Coupons 101: Staying organized

Reader Beth asked a really good question, and I thought the answer might be something that would benefit others as well. Beth’s question was: I'm curious what strategies you use to keep your coupons organized, especially in knowing what you've got so that you can recognize the great deals when stuff goes on sale. I find that I clip the coupons, put them in my coupon file, but then the prospect of taking each ad and trying to match them up with coupons to maximize savings is daunting. Any tips?

Now I’m going to admit right up front that my system is seriously on the extreme end of the spectrum, and I don’t believe that everyone needs to have a system this complex. They key is finding one that makes sense to you and then being consistent about clipping and filing the coupons away. I have a friend who has one single envelope, and that system works fine for her. But I would say with one to two hours of effort a week (clipping, sorting and reviewing sales flyers), you can be a much smarter shopper.

My personal system is a big three-ring binder, the kind with the padded cover and a zipper around the outside. Inside the front flap, there’s a pocket where I keep all the store inserts for the week. And in the binder itself are some heavy-duty plastic dividers and a whole mess of those clear plastic baseball card holders.

If you have multiple copies of one coupon, they just all go in the same pocket. And, if you keep organized, you can keep your coupons for similar products together, which makes comparison shopping a breeze. This layout also avoids the shuffling through a coupon file that I think many people find frustrating. And the binder fits very conveniently in the child seat of a shopping cart.

My binder has 24 categories. Some women I know arrange their binder to match up with the order of the aisles in their favorite store. Some do it alphabetically. Mine has no real rhyme or reason except that it makes sense in my head. If you’d like to see a picture of a binder system, Faye Prosser, who is a wonderful frugal shopper and a couponing genius from Garner, has a photo of one on her Smart Spending Web site HERE. You can also order one from Faye if you’re not up to making one yourself.

I think this system is really the best because it allows you access to all your coupons in case you stumble across an unadvertised deal (happens all the time). You can just flip over to the right section of your binder and see if you have coupons to use.

But again, that’s for pretty advanced couponers and is not right for everyone. Most of us who use the binder system have graduated up to that level. If you have one of those little accordion file ones with six categories but want a little more room, I would recommend a returned check holder (you can buy at Staples or Wal-Mart or some other office store). They are very similar in design but are larger and have 12 pockets. You can even use envelopes within the 12 pockets to create more categories.

In general, I would say that you need a system that works well for you. Whether that’s an envelope or a big binder is up to you to decide. But the key is organization. With another nod to Faye, I’ll quote her favorite line. “If you watch two hours of TV a week, you can do this.” I really enjoy couponing in front of the TV because it makes me feel like I’m not wasting time. I also save time by not “purging” my binder of expired coupons every week. I usually do it about once a month. And, if you clip regularly, you will notice there are coupon cycles… Procter & Gamble issues coupons once a month in the P&G Brandsaver, for instance. It always comes on the first Sunday of the month.

Unfortunately, there’s no magic trick to lining up sales and coupons (except maybe reading my Wednesday Deals!). There's no substitute for being organized. How else will you know which coupons you have? But I will say that if you are willing to put in the time and effort regularly for let’s say a month, it will start to get a lot easier. Most die-hard couponers (myself included) are almost like walking rolodexes of coupons. We can tell you off the tops of our heads, “Oh, there was a coupon for that three weeks ago.” But it’s like any skill. You have to practice.

So, to summarize….
1) Work out a system that makes sense to you, binder or no binder.
2) Keep it current by putting in a few hours every week.
3) Practice lining up coupons and sales. I promise it will get easier as you go, and you will be well-rewarded for your time!

Updated: July 10, 2008