How do you organize your coupons that you are using at the store to keep your shopping experience less stressful? I carry an accordion style folder and it has a section for each store.
If you are new to Couponing, you might want to take a moment to read more in my Getting Started Couponing series. It will teach you how to coupon like I do!
I use a large 3-ring binder with baseball card pages. I use dividers to sort coupons by type – frozen food, dairy, cereal, snacks, toiletries, etc. I also have a section to hold coupons I clip for my mother in law (I do her grocery shopping and try to save her a bit of $$ with coupons also). The dividers are the kind with a large pocket, which I use for the occasional HUGE coupon. I make my list up in advance and get out all the coupons I will need and put them in some extra pages I have up at the front of the binder. I do take the binder along because I often come across unadvertised specials or clearance items for which I have coupons. About once a month I go through the binder and pull all the expired coupons, and note all the about-to-expire ones (and make sure any good ones get used before they expire!)
I have a separate notebook for restaurant and other coupons – I use photo pages for those since so many restaurant coupons are very large. I try to keep that one by the front door so we grab it on the way out (we have two cars so I can’t just leave it in the car, which would be easier!)
I use a 4″ binder with photo page inserts. I have it divided into section. The front has the stores I shop most (CVS, Walgreens, Winn Dixie and Food World) Each store has a full size plastic page protector. I put my list in the page protector for that store as well as any coupons that are store coupons and any coupons that match my list. Then, I just have to take everything out of that page protector when I get to the store and I have my binder if I happen across something else!
I use the extra envelops we get with our bills. I write down my list on the outside and stick my coupons for that store inside. I still take my small binders in with me in case there is something on clearance, but most of my coupons are ready inside the list.
I use a binder in alpha order and divided for stores, with their coupons. I also have a 3 prong school folder for Resturants, fast food etc that i keep in my car at all times. I put my coupons in ziploc bags with the store name on them with the coupons I plan to use. My shopping list also on a excel spread sheet that tells me the retail amount, then mgr coupons, store coupons, then double with the final price with tax. For walgreens and CVS I do two transactions for the rewards first then a second trans paid for with my rewards. My 16 yr has helped/helping me find my grove so to speak since I am new at this.
I actually prepare the coupons I need for that store and organize them by aisle and I have my list organized by aisle as well. That way if there is a product that’s not available, I just pull the coupon, stick it in my purse to go back into my binder at home and keep going.I don’t take my binder with because I use a clipless method and I leave my inserts whole. I may miss out on something here and there, but I save my sanity because I have a screaming 2 year old who doesn’t want to be there. I can get a cart full and get in and out of the store in 15 minutes.
I have my grocery list on excel sheet and I am a believer the longer you are in a store the more you spend. I never take my full coupon binder to the store only the ones I have picked to use based on sales or expiring. I usually calculate dollar amount I am spending to stay in budget. I have it organized by store with food and paper seperate for each store. If find something on sale I don’t have a coupon back, I live 5 minutes away and I can go back for that item.
i do the accordion style as well.
when the store ads come i make my list and as i go i pick out my coupons from the different categories i have them filed under in the accordion folder (breakfast, household, beauty, food) and put the my store file slots in the back of the accordion file (target, wally, wags).
I take my binder with me everywhere just incase I run in to a nice clearance deal while shopping! I use envelopes for each store and write my list on the front and how many coupons I have for each item. I also write my OOP total. Makes it so much easier at the register!
I have two photo albums with those “baseball card pages” in them. One whole book is for food, the other, non-food. Each is broken down into categories that I shop the most, with a blank page in the very front for speciality coupons like Target’s & Publix’s coupons where you get a gift card when you buy xxx. (I also go through and when I have coupons for the xxx that I have to buy on those speciality coupons and I put them in the slots next to the speciality coupons, so I can really see what I have and what I need. :)
I bought a photo album binder from target with dividers set up in the order of the aisles at my Kroger (where I shop the most). The first few pages have spots for FREE coupons, Target, Publix, ECBs, etc.
But I refuse to cut out EVERY coupon…it takes way too long!! so I only cut out the ones I think there’s a chance I will use and the rest of the inserts I keep in a binder at home organized by the date of the paper so I can find them easily if there’s a good deal somewhere.
I use a binder. actually it’s a photo album that is bursting at the seams! At the front I have envelopes taped inside that are labelled with the different stores I go to. I have envelopes for wal-mart, food lion, CVS and Rite Aid. I have slots inside for Dollar General and Target because I don’t go there as often. In those envelopes I keep store coupons, ECBs, and all the coupons I’m using that week.