- Shampoo - I left the $1.00 off coupon in another purse.
- Halloween costume - the offer was buy the costume, get a free plastic trick-or-treat pumpkin bucket. The costume didn't fit, but upon returning it I found that getting the "free" bucket, and not returning it with the costume, lessened the return value of the costume itself by $1.00.
- Claritin - the $3.00 off coupon was sitting in my wallet. The same wallet I took my credit card out of to pay for the Claritin. D'oh!
- Soy milk - it was a buy 2 cereals, get the soy milk free coupon. The coupon was attached to the cereal...and still was attached when I got home.
- Jeans - I found the perfect pair (yay!) for $49.95; a few weeks later they were on sale for $9.95. Ouch.
- Egg Nog Latte - I asked for soy milk, which I was charged for, without knowing (because the barista didn't tell me, even as she rang up my order) that the latte was made with actual egg nog instead of flavored syrup, nullifying the need for milk of any kind. I only found out as she was making the drink. Grr.
- Bulk candy - because my son reached out of the cart and shoved some in his mouth, and I had no idea how much of it he took, so I just asked to be charged double for the candy I actually bought.
- My laptop - it no longer works, is out of warranty, and I'm still paying for it. Ah, good old high interest loans.
I often read articles about the tricks of bargain hunting and coupon clipping, and I know there are sites out there to help you find coupons, but seeing as I can have the coupon in my purse, put the product in my cart because of the coupon, and still not use the coupon, I don't know what good this does me. I also hate to haggle over a price, and I'm pretty sure haggling skills are a must on any professional bargain shopper's resume.
