Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

My coupon journey has progressed with lots of ups and downs. Initially, I picked meals to make and created my grocery list. Then if I had coupons for the items on my list, I would use them.

Realizing that I was not saving much money, I adjusted by skipping the big chain stores and shopping mostly at Aldi. This change lowered our grocery budget while using time wisely, and I stayed in this option for a couple of years.

After hearing a friend talk about getting personal care items for free from the drugstores, I began researching and learning how to pair coupons with sales and promotions.

I started with the Extra Bucks program at CVS for a few weeks, then  worked with the Register Rewards and Monthly Rebate Walgreens’ programs, and finally the video rewards and UP! program at Rite Aid about a month later.

Practicing and improving my techniques, I began seeing deep savings and decided to try these same techniques at the grocery store. Purchasing only the items on sale to stockpile our supply actually cost our family more upfront. I increased our grocery budget for 6 months as I made the adjustment. At about the 5-month mark, I began reaping the rewards and lowered our monthly food budget.

With our pantry and freezer stocked, I chose to shop the sales and then get needed, non-sale items at Aldi. I continue to use this system today and keep our budget to $80 per week for our family of 5. My next goal to saving more is making more items from scratch. This school year is too busy to start, but I have a goal for when we need to free up more wiggle room in our budget. 😉

Starting with coupons with a willingness to learn and adjust has brought our family to a point where we have lots of name-brand food items, a fully-stocked pantry and freezer, and plenty of options for menu planning without going over budget. Keeping those coupons organized has been another journey.

Thus far in our coupon-ology organizing series, I have shared how I began with a file box with individual coupons and then tried using a binder with full inserts. Today, I will share the method I find the most beneficial for me.

Part 2c: Notebooks with all coupons cut and filed

In following the same steps weekly to keep my coupons organized, I will take you with me via a pictorial tutorial as I organize my coupons into notebooks.

1. Gather my Supplies

• Newspapers

• Basket where I toss coupons from the week: store flyers, catalinas (usually red and white offers that print at the store’s register), coupons received by mail, and printable coupons.

• Scissors

• Notebooks

2. Retrieve Newspaper Inserts

Beginning with my Sunday paper (wrapped in green), I sift through the pages and remove the inserts. These are packets of coupons issued from SmartSource, Red Plum, and Proctor & Gamble.

Then, I sort through the Tuesday papers (wrapped in blue) that I collect from my neighbors. I place the inserts into piles by insert type, so Red Plum makes one pile and SmartSource another.

3. Separate Insert Packets

As you can see from the pictures, I like to work in a large space where I can spread out. When I separate the insert packets, I tear off the top page of the first packet and check for coupons.

If there are coupons I want to keep, then I place that sheet in the “keep” pile. If the page is just advertisements, then I place it in the “recycle” pile. I then place the remaining pages of the packet to the side.

With all the Tuesday’s inserts the exact same, I repeat this process for the entire stack of inserts. When I get to Sunday’s insert, I check it because the packet of coupons usually contains the same coupons but not in the same order. The front of one page may look the same, but the back is different. Due to differences, I usually keep my Sunday insert separate to match the pages correctly.

After the first page is in either the “keep” or “recycle” pile, then I just swipe the next page off the tops of the inserts placed around my space. I then add those to either the “keep” or the “recycle” pile, and continue until all the pages are in one of the two piles.

4. Cut coupons

Upon adding the one pile to the recycling container, I focus on the “keep” stack. I take the scissors to the identical pages and cut out each coupon. In using time wisely, I can cut up to 10 coupons (depending on how many insert I collect) in the time it takes to cut one. 🙂

During this step, I place the cut coupons into piles. On the one side I sort the food coupons, and on the other I place the non-food coupons. In sorting this way, I only need to add the coupons to my binders later.

5. Sort Coupons

Now, Paul usually cuts my coupons for me. When he does, he just places them into two piles: food and non-food. I will then sort them into the following categories:

6. Add Coupons to Binders

When I began this type of coupon organization, I began with the following supplies:

• Binder – I chose a three-ring binder within a zippered case. I spend a lot of time organizing these coupons and want to protect my investment.

• Index tab dividers – I printed the category name on both sides of the tab. This way, I can find the category tab for boxed items when the binder is open in the cereal section. 🙂  This little tip saves me lots of time as I don’t need to flip all the way back to the front to find my desired coupon section.

• Sports card inserts – Many stores carry these 9-pocket pages. I have purchased packs from Wal-mart, A.C. Moore, K-mart, Target, the dollar store, and Walgreens. These packets are around $5 for 25 pages. Amazon currently has the Ultra Pro 9-Pocket Trading Card Pages – Platinum Series (100 Pages) for $12.92 which is a great price.

• Coupons – I just started with what I had. As I needed more inserts, I bought them. My collection has grown to two binders which I designate one for food and the other for non-food coupons. I just fold any coupons that do not fit and slide them into one of the pockets.

For identical coupons, I place all of them in the same pocket. When possible, I make the expiration date visible on the front or the back. By doing so, I save time when I purge coupons at the end of the month.

7. Organizing Store Coupons

The binders I chose have an accordion filing pocket in the front. Within these pockets I keep the following:

Food Binder

• Bi-Lo section – my store envelope, store ad, coupon policy, and store coupons
• Publix section – my store envelope, store ad, coupon policy, advantage flyers, and store coupon booklets

Non-food Binder

• CVS section – my store envelope, store ad, coupon policy, reusable bag with bag tag, and store coupons
• Walgreens – my store envelope, store ad, coupon policy, monthly coupon booklet, and any store coupons
• Rite Aid – my store envelope
• Wal-mart – my store envelope, coupon policy
• Target – my store envelope, store ad, coupon policy, and printable store coupons

There you have it. This coupon organizational system is not for the casual coupon user or the beginner. If you jump in too fast or all at once, you may burn out. I have covered the three basic options and in the order of progression that I have taken.

One way is not better than another. There are fabulous savers who use all three types of coupon organization. The goal is to find a system that allows you to find the coupons needed to save your family money. Happy organizing!

Question: What are your pros and cons to your coupon organizational system?

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