even if I had used the kolhs cash it would have been something that we don’t need. But it is still a wash of money. I will have to be more careful next time.

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Kris October 23, 2011 at 10:45 pm

Oh Suba, you need to go to Kohl’s more often. You can always use that cash toward a present for someone, you can really get some great deals there!

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UltimateSmartMoney October 21, 2011 at 7:03 pm

Add reminder using your smart phones. Also, Kohls let you use expired cash certificates. Just give them good excuse and the cashier will let you use it. I used expired cash certificates two times so far.

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Kris October 23, 2011 at 10:44 pm

I did try at Kohl’s once and they shot me down- I wonder if it is a hit or miss kind of thing?

The phone reminder is a great idea.

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UltimateSmartMoney November 3, 2011 at 7:51 pm

It can be hit or miss. It also depends on the cashier. It’s best to remind yourself and use it before it expires… Just use it early so that you are not worrying about it later… It’s a savvy promo for Kohl’s.

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Kaycee October 21, 2011 at 11:28 pm

Thanks for the heads-up about the $10 @ Kohl’s. I have had one or two expire. Mostly because when they first came out, you had a very limited time frame in which to use them. I wish any store that offers “rewards” would make them valid for more than 2-3 weeks. :-/

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Kris October 23, 2011 at 10:43 pm

I think it is like a two week window, if not less that Kohl’s says are valid for the rewards. I totally agree with your wish they were valid longer, I don’t go to Kohl’s every week like they want me to.

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101 Centavos October 22, 2011 at 7:35 am

I occasionally get store rebates from Ace Hardware, Lowe’s or Braums. They get stuck to the side of the fridge, right next to the phone. Anywhere else, and they get forgotten.

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Kris October 23, 2011 at 10:42 pm

101 – I imagine you go to those stores quite frequently, so I am sure yours don’t ever go to waste. (As long as you get some ice cream from the fridge/freezer before you go…)

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Sandy @ Journey To Our Home October 23, 2011 at 6:07 pm

I have accidentally let Register Rewards from Walgreen’s or ECB’s from CVS expire. Most of the times these are smaller dollar amounts and I can’t justify spending gas money to drive to the store.
I did let a $10 Kohls rewards expire but I went in the day after and they were super nice and let me use it anyway.
I try to keep rewards IN my planner so I see them a lot. I’ve even put reminder alerts on my phone to remind me to go to the store!

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Kris October 23, 2011 at 10:40 pm

Oh they are great at CVS, they always accept my expired reward dollars, as long as they aren’t more than a month overdue.

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Anson Aninao October 23, 2011 at 8:00 pm

That sounds like a close one. Unfortunately I have let that happen to me before, but that was it…. lesson learned.

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Kris October 23, 2011 at 10:40 pm

It is a tough lesson to learn, especially if it is more than a couple dollars!

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First Gen American October 24, 2011 at 12:00 pm

I put an appointment in my electronic calendar to keep track of those things. I can’t trust my brain to remember those types of details with my schedule.

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Kris October 24, 2011 at 9:32 pm

The electronic reminder is a good one. I am going to try the paper calendar method because I will need the visual reminder several days in a row! 🙂

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Elisa Jed August 7, 2013 at 12:01 pm

It is amazing how much money can be saved with Ocean City coupons. I go through my coupons and but them into wallet sizes, so when I am shopping I can have them on me at the time.

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