Coupon Organizing 101
Any successful couponer will tell you that the key to becoming a successful couponer is all about getting organized. Couponing has been around for years but recently it’s taken on a whole new dimension. It’s become the latest craze. Men and women every where are converting their scrapbooking skills into useful couponing talents. The key to successful couponing is to get organized and here are some coupon organizing tips to get you started.
And, yes those little coupons really do add up and they can save the average household thousands of dollars every year. Clipping coupons is not all that complicated but it can take time and with just a little bit of planning you too can start saving 35% or more off of your grocery bill just by collecting and clipping coupons. The good news is coupons can easily be found and are available for a wide range of items from food, to clothing, to electronics and restaurants; you can start saving everywhere you go.
Follow these easy steps and discover firsthand how couponing can make a big difference on your budget. So are you ready? To get started you will need a copy of the coupons in Sunday’s newspaper, the store sales flyer from Wednesday’s newspaper, a pair of scissors, a note pad, a pen, a binder to hold your coupons and/or a filing box.
Once you have accumulated a batch of coupons, clear the kitchen table or find a space that works for you and start clipping. If you locate expired coupons or items that you know you’ll never use simply toss them.
Next, its time to start sorting, keeping for example all dairy products in one pile, cleaning supplies in another and frozen food in yet another. After the last coupon is clipped and placed in its pile you are now ready to file them in your binder or file box. Some people sort coupons alphabetically – cereals, cleaning supplies, dairy etc. If you know your store(s) well enough you could sort by isles, it’s simply personal preference.
Now grab your notepad and pen and begin creating your shopping list, you will need this to cross reference against the store sales flyer from your Wednesday’s paper. Begin looking for items on the sales flier checking them against the items on your shopping list, once you have done this you can then go through your coupons and find matches. For example if your shopping list called for laundry detergent and the store flier shows brand “b” is on sale and you locate a coupon for brand “b” than that is a match. At this point transfer that coupon into a new pile and keep these together so that they can be easily accessible. Now you are ready to go shopping.
Armed with your coupons, your shopping list and your wallet begin going down the aisles searching for the products that you have a coupon for. If you are unable to find an item that you have a coupon for ask the clerk where to locate it or if they do not any more left, ask for a rain check.
Once you get to the register, stand back and watch that grocery bill go down with each visit. That is all there is to it, it’s that easy. To read up more on couponing tips or to locate coupons here are a few sites that you might find useful. We use coupons, Bargain babe, and My Coupons.
Remember these are just the basic, be creative and have some fun. Couponing is not difficult but it does take some time and the more that you do it the easier and faster it becomes.