Coupons are being more widely used across Canada and the USA in this economy. In order to maximize your savings, it's best to find a way to organize your coupons which will work for you. Whichever way you decide to organize your coupons, ALWAYS keep the expiry dates organized too!
The following information was shared at our discussion forums by rutlandgrl:
COUPON BINDER
A coupon binder is not for everyone, but if you’re like me and have more coupons than you can count, I would suggest having one. It does take time to set up and organize but it is certainly time well spent.
Here are the supplies you will need:
- Large 3 Ring Binder (zippered is best)
- Baseball Card Sheets (9 pockets on each sheet)
- Sheet Protectors
- Calculator
- Pen
- Scissors
- Zippered Bag (with holes in it so you can put it in your binder)
- Dividers With Tabs
Now, you need to decide on your categories. You may want something like this:
- Food
- Pets
- Baby
- Beauty
- Health
- Misc.
Once you have figured your categories out, write them down on your divider tabs and put them in your binder. Then add maybe 2 or 3 of the baseball card sheets (you can add more later if you need to) each category. Now just add your coupons into the proper category. You can fit a few of them into each slot.
I suggest having some regular sheet protectors at the back of your book that hold the following:
- coupon policies
- over-sized coupons
- mail in rebate forms
- bonus point coupons
Put your calculator, pen and scissors into the zippered bag and put that at the back (or front) of your binder as well.
That’s it! You’re good to go!
How To Sort Your Coupons:
Alphabetically – Set up divider tabs or your envelopes from A-Z and file your coupons away. If you have a very good idea of all the coupons you currently have, this may be a good system for you.
By Expiry Date – Check the expiry dates on all of your coupons. Write down the dates on your divider tabs or envelopes and sort your coupons this way.
By Category – Sorting by category is the easiest, especially if you have allot of coupons and can’t always remember each and every one that you have. The most common categories are: health, beauty, pets, baby/kids, food, household, and misc. but you could always go more in depth and do something like this: food – cereal, food – meat, food – fruits & vegetables, beauty – makeup, beauty – hair care, etc. Once you’ve created your categories, just put your coupons in the categories that they belong.
Note: Make sure that you go through your coupons and weed out the expired ones at least once a month! This prevents the task from becoming overwhelming, and also prevents embarrassment at the store if you try to use an expired coupon.
Do I really have to carry my coupons with me EVERYWHERE I go?
I do, suggest bringing them with you anywhere you go IF you think it’s possible you may end up in a store that accepts coupons. A good tip for this is to make sure to keep your coupons in your purse or car with you so that if you do make that unexpected trip, your coupons are right there and you don’t miss out on a good deal!
Some people suggest only carrying the coupons you plan on using when you go shopping. This idea is fine and dandy, but I suggest carrying ALL of your coupons in case of unexpected deals. Many stores have items on sale that are not advertised in their flyers. You can also almost always find clearance racks at stores and you would miss out on those deals if you don’t have all of your coupons with you! What if you see Secret Deodorant on the clearance shelf for .99 and that item wasn’t in the flyer so you didn’t bring your .75 coupon for it? That means you miss out on this deal or pay the .99 for it instead of the possible .24 (because odds are, if you leave the store to go get your coupon, by the time you get back, someone will have already bought this clearance item).
OTHER IDEAS
1. Envelopes – For a beginner, I would definitely suggest using envelopes to organize your coupons. Just write the categories (food, pets, health & beauty, etc.) on them and stuff your coupons inside.
2. Accordion File – This is another great system for a beginner. These have tabs for you to make categories for your coupons. Just clip your coupons and put them in their respective categories
3. Coupon Binder – These are great if you have a ton of coupons. Simply purchase a large binder, some divider tabs and either baseball card protector sheets or plain paper protector sheets. Divide your coupons by categories with your divider tabs and place your coupons in the protector sheets. It’s also a good idea to carry a pair of scissors, pen & pencil and calculator with you when you shop!
Source
Thanks rutlandgrl for sharing these great coupon organizing tips plus others at FDR!
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