Showing posts with label freebies and coupons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label freebies and coupons. Show all posts

Monday, January 18, 2010

Maximize Your Coupon Savings

I'd never really focused much on using coupons until recently. Before I would always have the coupons in an envelope or folder and sift through them through the store. Sometimes I'd find a usable one, but most times they'd expired long before I pulled them out.

So, when I decided to get serious about clipping coupons I decided I needed a better way to organize them. I went on e-bay and looked up coupon organizers, and found a style that I thought would work well for me. Then I went to my local office supply store and bought everything I needed to make my own for about $20 less than I'd have spent on e-bay. Now every week I bring my little binder with me, set it in the little compartment in the cart, open it up and leaf through it as I shop. When I find a coupon, I pull it out and stick it in a designated spot.

Start by purchasing a three ring binder that is enclosed in a case (being an old Trapper Keeper gal, this was sort of fun). The one I bought has a little pocket in the front, which is where I keep my grocery list.
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Then, purchase plastic dividers that hold baseball cards. They come in packages of 9 or so and one package is enough for my needs. Some people divide their coupon books with labels (e.g., personal care, dairy, cereal) but I don't find the need to do that. I do arrange them so that I have dairy, cereal, condiments, etc but with only nine pages it's not that tough to keep track of what's where.

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If you purchase a binder that includes little pockets, you can use these to store rebate forms, receipts, gift cards and other similar items. I carry around a small pair of scissors, a pen and a calculator (it makes it easier to tell whether you're getting a deal or not).

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Since using this binder to organize my coupons, I use coupons a lot more frequently and usually save between 15% and 20% on my weekly grocery bill. I can also pull out ones that have expired each time I put new ones in. Although you need to invest a little cash up front, this system will pay for itself in very short order.