The importance of coupon organization

For most people, when they think of couponing, they think of someone spending hours cutting out coupons and stuffing them into a little handheld plastic organizer.  Heck, when I was a kid, that was how my grandma did it. If that works for you, that's great. However, there are other ways to organize your coupons and I'll explain below.

The first way and maybe the most common is the folder/ring binder method.  This involves cutting out coupons and putting them into a folder or organizer arranged into sections by product type.  For example, a section on household items might contain laundry detergent and toilet paper, but this is completely customizable by the user. It's up to you whether you cut out every coupon or just the ones you'll definitely use. A three ring binder with baseball card sheets and tab dividers are great if you decide to use this method.  The baseball card sheets are relatively inexpensive ($5 for 30 at Target by the Pokemon cards) and your coupons are completely visible and accessible. It also makes it easy to transport your coupons and catch unadvertised sales.

The second method is whole inserts organization.  This is the method I currently use. When I get the Sunday paper, I do not cut out ANY coupons. I keep my coupon inserts intact and use internet databases to locate my coupons when I make my shopping list(s).  It can be very time consuming to find a coupon without internet access, but I like this method because I don't want to be tempted to impulse shop. I take only the coupons I'll need when I go shopping.

The third method is a mixture of the first two methods.  Some coupons, like ones you know you'll use, you cut out and store in binders. The other coupons stay with the insert. I'm going to move to this method soon, because I print out a lot of internet coupons and they need to be organized.  I've also been buying inserts and coupons on ebay and I now have more coupons to sort through.

Feel free to use these methods or even make up your own.  The best method is the one that works for you and will keep you saving!