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Don't let this happen to you! Organize your coupons. |
When you are first starting to coupon, first you have to find coupons! I collect my coupons by purchasing two or three Sunday papers, printing internet coupons, and requesting coupons directly from the company. My favorite internet coupon sites are: www.coupons.com; www.smartsource.com; and www.redplum.com. I also get internet coupons from company websites and their Facebook pages.
A few weeks worth of coupons can get messy! In order to keep your coupons organized, I recommend creating a coupon binder to organize your coupons by category. When you do this, you can simply update the binder every week with your new coupons and remove any expired coupons. Utilizing a coupon binder makes it easier to compile shopping lists and take with you on shopping trips. This technique is also helpful in the event you find an unadvertised sale in the store or a great clearance deal you wish to stack with a coupon.
To make your own coupon binder you need the following:
- 2"-3" Binder (I use a 3")
- 75-100 Baseball Card Holders (Nine Pocket Clear Binder Sheets) (I needed over 100 for mine...Eek!)
- Dividers or Sticky Flags (*I use labeled flags to save space in my binder.)
- Canvas Pencil Case for 3 Ring Binder
- Download Coupon Binder Table of Contents Form File (Must have or create Scribd account) and select "Download" on right hand side of screen
You can even make your coupon binder on a budget. When I made my coupon binder, I used a binder which I got for free during a Staples sale. I used $16 worth of Amazon.com gift cards which I received free from Swagbucks.com to purchase 100 baseball card holders. I purchased my dividers and canvas pencil case from Rite Aid with my wellness discount and coupons for money off of any Rite Aid purchase. Even the Table of Contents was free, I used paper which I got free during a Staples sale and ink that I purchased from Amazon.com with gift cards which I got from Swagbucks.com. I also bought sticky flags to mark my sections from my table of contents on Amazon.com with gift cards from Swagbucks.com.
