OBTAINING COUPONS
Here are some ways to obtain coupons:
- Inserts in your local paper
- Purchase inserts or coupons online
- Coupon booklets located at stores
- Tearpads and Blinkies located at stores
- Peelies on products
- Printable coupons at Redplum, SmartSource, and Coupons.com NOTE: Typically the limit for printing is 2 per COMPUTER... you can print from various computers to getmore coupons or have your friends pint them for you.
- Printable coupons from manufacturer websites
- Electronic coupons from Cellfire, Kroger, and PGEsaver
- Rebate offers that allow you to mail in a receipt for a coupon book for a manufacturer
- Signing up for various manufacturer sites allows you to get coupons via e-mail.
There are many other ways, so always be on the lookout for coupons!
ORGANIZING COUPONS
Here are the most efficient ways I have found to organize my coupons and get the most savings:
GET MULTIPLE COUPON INSERTS EACH WEEK:
I don't necessarily mean that you need to go out and buy 10 newspapers each week (unless you can get them very cheaply). When I first started, I would buy 2 double papers each week; which was costing me $6/week and I ended up with 4 sets of inserts. My current method is to purchase inserts in bulk from Mad Coupons. You will receive an e-mail on Saturday's with the preview of exactly which coupons they will have in their inserts... if you want to order them, respond to the e-mail and pay via paypal. You will receive ten SETS of inserts for $10.50 shipped. I currently split this cost with a friend and we each end up with 5 inserts for $5.25. If you are interested in getting on her mailing list, send her an e-mail madcoupons @ live.com (remove spaces). If there are no inserts or there is absolutely nothing you have any interest in, skip that week. I will almost always buy the inserts if there are any because at some point in the next couple months, something in those inserts will be a great deal and I will wish I had them. I don't honestly have a single insert that I haven't clipped coupons out of. There are other ways of getting inserts as well, such as e-bay (search for uncut inserts), friends and family, coupon trading sites, etc. I have had times where the regional inserts Mad Coupons received didn't have the coupons I wanted, so I purchased them on e-bay instead... I can still typically get 5 sets of inserts for around $6 shipped on e-bay. By having multiple inserts, you have a better opportunity to add to your stockpile for future savings.
ORGANIZING YOUR COUPONS:
NOTE: There are many different methods out there if you search online, this is what I have found works best for me. I have also used the just the little coupon file (I have so many coupons now that I could never fit them all in there!) I have also tried the binder method and found it difficult to find what I needed and it was such a pain to sort all the coupons into those little baseball card slots and make sure the expiration date and value were visible.
So here's what I do... I have 3 separate coupon files. I have found this to be the most effective format for me. I do NOT take all my coupons to the store everytime I go. I plan my shopping trips very carefully and only take the coupons I need. I will occasionally miss out on a clearance deal, but I'm okay with that because I know there is always another deal to come. And, remember, if you see something on clearance that you KNOW you have a coupon for at home... buy it at the clearance price and the next time you're in the store, bring your receipt and the coupon to get the value of the coupon reimbursed to you. Here are the 3 ways I organize my coupons:
- I do not cut the coupons out of my inserts. I go through the 5 inserts and put all of the like pages together. I then staple all the like pages together (in a place that won't attach the staple to any of the coupons). Then, I write the date and which insert it was from on the front of each stapled set. For example, write 7/25/10 SS. It's important to date each set, so if one gets separated, you know where it needs to go. Also, be sure to write the date somewhere that there are no coupons on either side. Once you do that, put a binder clip at the top of each set from each insert and file it by the date. You can purchase the same filing box that I have pictured (large, accordian file... holds 5-6 months of inserts at a time) at Walmart for $12.44. For a long time, I was just keeping the inserts whole and writing the date on the first one and then clipping them together... this works just as well, but my new method allows me to be able to clip 5 coupons at once without having to flip through 5 inserts and clip 5 times. Below is an example of my numbered inserts and my file. This makes it so much easier to find those inserts from all the ad matchup sites.
- I have 2 smaller accordian files for internet printables, blinkies, tearpad coupons, etc. I have them filed pretty specifically; which is why I have 2 of them. You could probably get away with just 1 if your filing system contains broader categories.
- I have a clear plastic file envelope that holds all of the booklets I find, All You magazines (lots of coupons in those... only available at Walmart or by suscription), rebates, etc. When I have multiple coupon books, I clip those together so I always know how many I have when I'm looking for coupons. I bought this at Dollar Tree for $1 and, as you can tell, could probably use another one since mine won't even snap shut!
Using this method has really streamlined creating my shopping list because I know exactly where all my coupons are.
CREATING MY SHOPPING LIST:
When I go shopping, my lists are always very detailed. I want to make sure I have all the information I need on one shopping list without having to dig through the coupons to get information. I also make sure I know what my total before tax should be, so I can tell if something is wrong (i.e. they forgot to scan a coupon, a coupon didn't scan properly, something rang up wrong, etc). Since I am usually shopping with a 3 year old and a 10 month old, I don't typically have the ability to watch the screen as they scan everything (I'm too busy trying to re-direct my son from the candy!), so having all this on my list really helps me. It also allows me to make sure I'm buying the correct item that is on sale by having the price it should be right on my list and double checking it with the tag on the shelf.
Here's an example of how my list might look:
4 Kraft Mayo BOGO $3.99 2 $1/2 mq's (manufacturer coupons) Total: $1.99
4 Cheerios BOGO $4.69 2 $1/2 mq's Total: $2.69
Total: $4.67 + tax
Not only does this help me, but it also makes me focus on what I'm doing and not make impulse buys. You can also use the shopping list tool on Southern Savers or the spreadsheet list tool on I Heart Publix. While I think these are both great tools, it's easier for me to write out my own list with all my own details.
I hope this helps you in organizing your coupons to make things easier to find when you need them!
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