When you get the Sunday coupon inserts, you need to save those coupons, waiting for the corresponding item to go on sale, not just clip a coupon or two that are for items you need this week or using a coupon for an item just because you have a coupon. There are various ways to save and organize your coupons.
Some couponers leave their entire insert intact and file it by date along with a list of what coupons are inside that insert. While this method saves a lot of time up front, since you won't be clipping and filing all those coupons, the drawback to this method is that while you are in the store, you may find a great price on an item for which you haven't clipped the coupon that you just know you have to go with it, and that coupon is filed in its intact insert...at home. I tried this method for a short while with just my P & G inserts (since those don't change a whole lot from one month to the next, you just kind of get used to what is in there), but even with just that one insert, I found myself missing a lot of sales. I now clip ALL my coupons!
When I first began couponing, I organized mine by category in an accordian file, but that quickly became unmanagable. It was difficult to purge out the expired coupons and it was difficult to find the coupon I needed quickly. I suppose the main problem was that I was saving all my coupons, in multiples, trying to sort them by expiration date inside their categories, it was truly overwhelming, and my poor accordian files (I had 2) looked like they were 13 months pregnant! This method would probably suit the casual couponer just fine, but doesn't work well for the "super couponer."
I moved onto the binder system which requires me to cut all my coupons and file them in baseball card inserts or photo pages inside a zippered binder, separated by clearly labeled dividers. This is very convenient for me because I can see the fronts of each coupon so I know what it is for and when it expires. Although this may seem like overkill in the beginning, if you were to really get into this whole coupon thing, you may want to just start out with a binder. There are a couple different binder methods that people use. Some sort by expiration date, others sort by category. The problem, to me, about sorting by expiration date is that you may know you have a coupon for a product, but aren't sure when it expires. You may find yourself in the store, fumbling through each date tab until you find the coupon which you are wanting to use. I sort mine by category. I will share my categories with you in a moment, but the important thing is that your categories make sense to you. You don't have to do exactly like I do. You may choose to have a frozen foods and a dry goods category which encompass all of those types of products where my categories are entrees (which can include frozen and non-frozen main dish type things).
I have 2 2" 3 ring binders. One is food, one is non-food. My categories inside my food binder are:
Hy-Vee store coupons-usually from the fundraising booklets
Target food coupons-either printed, from inserts, or home mailers
cereal and breakfast items
fruits and vegetables-this can include fresh items, canned items, frozen items
side dishes-rice, pasta, noodles, etc
entrees-frozen entrees, boxed meals, pizza, even my peanut butter goes here for some reason
soups
sauces and dressings
dairy-yogurt, milk, butter, eggs
meats and cheeses-lunch meats, fresh meats, all kinds of cheeses, frozen meats, tuna, hot dogs
bread-frozen, crescent roll type products, shelf bread
baking-sugar, nuts, yeast, syrup, cake mixes, frostings, oils, and for some reason, Jello
desserts and ice cream-already prepared dessert items
snacks-crackers, granola bars, cookies, popcorn, pretzels, fruit snacks, chips
gum and candy
beverages-coffee, tea, hot cocoa, items related to beverages such as Coffeemate
My categories inside my non-food binder:
Hy-Vee store coupons for non-food products
Target non-food coupons
dishwashing items
disposables and paper goods-trash bags, paper towels, Ziploc baggies, paper plates, toilet paper, kleenex
laundry items
home fragrance sprays
home fragrance plug ins
home fragrance candles, etc.
cleaning items
baby-diapers, wipes
cigarettes-because my husband is a smoker
batteries
misc. non-food-pet food, magazines, socks, salt pellets, anything that doesn't fit anywhere else
medicines
vitamins and supplements
first aid
feminine hygiene and lubricants-because we get an aweful lot of K-Y coupons it seems
soap and body wash
haircare items
hair color
make-up
skincare-lotions, cleansers
shaving needs
deoderants
oral care
As you can see, I am pretty specific with my categories, but you may wish to consolidate some of them or change them completely, just so it makes sense to you.
There are other methods which I have heard of people using, but these are the most common.
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