When you first start couponing and figure it out, there is such a moment of excitement and you have to get all the deals! But have you ever looked around at your “stockpile” and thought, I need to cut back I can never use all this stuff?

I have seen people completely go nuts and start actually going to the extreme end of hoarding items, that they can never possibly use. The fun rush that you get in the begining is cool, but beware of becoming greedy, if I might be so bold to suggest that.

As many of you know I plan my “stockpile” around the 8 (almost 9) members of my family for a year. So by my calculations I will need 32 toothbrushes, 12 tubes of toothpaste, 20 packs of floss, 13 deodorants (only 3 of us use it as of now) 36 Soft Soap hand pumps, etc. etc. etc. Anything beyond this I don’t really need. I am sure you would agree that it would be overkill. At this point I use everything extra that I pick up as donation items. BUT since I DO NOT need it I don’t kill myself to get to the store to get it, also I would pass it up if there weren’t very many on the shelf to let other people have the chance to pick it up.

I have seen a friend with 1 little child go nuts to have 50 toothbrushes stored away. It would take years to go through those. It is possibly none of my business that they have that many, but I hate to see her got to all the trouble to store it all when it isn’t necessary.

Last year when I was planning our family reunion I was purchasing items for 25 people, so I was gathering many “extra” things, but for a purpose. I wasn’t obsessed with missing a deal and getting every single one possible.