With so many people getting into coupons, I thought it might be a good time to talk about organizing coupons. Whatever system you use, the key is to find one that works for you. Because if it doesn't work for you and make sense in your head, chances are that you won't use it. And that kind of defeats the purpose!
Those of you who have been to my classes will know that I use a pretty advanced system that involves a three-ring binder. (You can view a video of me talking about my binder here.) You can also read my general post about organizing coupons here.
But what I'm really interested in is hearing about the systems that you use. Maybe you will inspire someone with your idea! Share away...
Comments
Re: How do you organize your coupons?
March 4, 2009 - 12:15am — ncsulilwolfI don't particularly go out of my way to cut coupons, but as they handily come up (mail, product sample packages, inside product packaging) come up I put them in a divided/expandable organizer by the following groups - grocery, retail (Bed, Bath & Beyond, Home Depot, etc.), restaurant, services, etc. I try and keep that carry all in the car.
Re: How do you organize your coupons?
March 3, 2009 - 11:16pm — sadie1I use the binder system with dividers and baseball card holders for each section of the store...freezer, dairy, snacks, etc. I have 3 baseball card holders behind each divider with the most current month first..this helps tremendously to never show up at the store with expired coupons. Doesnt take long at all to divide the coupons by category and date. In the back of the binder I have full page sheet protectors for the larger coupons and other stores, restaurants, etc. Also have sheet protectors in the back with each grocery store coupon policies, abbreviations, etc. I drag my husband along on triples day to hold the coupons....he loves it, right! I have saved lots of money since starting couponing August, 2008. And I am determined to only buy items we will use. I can now see the benefit of stockpiling....because my grocery bill has dropped tremendously in the past 2 months.
Re: How do you organize your coupons?
March 3, 2009 - 11:43am — metgenI use the binder system--since I do a lot of shopping at Harris Teeter, I have my binder organized by their aisles--so that makes it easy to go through the store without a lot of flipping pages around. I just did a trip to the store, and took notes on each aisle--then came home and organized my binder--there is a page divider with a tab for each aisle; so that helps when flipping pages in your binder-- I have written on the page divider a list of the items on that aisle (often helps with filing)). I also go to Lowes a lot, and their aisles compare pretty well, so it's not too big of a deal.
Lately, I have been doing a better job of looking at the store flyer, and pulling coupons I think I'll want to use, BEFORE I go the store--then I kind of have everything in my hand ready to go. I do still bring in my binder, since there are often specials that are not advertised--but that's the only time I open up my binder in the store...Having the coupons already in your hand (I just paper clip them together and clip them to my list) might be easier to deal with, especially if you're dealing with kids, etc.
I also have some trouble fitting some coupons in the baseball card sized slots--but I just try to cut them as close as possible to the bar code, and then they'll usually fit--some I do still just have to fold.
I am thinking about trying out Thecouponclippers.com for the first time this week--once I see what the sales are. Does anyone have any experience with the service? Any advice?
Re: How do you organize your coupons?
March 2, 2009 - 7:03pm — pengwenhsdI don't use coupons to the degree that a lot of you do. It's just my husband and I, no kids, no dogs, I hate stuff that makes the house smell and I don't use many prepared food products so I don't clip a lot, however, given the chance to save a bit without too much effort I'll do it. I started out with the standard little wallet with dividers for categories but I found that I was always looking through all the coupons to see if there was anything that was expiring soon or if a coupon might make me remember something else I needed so I gave up on that plan. My dividers are now by date. I still sometimes go through the entire wallet (triple coupons ya know) but I no longer have to repeatedly check expiration dates and once the month has passed I can clean out that entire section without a second glance. For coupons that expire on odd dates, like early in the month, I file them with the month before.
Re: How do you organize your coupons?
March 2, 2009 - 4:21pm — robin4918Sue, I’ve recently converted to your binder system with the baseball card holders, and it’s working a lot better than my old accordion file crammed with expired coupons– so thanks!
I do have a small problem with the majority of coupons being larger than a baseball card so they must be folded to fit into the card slots. I can fold about half of them in such a way that I can still see the product, the cents off, and expiration date. With the others, I’m forced to fold so that I either conceal vital information or fold in the middle of the bar code, which I don’t like to do because it might interfere with the cashier’s scanning the coupon.
Am I missing a trick? Or maybe all baseball card holders are not created equally? On your video (which I viewed but couldn’t hear because my computer lacks speakers), your binder looks like it has some pretty big coupons tucked into those slots. My slots are 2½ inches wide by 3¾ inches high.
Robin
Re: How do you organize your coupons?
March 2, 2009 - 4:17pm — raleigh13It's just my husband and I, so we're not buying with the volume and consistency that many of you are ... but thought I'd throw in my 2 cents to show that doing this in a more "low-key" way is still worth it. This doesn't have to be an "all or nothing" habit. Am I right? There's only one Sue Stock ;-)
I clip coupons each Sunday for the items I KNOW that we routinely buy. Then I place them in baseball card display pages. I only have 3-5 pages going and it's basically 3 categories: food, health & beauty, cleaning & paper goods.
I have a single sheet protector for all the oversized coupons and offers that typically come in the mail.
I have a large wallet in my car that holds all the frequent buyer, shopper discount cards, etc.
If I know we're out of something or about to run out, if I know I'm going to hit Target or a certain grocery store -- I'll pull the applicable coupons and put 'em in my purse.
I rarely peruse the grocery inserts or Sue's masterful spreadsheet: we really just use coupons in the moment when we actually need to buy something. (No stockpile.)
I spend maybe 20+ minutes per week doing this and really enjoy it!
Re: How do you organize your coupons?
March 2, 2009 - 2:19pm — magsmomI'm interested in seeing the replies here, 'cause I could certainly use some help. My current coupon "organization" system consists of me remembering to cut out coupons most weeks, then shoving them willy-nilly into my organizer until triples come around, at which point I sort through and pick my top-20 for a triples shop. I do usually manage to remember and keep separate coupons for products I actually use a lot, so that I can use them when I do my regular grocery shopping.
I like the idea of using a three-ring binder for coupons, but (a) it seems like a lot of work to keep on top of them, and (b) I can't imagine hauling a binder to the store, in addition to two kids, a diaper bag, the reusable grocery bags and whatever else I happen to be carrying at the moment. That's why my coupons are stuffed into an (organizationally challenged) coupon pocket file.
Re: How do you organize your coupons?
March 2, 2009 - 11:40am — jenncsuI have a two part system. I cut out coupons each Sunday for the items I know I will buy and put them by category in a 3 ring binder using baseball card display pages. Then I put the inserts with the remaining coupons in a file folder with the date on it, and stick the folder in a file cabinet. Sometimes family members give me their coupon inserts, and I add those to the folder too. Then, when I go shopping, I take the binder. When I read Sue's "Wednesday Deals" blog entry, I can pull coupons I need for sales from both the binder and the file folders using the database. Having the file folder system allows me to keep coupons even if I didn't anticipate buying that item when I cut out my coupons. Also, when I need duplicate coupons for a sale, I can easily pull them using the database and extra inserts. I have been using this system for about a year, and I spend about 20 minutes on Sundays organizing the coupons with an additional 45 minutes or so on Wednesdays preparing to shop.