Week 7 on the 52 Week Organization is:
Now... I used to be really, really good with coupons... Not sure what happened and why I fell "out of love" with them. This is how I used to organize my coupons:
Yes, I was that person you'd see in the store toting around their binder... However, I hated cleaning it out and coupons got very old in there or even though it was organized well I still couldn't find what I needed. AND my all time pet peeve.... The ONE time I'd forget to take it in with me... There would an awesome sale that I HAD coupons for! UGH! Anyways, like I said before I "used" to organize my coupons this way...
So what do I do now... Well... (shifting her weight and looking at the ground)... I haven't used them in a long while... I know, I know... WHAT!!!
Ok so since I've started this 52 week organization I've gotten organized and started meal planning and what not and it has given me the opportunity to get back into couponing... (speaking of meal planning, that is week 8 so stay tuned!)
Now what I had been doing was collecting the inserts and searching a few days before I go shopping for coupons that I will need for that week or the following week's shopping lists.... (What, you have 2 weeks of shopping planned out in advance you say? Well stay tuned again for next week!)
So this method I've had is this...
OBVIOUSLY not organized at all. I'd take the coupons and paper clip them to the correct week's list... Well, with this method this is what would happen to me. I'd go for, lets say, crescent rolls... I'd have my coupon paper clipped to my list. 75 cents off 3 Pillsbury crescent rolls. Ok, I get to the store and there is an non-advertised sale for the store brand... Let's just say its 3 for $3.50 or something... So I'll get those instead. Well, my clipped coupon that I want to save because I might need it again before the expiration date will get lost or crushed in the bottom of my purse because after that week's shopping I didn't have a way to "store" the coupons!
So I had to think of another way to organize my coupons... How was I going to do this? I really didn't want to go back to my binder. I am only vowing to save coupons I use now. I don't want the mess! So after much searching (soul and pinterest) I found this idea:
This person has their coupons on a binder ring and a small envelope attached. So what you do is when you use the corresponding coupon for the item at the store you pull it off and put it in the envelope. When you get to the checkout all the coupons you will use will be in the envelope to hand to the cashier. This way you have all your coupons with you and none of them will get lost. So using my example above I wouldn't pre-pull off my Pillsbury coupon till the item is in my cart so that coupon wouldn't get lost since I bought the store brand sale instead.
Here is what I did:
I condensed the coupons from the previous picture to only the ones I will use. (Don't worry I give my "leftovers" to a friend who takes any she wants and then they get recycled!)
I didn't add the envelope yet. I will. Right now the ring is just in my purse. I think when I go to the store I will attach it to the handle of my purse. This way it won't get lost and I can have it handy since my purse is usually in the kid seat in the cart.
I think this way will get me to use coupons better. Even though I just now am organizing them I am happy to report since I've started using them again I have saved up to $25+ every week on my grocery bills!
Oh, also, don't forget to check your stores websites for coupons! I know our local store uses Spartan brand and they have their own website for coupons. Also, Meijers has mPerks. I use that a lot too! The best part of that program is you can stack those coupons with manufacturer coupons!
So I hope I at least inspired you to think about using coupons if you haven't or don't. If you do use coupons and you just weren't sure of a way to organize them hopefully this helped a you too!
Until tomorrow!
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