Coupon Organization

i have a small 3 ring binder and I use the clear baseball card inserts to slip the coupons in. Then I have a set of dividers labeled- frozen, refrig, household, baking, snacks. (I think thats it) Anyways it is very helpful and I usually just keep it in my car and update it on Sundays. Hope that helps. The wallet style did not work for me either.

What I have found works best for me is to keep them together in the insert they come in filed in a hanging file folder organized by the company that produced them (Smart Source, Red Plum, P&G). I then write the date they came out on the front and file them by date. If you look at the spine of the insert it has the date on them. I then use the Grocery Coupon Database (it is a look up of all vaild coupons from the inserts) at http://www.couponmom.com/index.php?cid=1 (you will need to register, opt out of getting promtional emails or you will get a lot of junk) to look up if I have any coupons for the items I am going to buy at the store after I make my list. Then I only have to take the coupons I need to the store. The only downside is for the last minute items you decide to buy. Couponmom.com also has Grocery Deals by State to where you can see how much you can save with specials at stores plus coupons (again it will tell you which insert to go to and the date it was published). Couponmom.com is free. :) Good luck.

Well mine is the cheapest and easiest. :-P

I use a hole punch and 1 medium size metal ring that pops open and closed, punching 1 hole in the coupon. Then I use 3x5 note cards as dividers on the ring for categories, I think I have 10 categories, and file the coupons by date in their groups. It is very easy to add, and you just rip out to use. and it is so small that it fits in any purse. Plus, it's easy to cull out the expired ones since they're in the front of their categories.

(You can use a hairband to hold it "shut" if your purse is very large or messy.)

I bought a package of 20 rings at OfficeMax because I also made a "Family Directory" out of 3x5 cards and use the ring system, it's so easy to update when just one card's (person's) info changes.

www.couponizer.com is an incredible system. It was recommended to me by one of my clients, and I LOVE it!

I have a friend who is a die-hard coupon user/saver. She is the QUEEN of saving money when she shops. She uses a binder filled with those plastic inserts - you know the ones that are sectioned into squares like for baseball cards or whatever. You can get em at walmart or office supply store. She just takes her binder with her and opens it up in the basket part of the buggy and goes on through. Shes got them completely organized for how she wants to shop.

I keep my coupons near the product they are replacing. For example, bathroom related items in a bathroom drawer. Baby coupons near the baby food. Paper towel coupons near the paper towels. When I am running low, I write it on my shopping list and put the coupon with the list.

Hey...
My friend makes a great coupon organizer called coup"on"the go. What i like best about it is that it is small enough to fit in your purse. (I did NOT want to be lugging a binder around when I grocery shopped!). Plus they are super cute!!! Check out her site... www.couponthego.blogspot.com
Also, I make my grocery list before I go (based on the ads and what I need) and pull my coupons out and just clip them together. That way all my coupons are ready to go when I check out. Good luck!

J.,

I too use the zipper type binder, however mine has zipper pockets on the outside along with a 4 divider file expander on the inside. I keep scissors and pens in the zipper pocket on the outside and adds in the file expander on the inside.

I use baseball card pages along with sheet protectors and photo sheets (the ones that hold 3-4x6 photos) since there are different size coupons.

My sections are divided as follows:
Pets
Frozen
Personal Care
Lunch meat/Hot dogs
Bread
Cleaning Products
Paper and wrap products (anything paper and things to wrap food in like plastic wrap or aluminum foil)
Canned Food
Condiments
Laundry
Candy
Dairy (this includes anything found in the dairy isle such as Pillsbury biscuits along with the normal dairy items)
Cereal/ fruit snacks (fruit roll ups etc.)
Spices/Oil Baking
Cookies/Crackers
Instant Boxed food (Hamburger Helper, Macaroni and Cheese, Au Gratin Potatoes, etc.)
Misc. (batteries, pasta, etc)
Restaurants

Each brand or style has it's own pocket which makes it easy while shopping.

I carry my coupon book in the car at all times and lay it on top of my purse in the sitting area of the buggy (keeps my purse safer too!) and flip the pages as I get to the isles. I keep one page protector in the very front so when I find a coupon I am going to use I slide the coupon in the page protector (no more loosing coupons!)

Something I learned awhile back is to clip any and all coupons of products I use and not just the brands I use regularly. For example, even though we do not use regular toothbrushes I started cutting out coupons for them. I found them on sale one time for $1. My coupons were for .75 off which brought them down to .25. I now have a supply of toothbrushes in case anyone stays the night and forgets theirs or I need one for cleaning a tight spot.

By carrying your coupon book in your car you will have it "just in case". One day I stopped at Kroger to waist some time since I was early picking up kids from school. I just walked up and down their isles looking at what was on sale. I end up purchasing 3 cans of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls, 2 Pillsbury Cresant rolls, 1 regular type Pillsbury can of rolls, one toothbrush, 2-4roll pkg of Contenelle (sp?) toilet paper, one can of dog food and only spent $1.43!

If you need any help or other ideas please feel free to contact me.

Good Luck!
J. P

I used the binder method, storing my Qs in baseball card holder pages but gave that up after my third baby was born a few months ago & just don't have the time to sit & clip them all. I've also tried using an envelope system, keeping two envelopes for each letter of the alphabet, one for food & one for non food. Then I'd clip & file each by manufacturer. That was easier than the binder method, since I wasn't having to slip Qs in & out of the slots.

What I do now is (I get four copies of the inserts each week) put each like page together, staple the four sheets together & put the pages in between the insert cover, mark the date & file away to be clipped as needed. So I'm cutting as I need now, rather than cutting them all every week. This works for me because I do The Grocery Game and they tell me which Q to use from insert X & date Y. If I was Qing on my own, I think I'd have to go back to binder so I could see what I had & what I didn't.

Even if you have no interest in taking part in The Grocery Game, the message boards there are a great source for tips on filing & managing Qs & you don't have to be a member to read.

I use a binder with a zipper. I think they used to call them trapper keepers? I bought clear sleaves used for baseball cards and stick on tabs to divide the sections up. I believe i got everything at office depot. Good luck

yourcouponbuddy dot com has a step by step method of organizing a binder that includes photos. The most important thing is that you always carry your coupons and can find them quickly at the store. I've found the binder method is the best!

Get some baseball card sheets and put your coupons in there by category. You can then place these in a 3 ring binder or get binder rings and use those. A little bulky, but very easy to see the coupons you have. You can get the sheets at Walmart.

When I was had core into coupons I used the binder method too, but now with 5 kids I have fallen out of it bc its so big & I always forgot it :O)

So now I bought a small photobook from Dollar general and use it bc it fits in my purse. As I am slowly rebuilding my stash I got a bigger one to hold envelopes in the pages.

I use an old wipes container. I found that dividers from a photo box are the perfect size and then I can have limitless options for new dividers without have to reorganize any plastic sleeves.

hi: The best way I have found to store them is to keep them in a three ring binder. I use the clear baseball card holders to store the coupons in. You can then flip thru them to see what you have. I use dividers to seperate my coupons into catagories. If I can help ya anymore just let me know.

Check this out.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Coupon-Organizer-I-Limited-Edition-Ca...

I bought a really cute accordian box at Staples for $7 and use that to store my coupons. I labeled the different files into categories. I like using this box (it's probably about 10" long and 9" tall) instead of the babseball card sheets because it holds those coupons that are a little larger or longer than most. Plus, it has a handle on it which makes it easily portable.