I am no longer using the binder method that I was using to store all of my coupons. It became too time consuming to keep up on and I didn't want to "burn out" on couponing since I'm getting such great deals, so I abandoned this system of organization.
I have recently been filing my inserts whole and only clipping coupons I know I will use before each shopping trip. I no longer have all of my coupons at hand to use them when I find a great deal I wasn't planning on, but I also don't spend very much time clipping and organizing my coupons any more.
There are definitely pros and cons to each system and right now since I seem to be short on time, I'm using the most time friendly way to organize mine. Don't get stuck thinking that you have to stick with your system of organization if it isn't working for you - if you need to change it, do so and make your life easier!
How do you store/organize your coupons?
See my post here for ideas on different ways that you can organize your coupons
Hi, I have my coupons in an envelope. I use only
ReplyDeleteinternet coupons so I don't have many, but still
I have a question for you. How do you make sure that your coupons get actually used? Sometimes a cashier will miss some. I'm not saying they do it on purpose, the coupons are probably stuck together or something. But it's happened to me and I found out only after I checked the receipt and was too embarassed to do anything about it.
You must go shopping with hundreds of coupons so I hope you could give me some advice. Thank you.
J.
I do shop with lots of coupons and I find that when I get them ready to give to the cashier, if I separate like coupons they tend to all get scanned. So I will put an internet coupon between insert coupons - to kind of help separate them better and prevent them from being skipped.
ReplyDeleteI also count my coupons before I get to the register and then actually count in my head the beeps the register makes when the cashier is scanning them (I know it is a little excessive :)) but then I can tell right away whether they were all scanned or not.
I have had several coupons not scanned and not even commented on it because I don't want to be that coupon girl that is the pain in the butt in the cashiers eyes. I try to be friendly and low key when checking out!
I meant to add, that if you are using only internet coupons, you can sort of fan them out or fold every other one a little bit so they don't tend to stick together as much!
ReplyDeleteI also just have my whole inserts dated in a folder. I keep my internet coupons with receipts in another folder and go through them more frequently.
ReplyDeleteThe grocery game has a coupon tracker that I check to see what coupons are expiring. I also check this same coupon tracker if I'm going to be buying "need" items just in case there is a coupon for that item, since I don't really know what coupons I have.
I agree with thrifty mom, I fan out my coupons and that has seemed to help with getting them all scanned...or you might be able to help hand them over to the cashier as she scans them depending on how many you have.
I am still sticking with the binder system. It works well for me as I just put aside 1 hour each Sunday to clip all the coupons for products I KNOW I would use and then store them in my binder. It is a bit more time consuming (as I have to go through about every 2-3 weeks to pull all the expired ones) -but seems to be easier for me because when I find a good deal - i quickly turn to that section of my binder and see if i have the coupon - instead of sorting through several pages of inserts. Once I get my Sunday circulars - I then pull those coupons out of my binder and move to a small coupon organizer I carry in my purse - sorted by stores. Those are the coupons i will use that week.
ReplyDeleteI most definitely agree that everyone has a system that works best for them and their schedule. Thank you for all your posts! I read your site daily!! :-)
Thank you for your advice. I'll try folding every
ReplyDeleteother one a little. When I fan them out, the cashier usually puts them all in a neat pile.
But your little trick sounds great.
Thank you again.
J.