Couponing 101 - Get Organized

Day 4 - Get Organized

Now that you have started gathering coupons you will need to get ORGANIZED! This is the most important part of your couponing wealth. You will become very discouraged if you are not properly organized. You will see when your start accumulating so many coupons.

There are so many different ways to organize your coupons. We list a few methods:

• Binder Method - By catagory/By Week
• File Method
• Boxes
• Coupon Organizer

Binder method - Category

This is to organize your coupons by category. We have compiled a list if you prefer not to make your own. Click here. We use baseball card holders which are found at Walmart up front where the baseball cards are located and sell for around $5.44. We insert coupons in the 9 pockets on each page. This way you can quickly see what the product is, expiration, and amount all in one look. This is more time consuming at home. You will spend less time at the grocery store but if you shop with children I find this the best method. The upside of this method is that you can quickly go through your coupons at the grocery store. This is our preferred method.

Binder method - Weekly

This organizes your coupons by each week. Each week you put a date on every page of the inserts and then pull inserts apart and group by page. Then put each page in it's own page protector. This method allows you to clip as you go at the grocery store. Most coupon sites tell you which coupon to use with the date it came out, so you will be able to go to that week and flip through the pages until you find the one you need. This method works for some, because you can clip as you go at the grocery store. So, once you put your product in the cart, you cut the corresponding coupons and put them in a separate envelope for checkout. Also, you may elect to go to the coupon list on Pinching your pennies(which gives you an alphabetical listing of the coupons in your state) so you can have a master list of your coupons. This will enable you to look through the list find what your looking for and then go to corresponding week to clip the coupon. This method is not time consuming at home but you will need to allow for additional time at the grocery store for clipping.

If you choose to use either Binder Method be sure to use a binder that has a zipper enclosure. You don't want to loose those valuable coupons.

File Method
This organizes your coupons by week in a file box. This is the least amount of time up front. You get the coupon inserts place the date on the first page and then place in a file labeled with that corresponding date. Most coupon sites tell you which coupon to use with the date it came out, so here you will be able to go to that week and flip through the pages until you find the one you need. This method works for some. You do not have any sorting or clipping coupons you probably won't use. Here, you may elect to go to the coupon list on Pinching your pennies(which gives you an alphabetical listing of the coupons in your state) so you can have a master list of your coupons. The downfall to this is the time to prepare to go to the store. With the binder methods, you are able to go to the store on a whim. (not that we recommend going on a whim....always prepare).

Boxes
You can use anything from a carry all file box, shoe box, recipe box. This method is good, because you can choose a size that will work for you. You can select a size that will accomodate what you want. Then, use tab dividers to separate your categories or separate by the weekand then cut, clip and sort your coupons within each category. Make sure each index divider is tabbed so you can mark the sections.

Coupon organizer
These are great when you are just starting out and not have alot of coupons. You can shove this in your purse and always have them when you need them. The downside is that it doesn't hold many coupons and will become cumbersome when you begin to accumulate more coupons. It is also hard to see what coupons you have and find it tough to flip through in the store.

As you can see there are many different ways to organize your coupons. The best way is to pick out what works for you. Please submit any different ways to organize your coupons that you have found works for you. We love the creativity and to see what you can do.

OK, Ladies & Gentleman

Commitment!!!! Let's see it!!!!

That's it for today. You have completed series 4.

Check back tomorrow for the next class