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Home > Blogs > Here's the Deal: Bargains in Hamilton and Middletown > Archives > 2009 > March > 30 > Entry
Organizing your coupons
To maximize on sales at your local grocery stores, it’s important to organize your coupons. Otherwise, you could miss out on savings. Nothing irritates me more than knowing I could have gotten something cheaper if I had the coupon. It’s basically free money, you’ll be paying $1 less than you normally would, and frankly all of us could use the extra cash.
I know there are some of you out there who are skeptical about how much coupons can really save you. Believe me, I know, I was one of you. I never took the time to coupon, blissfully spending away at the store and just picking up the items I needed or wanted at the time, never planning ahead. And then I would tell myself, well I don’t have the time to clip coupons. Then the recession happened and my husband was laid off. I needed to save every dime. And if you spend the time properly filing coupons, you will always have the time to clip them because they will be easy to access and find. The organization has saved me time and the coupons have saved me hundreds of dollars.
There are two basic methods to filing coupons, both of which only take minutes after you’ve started the system. I prefer to file my coupons. I bought a few magazine files at IKEA for very cheap and I keep them labeled and stored in a convenient shelf above my desk which I also purchased at IKEA. I separate inserts using file folders (see photo).
Filing coupons
- Label weekly inserts with Date and Insert Name. Even though the date is on the spine, some front covers of the inserts can look the same for several weeks. Labeling makes them easily identifiable.
- File weekly inserts by the week or month in file folders (I file my by week, using separate file folders for each type. For instance, I have a magazine file box just for Smart Source, one for Red Plum, one for P&G and then one for misc. inserts like Kroger and General Mills. I then label the front of each box to say what dates are in each box)
- Clip coupons once you have a shopping list and know which ones you need. (I clip as I go, making a stack on the desk)
- Check hotcouponworld.com for any coupons you may not know about (i.e. printable coupons or ones that can be loaded onto your shopper’s card)
- Throw out expired coupons (I keep the inserts until all coupons are expired)
- Keep a box for any clipped coupons not used (I have a small box I place coupons I receive in the mail or clip but cannot use because the store does not have the item. I also place rainchecks in there. This way, I know where the coupon is when I decide to use my raincheck or if the item is on sale again even though I already clipped it)
Another option is the binder method. I warn against this one unless you do a lot of shopping as it can be hard to keep up with where coupons are and when they expire. However, the convenience of this method is you can take the binders with you when you shop and have quick access to other items you find on sale while you shop. But if you only shop for a few people, I’d stick with the filing method. If the item is really that cheap and you don’t have a coupon, you can always come back later and get it.
Binder method
- Clip coupons from weekly inserts, magazines and print online coupons
- Sort and file coupons into categories for quick and easy access (use baseball card holders or photo sleeves for easy viewing and organization. Use categories like Diapers or Frozen Vegetables. If you like a particular brand, file coupons that way) .
- Pull coupons on your shopping list and bring to store with your list
- Shop with your shopping list and binder
- Discard expired coupons
The best place to find coupons is still your Sunday paper. And many advertisers will not pay to put all coupon inserts into the papers you can get off the rack on Sundays, so a subscription is still your best bet.
For even more savings, check out my blog about putting coupons on your shopper’s card here.
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