She Works Hard For The Money (part two)

Sorry for the delay in the next post… My momma took us (hubbs, bro, and me) on a cruise to the Bahamas this past week!  So, I've been away from the technology and soaking in the rayzzz!  

But, more on that on a different post ;)

The second section of time that I spend with couponing is clipping them.  There's really not much skill to this… It's just knowing what coupons you should clip and how to organize them.  I've seen many different ways that couponers like to do this process, and at the end, I will share links to some of them.  For now, however, I will show you what I do.  It's what makes sense to me and works for me.  Same as before… take it, tweak it, make it work for you!

CLIP COUPONS

The first thing I will say is that there is no point in clipping every coupon you see.  If you will never use it, don't waste your time.  Clipping can be monotonous, especially if you get four or more papers each week.  

This is probably to go without saying, but the first thing I do is sit down and pull out all of the coupon booklets.  I don't keep the weekly ads or the paper itself.  (Tip: If you're having a rough week, it may be wise to keep the Comics section.  Always cheers me up!)My recycling bin gets a nice little present every week.

Next, I organize the coupon booklets by type, keeping in mind that a SmartSource from the Miami Herald may be a little different than a SmartSource from the Sun Sentinel.  I go through each booklet and clip ONLY the coupons that I think I might use in the future.  They may not always be the brands I'm used to using, but if it's a good substitute, I'll clip it. Once you've been couponing for awhile, you tend to get used to knowing which products will go on sale regularly, and which ones rarely go on sale.  If I come across a product that I don't usually use, and I don't recall ever seeing Publix having a special deal on it, I don't clip it at that time.  (Y'all, this part isn't rocket science, so I apologize if you're thinking, "Kelsey… we are not first graders, we get it… Clip what you use, don't clip what you won't use.")

Even though I don't clip every coupon, I don't throw away those booklets just yet.  You never know when a great deal might come along for a product that's actually a money MAKER, and you should go ahead and buy it and donate it to a worthy cause.  (Like your husband's intern who eats like a college student… which he pretty much is.  He can use the extra love!) I date the outside and put it in a sleeve in one of my handy dandy binders!

I have two binders.  I keep SmartSource and Publix coupon booklets in one, and RedPlum and P&G booklets in the other.  P&G only has monthly coupons booklets, so there are never more than two in my binder at a time.  Publix has coupon booklets that usually last for a couple of weeks, and there are usually no more than two of them at a time either.  SmartSource and RedPlum have coupons that expire at different dates that are usually a couple of months out.  I keep these booklets until all of the coupons inside have expired… just in case.

These binders are a new development.  They work for me now, but that doesn't mean they are the best solution.  However, it's better to have them in order here than to have a gigantic pile stacked up with them all mixed up!  (Because that's what I had for the longest time… and that was just plain annoying!)

Finally,  I take my clipped coupons and place them in my coupon binder.  The one I use is simple: 1 1/2 inch 3 ring binder, plastic pocket sleeves. Everyone organizes theirs differently.  Here are some options:

-Alphabetical order by brand name
-Alphabetical order by product type
-Categories (frozen, dairy, canned goods, household, etc…)
-Expiration dates (probably hardest to keep track of)

I even know someone who knows her grocery store so well that she organizes hers by aisle!  She knows the exact order of each so that she can move through the store and coupon in order!  THAT'S dedication.

I organize mine alphabetically by brand.  I haven't added the dividers yet… That's my next step.  This way, when I'm looking for the coupons to match my deals, I don't have to think about what type of product it is.  I just need to know the brand.  Once again, it's what works for me.  Your brain may sort items differently.

I don't really keep them in ABC order within the brands themselves.  As long as all of the C's are together… I'm good with that.  Coupons are constantly coming in and out of the binder as they are being used or expiring, so I don't want to be too tedious.  It won't be worth my time, ya know?

Here are some other binder organizing links that may help you:

Penny Pinchin' Mom
Ultimate Coupon Binder
My Coupon Expert

Really, you can just go to Google or Pinterest and type in something like "How to organize a coupon binder," and you will get a bazillion options.  Literally.  A bazillion.

So that's step two!  It is really very simple once you decide what system you want to use.  I still don't have it exactly how I want it, but I'm still getting great deals and saving money… Soooo, it can really only get better from here, right?!