It's all about the hunt! Finding the best coupons is the name of the game, I think.
I just saw a friend in Target and she mentioned she had her coupons in hand. She had just run in to pick up a couple of things while her husband waited in the truck with their baby. Baby? I have baby coupons! I cut them out and save them but don't use them. I will usually give them away or share them with a young mom looking at diapers trying to decide which ones to buy. I offered those coupons to my friend tonight and she picked out the ones she would use. In turn, she only clips the ones she knows she'll use so she is going to send the remainder to me. This turned out to be a win-win deal and I was happy.
Then she said it... I couldn't believe it. Their church has tons of papers delivered on Saturday and she has access to nearly unlimited coupons! How fair is that? At this point, my mind is spinning, my palms are sweaty and I can not even utter a single sound. I'm speechless (and for those of you who know me...that's a rare occasion!). With a few moments to collect myself, I decided that was not the mature approach. I should be happy for her that she is finding success in her couponing efforts. Yeah, right!
What I did learn was I need to get busy! There are probably plenty of opportunities for me to do the same. After all, the girl with the most coupons WINS!!
Are you in a coupon sharing group? Please post where you find the best coupons.
My favorite sites are:
http://www.thekrazycouponlady.com/
http://www.coupongeek.com/
http://www.happymoneysaver.com/
http://www.couponmom.com/
http://www.moneysavingmom.com/
Karen in TX
Friday, July 9, 2010
Couponing
Ok, I'm officially hooked. Got Coupons? I look for them everywhere. I'm all about saving money these days. Should have been all about it years ago.
To start...it can be very overwhelming! When I take a deep breath and slow down I remember that using any coupon at any time is better than I use to do, which was nothing. Of course, now I try to match them with current ads from my local grocery stores and any in-store coupons to go with them.
Next...was deciding which organizing system would work best for me.
I started out with a plastic box that had a snap-on lid.
After that, came the binder. Ehhh...the binder method didn't work so well for me. I think if I had put white paper between the pages it would have helped. Also, for example, on the frozen page I put all the veggies in one slot, all the entree's in one slot, etc. For me, sorting them one more step would have been best. I should have dedicated one entire page to veggies and then sorted them by brands ie..Green Giant in one slot, etc.
Last, and best, I went back to the box with a snap on lid.
I used my left over scrapbook cardstock, cut it to fit my box (6.5" x 5.5") for dividers and wrote the main categories on them (Breads, Dairy, Frozen etc). In order to make them more like 1/3 tabbed dividers I wrote the categories on the left, middle or right side, along the top and then cut away the remaining top of the card. I used whatever colors I had so it was a little difficult for me to get past the fact that the colors of the dividers didn't rotate in a colored pattern. I had lots of extra green cardstock in different shades. I tried sticking green between each of the other colors. They were free so, in the end, I could get past the fact the dividers were not in a color order.
After using this for about a month, I knew I needed more organization. I had previously bought a package of white cardstock at Big Lots ($2.00, bought more today!) to use at school. It wasn't as thick as I'd hoped for so I brought it home. Turns out, it was perfect for some little folders I wanted and made. I cut a rectangle 6.5" x 7" and using the 6.5" as the width, I folded the bottom of the rectangle up leaving about a 1/4" showing. I then wrote my sub-categories on the top. For example, behind my 'Cereal' tab I created a little folder for each of the main cereals I use - General Mills, Kellogg's, MOM (Malt-O-Meal) and Post. Behind the 'Meat' tab is a little folder for each of the following - chicken/turkey, hot dogs/sausage, lunch meat, etc. That way when I'm in the meat section at the grocery store and there's an unadvertised special I go to the 'Meat' tab and pick up the 'chicken-turkey' folder to flip through and check for a coupon.
Here is a picture of my 'Frozen' tab divider and all the sub-categories included.
Behind all the coupons, at the back of the box, I keep a calculator, scissors, pen and a small, plastic box to store my mini binder clips. By the way, I found the most amazing little box at The Container Store for $1.49. Its intended use is to store AA batteries. I simply moved the plastic divider it came with to the far right for future use and now my mini clips are close at hand. I use the clips to secure coupons to the store ads.
This method works for me, at this point in time. Would love to hear if you use this sort of system and what makes it work for you.
Oh, and the crazy part to this is...I just bought another box! Same box, same width, longer length. The hunt is on for more coupons!
Happy couponing!
Karen in Texas
To start...it can be very overwhelming! When I take a deep breath and slow down I remember that using any coupon at any time is better than I use to do, which was nothing. Of course, now I try to match them with current ads from my local grocery stores and any in-store coupons to go with them.
Next...was deciding which organizing system would work best for me.
I started out with a plastic box that had a snap-on lid.
After that, came the binder. Ehhh...the binder method didn't work so well for me. I think if I had put white paper between the pages it would have helped. Also, for example, on the frozen page I put all the veggies in one slot, all the entree's in one slot, etc. For me, sorting them one more step would have been best. I should have dedicated one entire page to veggies and then sorted them by brands ie..Green Giant in one slot, etc.
Last, and best, I went back to the box with a snap on lid.
I used my left over scrapbook cardstock, cut it to fit my box (6.5" x 5.5") for dividers and wrote the main categories on them (Breads, Dairy, Frozen etc). In order to make them more like 1/3 tabbed dividers I wrote the categories on the left, middle or right side, along the top and then cut away the remaining top of the card. I used whatever colors I had so it was a little difficult for me to get past the fact that the colors of the dividers didn't rotate in a colored pattern. I had lots of extra green cardstock in different shades. I tried sticking green between each of the other colors. They were free so, in the end, I could get past the fact the dividers were not in a color order.
After using this for about a month, I knew I needed more organization. I had previously bought a package of white cardstock at Big Lots ($2.00, bought more today!) to use at school. It wasn't as thick as I'd hoped for so I brought it home. Turns out, it was perfect for some little folders I wanted and made. I cut a rectangle 6.5" x 7" and using the 6.5" as the width, I folded the bottom of the rectangle up leaving about a 1/4" showing. I then wrote my sub-categories on the top. For example, behind my 'Cereal' tab I created a little folder for each of the main cereals I use - General Mills, Kellogg's, MOM (Malt-O-Meal) and Post. Behind the 'Meat' tab is a little folder for each of the following - chicken/turkey, hot dogs/sausage, lunch meat, etc. That way when I'm in the meat section at the grocery store and there's an unadvertised special I go to the 'Meat' tab and pick up the 'chicken-turkey' folder to flip through and check for a coupon.
Here is a picture of my 'Frozen' tab divider and all the sub-categories included.
Behind all the coupons, at the back of the box, I keep a calculator, scissors, pen and a small, plastic box to store my mini binder clips. By the way, I found the most amazing little box at The Container Store for $1.49. Its intended use is to store AA batteries. I simply moved the plastic divider it came with to the far right for future use and now my mini clips are close at hand. I use the clips to secure coupons to the store ads.
This method works for me, at this point in time. Would love to hear if you use this sort of system and what makes it work for you.
Oh, and the crazy part to this is...I just bought another box! Same box, same width, longer length. The hunt is on for more coupons!
Happy couponing!
Karen in Texas
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