Old Coupons Never Die, They Just Quietly Expire...

Turns out I should have paid more attention to how-to guide at Consumerist about expiration dates. I bought a "new" toothbrush at Bed, Bath and Beyond over the weekend, only to get home and find it marked with an expiration date of 1/07/2008.

What? Toothbrushes EXPIRE? Before they're even used?

I'm happy to report no ill effects from using the "expired" toothbrush. None of its bristles fell out and neither did any of my teeth.

That's always a good thing...

Expiration dates for toothbrushes may be a bit extreme, but anyone who has even gotten a whiff of sour milk knows that flouting the "Best if Used By" date is not the greatest idea.

Unless you like the inside of your refrigerator to look like an over-sized petri dish...

There's a great guide courtesy of Real Simple which offers some tips on what to keep and when to pitch common food and other household products. As far as prescription and OTC drugs go, there's conflicting reports. According to a recent FDA Study, many prescription drugs retained potency 15 years after the expiration date. Common sense, however, and ConsumerReports, suggest purging old medications from the medicine cabinet.

Another situation where expiration dates come in handy: coupons. At Savings.com, we update the site daily to make sure that our deals and promo codes are at their peak of freshness. If you find a code that's expired, click on the "Problem?" link and again on the "Broken or Expired" arrow. We'll fix it, update it or remove it from the site. With your help, we can keep the site free of expired codes. 'Cuz we know that having to wade through broken and expired deals can leave a bad taste in your mouth.

Sort of like accidentally taking a swig of milk gone bad...