Also, how do you organize your coupons? I was going through my coupons yesterday trying to find a way to get in control of the paper mess. (One of my biggest pet peeves) I decided I would go through my coupons as soon as they came and the ones I KNOW I will use cut those out and put in my binder, then date the insert so when one of the above websites have sweet deals on something I would like but don't buy often I can find the coupon without having to cut every coupon I get.
What are your ideas, tips, advice?
3 comments:
OH man! This one is a toughy. I am a couponer too and it's rough. I've tried the hanging file folder method and that's great if you are really good about writing the dates on the fronts of your coupon packets AND then filing them in order...but sometimes finding that coupon you want after isn't as easy or fast. I switched to the binder method because I found that I can keep ALL my coupons and gift certificates in there. I use the baseball card protectors you can find in the front of the store at Walmart for cheap and then those sticky tabs on each of those to categorize Meats, dairy, etc. I also like the binder method because sometimes I suck at planning ahead (okay a lot) and if I already have everything cut and categorized then I don't have to cut at the store. Just open binder, flip to the section I need and viola, there's the coupon ready to go. I use www.hotcouponworld.com to search coupons (it's a world-wide site so they're not always in MY coupons but still has printables available on occasion), and www.hip2save.com for another couponing site. I use a few since they don't always all have the same stuff. A lot of them (I know F2D does it) does a little Thank you blurb at the bottom of a post and if you click on that person's link you can see if that blog is something you're interested in following. Just an idea.
Good luck. I'd love to know if you find out something more useful and/or time conscious.
Lisa
lisarae2.0@gmail.com
A friend of mine is a really good couponer and has done it for years. She told me her system and I did it for awhile. I have tried couponing a bit here and there and have always given up. Her system was by FAR the easiest (I still don't do it much, mostly just for toiletry items).
What she does is each week when she gets the newspaper she pulls out the red plum and smart source inserts. Then you write the date on the top of the whole RP or SS packet and file the whole pack in a plastic sheet together. Then if you go to www.grocerysmarts.com you choose your State and grocery store. Each item is given a star rating for how good of a deal it is. Under the coupon index it will say RP 1/30, meaning get that coupon out of the Red Plum insert that came on 1/30. Hope that made sense.
It was WAY easier than filing them by category, or expiration date. I would just pull up that list each week, see what was a good deal and then clip those coupons. Then every 3 months they go back through the start of the file and throw away the old packets where things have expired.
Also I liked to look at couponmom.com, same idea but the list was sortable so it helped when I was looking for specific items. The grocerysmarts has all the Utah stores and couponmom does not.
Hope any of that helped. Good Luck!
I use to do coupons when my family was young, but that's in the day when stores would have double coupon day and make it worth your while. These days, I won't even clip a coupon unless-
1) I will absolutely use it because I already buy the product and
2) it is AT LEAST a dollar off.
I find that I save money by shopping Costco for meats and produce and Wal-Mart for everything else. I also try to shop when I am full. I am more apt to stick to my list. :)
Good luck and have fun learning. I'll bet there are plenty of baby type coupons that make it worth your while.
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