There’s nothing worse than paying full price for an item and later finding a coupon for it at the bottom of your purse.
Savings is savings, whether it’s 50 cents, a couple of dollars or even more. Establishing an efficient system for organizing coupons saves you money, frustration and buyer’s remorse. In addition to mobile apps that let you organize and save coupons like the ValPak Mobile App, here are some organization hints for the weekly ad coupons filling up your mailbox. Follow a few helpful tips to keep those coupons from ever reaching the bottom of your purse.
- Don’t Clip:
Many serious couponers have elaborate systems including binders, boxes and envelopes they lug into the store for each shopping trip. Queen Bee Coupons recommends ditching the binder for a simpler method. Instead of clipping every potential coupon, file them by date of expiration. Then, once you have a shopping list in hand you can easily find and clip the coupons you need without the burden of transporting 100 coupons you don’t want or need on that particular day.
- Use a Binder:
- Accordion File:
- Set Aside Time to Organize:
If you don’t mind a little organizational work before you make your list or go to the store, a coupon binder will keep everything in its place. The nice thing about a binder is that you can customize it to suit your needs. You can organize coupons by date, by category, by store or alphabetically. Use baseball card organizer sheets with individual pockets to store coupons individually. Before you get to the store, pull the coupons you intend to use and place them in a front pocket of the binder. Binders are portable and easy to bring into the store with you. When you spot an item that isn’t on your list, you can easily search for a coupon within the binder.
Wallet-sized accordion file folders keep all of your coupons at your fingertips while shopping. You can organize your file any way that works for you: alphabetical, by category or by date. The Stretching a Buck website recommends this system for anyone who doesn’t have a large coupon stash. You don’t have to mess with a huge binder or a non-portable filing system, but you can still have easy, organized access to all of the coupons you might need.
Regardless of the method you choose, it’s important to realize that organizing your coupons takes time. Set aside weekly, bi-weekly or monthly time to clip and organize coupons. Over time, your process will become more streamlined and faster. Taking the time before you shop to organize your coupons will save you more money once you get to the store because you won’t miss out on any deals. Enlist your family to help to spend quality time together while teaching your kids good money management skills.
Most importantly, choose a coupon organizing method that works for you. Don’t feel like you have to do it one particular way. Everyone has different personalities and different needs, so the best option is to choose a method you are comfortable with.