How to organize your coupons!

So now that you have collected  bunch of coupons you need to find a way to organize them.   The best method I have found is using a binder and baseball card holders.  You can find the baseball card holders at walmart near the magazines.

 

There are 2 ways to organize your coupons: by category or by expiration date.  I perfer to organize mine by category that way I can easily find what I need while shopping in the store.  I then organize the coupons in that certain category by expiration date. That way when its time to clean out my binder I can easily remove all my expireds.

 

Organize by Category: More time up front, Less time shopping

• Organizing by category requires a few hours of time each week to clip and organize all your coupons.  I usually spend and hour-90 minutes on a Sunday evening getting up to date on all my coupons.


• This method makes preparing to shop quick and easy because your coupons are already clipped and organized!  Plus, when you find a clearance item in the store, it only takes 20 seconds to flip to the right category and find the coupon you need.


• Use Baseball Card Holders to hold the clipped coupons (Find at Target, Walmart, eBay, etc).  Should be around $5 for 30 pages.  You’ll need around 60 pages.

Organize by Date: Less Time Up Front, More Time Getting Ready to Shop

If you don’t have the time to clip all your coupons every Sunday,  you may want to try organizing by date.  When using this method, you don’t clip any of my coupons until you use them. Couponers still throw away at least 3/4 of their coupons, so this method saves you from clipping many of the coupons you won’t use anyway.

• Organizing by date will require you get sheet protectors to put each insert into it’s own page- for easy access.


• You’ll also print the Coupon List from Pinching Your Pennies (which gives you an alphabetical list of all the coupons)- so that if you run into a clearanced item- you can find what week the coupon is from and flip right to it


• Another tip if you are going to try out this method, is to write the date (that the coupon came out) on each set- so that if it comes out of the sheet protector you can find it’s home again.

How to get started!!

1. Tear the inserts apart, careful not to ruin barcodes
2. We get multiple copies of each insert, so we lay the entire insert out on the table, Soon we have 10 copies of the 1st page in a pile, 10 of the 2nd page in a pile, ect.
3. Next, we staple all 10 of the 1st page together, and on down the pages…
4. Then, if you’re organizing  by date, write the date on each stapled set and put each stapled set into a clear plastic sheet protector.   If you’re organizing by category, start clipping each stapled set and put the coupons into it’s corresponding category!

When and How to use coupons!!

So, How and When DO you use coupons to get these deals?

• The Big “Secret” is MATCHING COUPONS WITH  SALES and PROMOS!
  For example- If you go to Walmart to use your $1 off 5 Campbell’s Cream of Chicken Coupons, it will end up being cheaper to just buy generic.
  BUT, if you use the coupon when the name brand are at a rock bottom price- or if you match it with a promotion at your corner grocery store – Viola! Cheap Soup!

• Stacking Coupons, my favorite coupon secret!
  Stacking simply means using 1 Manufacturer Coupon and 1 Store Coupon on 1 Item!!
  Target, and Walgreens, Rite Aid, & Kroger Stores (to name a few) all have store coupons and allow them to be stacked with a manufacturer coupon! (You can never use 2 manufacturer coupon on 1 item… but most stores allow you to use 1 store and 1 manufacturer coupon on the same item)

• Double Coupons
  Kroger double coupons up to a $.50 value.  This means that one $0.50 off coupon will become $1.00 off, etc.
  
  
  
  • Kmart:  Occasionally Kmart will double coupons.  They may or may not advertise the doubling publicly.
  
  
  
  

Remember, when a store doubles a coupon, they will match the price of your coupon- for example if you have a coupon for $1 off- they will take another $1 off!  Restrictions usually apply, as to how many coupons you can double, etc.

 

Collect your coupons!

The first step to couponing is to collect your coupons.   You can get coupons from several sources.  The best source and my personal favorite is from the Sunday News paper.  Most Sundays there are 2 inserts, a red plum and a smartsource.  At the beginning of the month there is usually an extra insert called a P&G.  P&G are awesome inserts that contains health & beauty coupons and household items.

You can also get coupons from online sources.  Coupons.com is a great coupon source and most likely the best.  You can also use redplum.com and smartsource.com.  Most companies have facebook pages, this is also a great way to find coupons for your favorite products.

Also, NEVER throw a way a coupon until it expire.  Even if you think you may never use that product, don't throw it away.   I have often said that I would never buy this item even if it is cheap, so then I throw the coupon away, then days later the item goes on sale. You never know when an item may go on sale where you can get it free or even get overage from it.

Collect coupons is the very first step to couponing.  Save your coupons week to week.  Use what you need as you need it, then your ready to start hunting for deals!  I'll explain how to find amazing deals in my next post!

Hello world!

Hi everyone!

I've started this blog to teach people how save money with coupons.  I want to start by saying don't expect to be like the people on TLC's extreme couponing.  They spend hours of time getting prepared and shopping.  It is possible to get free stuff like they do, but you have to take baby steps!