Organizing coupons

[fidgiegirl]

DH is getting into clipping coupons. I have never been in love with them but since he is clipping and leaving them all over the house I feel we have to have some way to organize and, of course, use them.

I was annoyed because we stopped at a grocery store that isn't our normal and picked up a bunch of cereal and I got home and saw we could have saved an additional $2-3 with the coupons we had, but we didn't know it and didn't have them along.

How do you do it?

[Gina]

I used to do that, but no longer do. In the height of my couponing (which was never as much as the real pros), I had a special little wallet/velcro thingie designed specifically for them. It was a mini file with labeled card-stock dividers for easy alphabetic filing and finding. Cereal, cheese, meats, detergents, etc.

I kept it in my purse, and would bring it into the house when I was clipping/filing the coupons. If I was going to the store, I would go through them all to refresh my memory. I'd also check the dates and put to the front things close to expiration, and toss those I realized I'd never use - just to keep it all easier. And of course take advantage of double coupon days. Not sure if those still exist.

[kib]

I don't buy much that would be couponed. But for the things I know I will buy, I tack them on our bulletin board and peruse the board before going shopping. For certain things like bread, I clip them together with a paperclip and tack the clip to the board. "Bread" is on my shopping list, so when I'm standing there in the bread aisle I'll pull out the clipped packet and take a look. The bulletin board uses a lot more space than a little wallet, but it helps me a lot to have the visual.

[Dhiana]

They do make little accordian folders specifically for coupons w/each file labeled by item type. It's only about 8-10 pockets with labels such as Cereals, Cleaning Products, Pastas, etc...

I've seen them at the dollar store sometimes but you could easily do the same thing with several small envelopes inside a larger envelope.
Before I go to the store, I have a list of what I need, check the grocery flyers and also check the coupons. Put the list and the coupons for those items in a single envelope and go. That way I don't buy extra stuff just because I have a coupon. It takes time and practice but when you start seeing the savings add up that becomes a real motivator :)
Dhiana

[Azure]

I use coupons but I am not a super couponer either. I keep them in a binder inside clear trading card holders. You know what I mean the kind my boys used to keep their Pokemon cards in. I like that I can actually see things better at just a glance.