As many hard-working adults have discovered, clipping coupons is a great way to save money on everything from groceries, home goods, and clothing to dining out, haircuts, and services within the community. Thanks to the popularity of deal-of-the-day sites like Groupon and LivingSocial you can easily find deals at restaurants or other establishments your family frequents regularly. But when it comes to clipping coupons, you might find that you aren’t exactly getting the bang for your buck that you crave. When you see shows like ‘Extreme Couponing’ on TLC, your expectations may be a bit high – keep in mind that those people treat couponing like a full-time job. But you could also be making some major blunders that are causing you to waste your time without the benefit of gaining monetary compensation through savings on your shopping trips. So here are just a few mistakes to avoid in the couponing process.

1. Missing expiration dates. This is a major no-no. With our busy lives, it can be difficult to try to get to the store before coupons expire, but the trick is to use them far ahead of their expiration date. You obviously don’t want to make extra trips to the store simply to use up coupons, since you’ll waste time and fuel in the process. Instead, use up coupons during your regular shopping trip, even if you are already stocked up on the items in question. So long as they’re non-perishable, it’s not like you won’t be able to use them down the line instead of buying more at full price when you actually run out.
2. Neglecting double-dip opportunities. A great way to double up on savings is to hang onto coupons until they coincide with in-store or manufacturer deals. It may take a little extra work on your part, but considering the additional savings you stand to gain in the process, it could be worth checking weekly circulars or websites that specialize in offering double-dip opportunities.
3. Failure to organize. Organization is the key to using your time and money wisely where couponing is concerned. You can start to collect quite a pile of coupons once you get the ball rolling, and without some kind of system for organization in place you can easily lose track of items and expiration dates. So think about starting a filing system that is broken down by month, at least, so you know what coupons will expire in the coming weeks. And think about further separating coupons by store and/or category; this will make it easy to grab and go when you’re on your way to a store.
4. Buying stuff you don’t need. Let’s be honest: it’s hard to pass up a good deal. But if your kids hate baked beans, buying them in bulk just because you can get them for ten cents per can is a waste of your money. If you can’t use a coupon, pass it along to someone who can and save your money for the items that are going to benefit your household. You can leave coupons on store shelves near the items they coincide with or post them on sites like CouponLoco to share the wealth.
5. Going it alone. If you find you’re spending an awful lot of time on couponing, consider that you’re not the only one who wants to save. Joining or starting a couponing club could give you and other members the ability to do less work and still getting coupons from myriad sources. All you have to do is split up tasks. One person can check circulars to highlight weekly deals, another can clip coupons from certain papers, and another can hit up online resources like Coupon Mom and CouponLoco. When you all work together and share you can save a ton of time, not to mention money.