I have always been a couponer. In fact I have been made fun of for having a coupon for everything. But in the past, I just went through the Sunday inserts and clipped what I thought I would really use. Now, this mentality has completely gone out the window. Because many times the things that are free after a coupon are items/brands I wasn't using. But hey, I can use Colgate toothpaste if it's free! I now have an accordian folder like this...
and I save all of the coupon inserts as a whole insert. When I receive the inserts, I label in black sharpie what the date was it came in the newspaper. They are organized in chronological order and very easy for me to pull out when a hot item is on sale.
If you haven't done this with past inserts, the date is 0n the binding of the front page in very tiny print. Also one time my baby got into some of my coupons and mixed them up. I had no clue which was which. I just went over to www.pinchingyourpennies.com {one of my favorite sources} and clicked on the coupon list on the top. The coupons are all listed alphabetically and I was able to figure out which coupon went in which insert.
I bet you are asking why??? How in the world are you going to be able to find the coupons you need? Well every blog, message board, website and group that I go to refers to your coupons by the day they were delivered with your paper, just like I did in my Lysol and Danimals posts. This has simplified my life greatly to organize this way.
Now you're asking, but what if I just want to use my coupons and it isn't linked to an amazing sale? If I am going grocery shopping for things I need right that moment and I can't wait for an amazing sale to come up, I can always go to the pinching your pennies coupon list referred to above and scroll down to see if there are any coupons on the items I need. Although sometimes I end up just buying the generic brand if it is cheaper**.
**In this case, I staple my coupon back in it's insert so I can use it at a future sale.
Finally... for my coupons to local stores, dry cleaning, restaurants, etc, I have a small accordian coupon booklet that I keep in my purse for easy access. The big file stays in my car for whenever I need to grab it...
and I save all of the coupon inserts as a whole insert. When I receive the inserts, I label in black sharpie what the date was it came in the newspaper. They are organized in chronological order and very easy for me to pull out when a hot item is on sale.If you haven't done this with past inserts, the date is 0n the binding of the front page in very tiny print. Also one time my baby got into some of my coupons and mixed them up. I had no clue which was which. I just went over to www.pinchingyourpennies.com {one of my favorite sources} and clicked on the coupon list on the top. The coupons are all listed alphabetically and I was able to figure out which coupon went in which insert.
I bet you are asking why??? How in the world are you going to be able to find the coupons you need? Well every blog, message board, website and group that I go to refers to your coupons by the day they were delivered with your paper, just like I did in my Lysol and Danimals posts. This has simplified my life greatly to organize this way.
Now you're asking, but what if I just want to use my coupons and it isn't linked to an amazing sale? If I am going grocery shopping for things I need right that moment and I can't wait for an amazing sale to come up, I can always go to the pinching your pennies coupon list referred to above and scroll down to see if there are any coupons on the items I need. Although sometimes I end up just buying the generic brand if it is cheaper**.
**In this case, I staple my coupon back in it's insert so I can use it at a future sale.
Finally... for my coupons to local stores, dry cleaning, restaurants, etc, I have a small accordian coupon booklet that I keep in my purse for easy access. The big file stays in my car for whenever I need to grab it...
1 comment:
Wow... you are amazing. This blog is exactly what I needed... I guess I need to get the newspaper though if I want to start collecting coupons.
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