Coupon System = Saving money

Organization is the key to successfully using a coupon system—whether that is a binder, container, or envelope—and it’s the key to saving money. The truth is, most people never think about how they are going to organize those coupons and then wonder why they haven’t been saving money at the grocery store. Let’s break down the key steps to organizing those coupons and have you ready for that next sale in just minutes a day.

Couponing Tips the Coupon Queens Use

1. Create a coupon wish list by going through the brands that you already use, and the products you buy weekly. When you stick to only one brand, put it down, but when you don’t care about brand loyalty just list the item (like “toilet paper” instead of “Cottonelle”).
2. Scour the Sunday paper for those Sunday coupons and always pull those inserts out. Subscribe to the newsletters at your favorite brands’ websites and be the first to know about their printable coupons.  Do your own search for printable coupons—but only print the ones you know you will use!
3. Concentrate first on the brands you know you will use—search for grocery coupons on products you buy already, or which are on your own coupon wish list.  Quickly search through inserts for these products and clip those coupons first. When you choose printable coupons always check for these first and make sure they are worth your ink.
4. Decide if you want to organize each coupon alphabetically by product name or if you want to organize them by categories.  If you are thinking of categories, think about the layout of your favorite store and list categories similarly (like pastas and rice, or prepared foods).
5. Put a cheat sheet together to help you remember how you are organizing each type of coupon, if you choose to use categories.  For instance, you’ll never find the peanut better if you are looking for it under prepared foods but you decided to list it under the kids’ food category instead. Write or type the list on a small piece of paper and add it to the beginning of your system.
6. Most folks have a favorite way to organize their coupons, either by using a container of some kind (even a shoebox!), a binder, or a trusty envelope (easy to lose and not so trusty!). In another series of articles we’ll go through all your different options, but if you are just starting out you don’t need anything fancy.  Consider a basic organizer you can get at any store, which looks like a mini accordion file.
7. Spend a few minutes every day either clipping, filing, printing, or otherwise getting your system into order—this is important!  You need to spend a little time each day, otherwise you will stare at a mess of coupons and tell yourself if isn’t worth it!Saving money is always worth it!
8. Test your system out and refine as needed.