To Clip or Not to Clip?

As a new coupon clipper one of the first things you may discover is that what starts out as an eager attempt to start saving money on the monthly grocery bill can end in a stressed-out mess of coupons and clippings scattered throughout you car, your purse, the junk drawer in your kitchen and anywhere else you may have stashed those darn things waiting to be used next time you go to the store.

If you have been clipping for some time with any success then it is probably due to a functional organizational system you have for keeping your coupons accessible, and easy to find on your grocery trips. From the classic white envelope containing just a few specially selected coupons for that grocery trip, to the small accordion file style of several categories for a moderate amount of coupons, to large containers of many sorted envelopes or recipe boxes turned coupon filer, while I've been out shopping I have seen many different methods of organizing coupons.

While these can work for some people I think that the major disadvantages to these (and other similar systems) create too much trouble for many people to make coupon clipping a good money-saving habit. When I first began clipping and using coupons on a regular basis I had a small accordion file that fit nicely into my purse which was great for a few weeks, but once I started collecting a decent supply of coupons I quickly outgrew the file (if you are seriously looking to save money with coupons you'll need to get multiple Sunday papers to get extra inserts). Since I get 5 Sunday papers each week The file became very thick and hard to close.

Then, as if it wasn't annoying enough to have to take an extra few minutes filing through each section looking for just the right coupon I needed every time I put added something to my cart, shopping with a small child whose only desire is to get that file from to me to play with usually ended with me picking up stacks of scattered coupons that had fallen out of their neatly ordered files onto the store aisle ways. The other major time-wasting disadvantage to this system is how much longer it takes to thumb through every coupon in each file when you need to remove expired coupons week after week.

I was fortunate to discover after a few weeks of that putting up with that mayhem every time I went shopping a far superior system of organizing coupons: The Coupon Binder











First I will explain the benefits of this system compared to others, and then I will tell you how I have mine organized if you wanted to make your own!

Benefits of the coupon binder:

• If you drop your binder on the floor at the store coupons don't go flying everywhere because each coupon is stored neatly in baseball card pages holding them securely in place. You might have the rings pop open and have a few pages slide out, but that takes a few seconds to put back into place as opposed to the 30+ minutes I used to spend reordering all my coupons when they fell out of my old accordion file.
• Coupons are easily categorized and easy to see. This makes pulling out old expired coupons very easy since you can quickly scan through the pages and pull out expired coupons as you see them, rather than thumbing through each one individually.
• You won't forget to use coupons that you wanted to use nearly as often (or ever!) because you will know where to find them and remember which ones you have. Each week as you add the new coupons from the Sunday Paper and remove old expired ones you will find that you start getting a photographic memory of the coupons you have while you're scanning through the pages.
• You will be able to store MANY more coupons (and actually be able to utilize them because you won't forget you have them) in a binder than in other methods, allowing you for greater savings.

Ok, now that you're (hopefully) convinced here is the "How-To" of the binder:

You'll need:

• 2-3 inch zippered binder (you can use a regular binder but the fabric zippered ones are much sturdier and should you happen to drop it on the floor, they won't pop open; pretty much a must have if you've got kids with you while shopping).
  
• 50-75 (depending on how many coupons you'll be clipping-I cut out almost every coupon) baseball card (9-pocket) page protectors. I got mine at a sports collectible store although some people have been able to find these at their local Walmart and/or Target stores (I couldn't!).
• Page dividers with labels for each category ( i recommend plastic ones because paper rips too easily after repeated use, preferably with a pocket).
• If your binder doesn't have a pocket (like mine does) then it's good to have a 3 ring pocket holder to keep a pair of scissors, calculator, pen, etc.
• I also keep some price point lists in my binder to reference if I'm at the store and wondering if a particular sale price is good or not, this is especially handy for beginners!
  

My binder is comprised of two parts: the store sections and the coupon categories.

Store Sections
I have one store section in the front part of my binder for each grocery store that I shop at on a regular basis. Right now I have four which are: Target, Copps/PickNSave, CVS & Walgreens. I've recently moved so I just redid these categories, I used to have more when I lived in Utah because I shopped at more stores out there. You can adjust this to fit your needs and what stores you like.
In the store categories have 1 baseball card page for each store which are used to keep store coupons, or to put the manufacturers coupons and shopping list I will need for my next shopping trip to that store. It helps to have the coupons here waiting for me to use while I shop because then I make sure I don't forget to use them, and they give me another visual reminder of what I'm getting at the store aside from my written list (I'm a visual person). It also saves time at the checkout line so you aren't madly searching for all your coupons to give to the cashier holding up the line (I hate that!).
My page dividers for each store had a large pocket, which is nice because I can also keep a copy of the weekly circular for that store there as well (sometimes I need to reference it when a sale item rings up incorrectly at the register)


Coupon Categories


Behind the store sections I have page dividers for various category to keep my coupons organized. I based my system off of another lady who used 13 categories, but recently reorganized my binder and split a few of the larger categories into several smaller ones for more ease of use.
While most coupons can easily fit into the 9-page baseball card pages, some larger coupons do require some creative folding to fit inside nicely. You'll want to make sure that coupons can be viewed easily with the product, dollar amount of savings, and most importantly the expiration date showing (even if you have to fold the coupon) so that adding new coupons and pulling expired ones can be done quickly each week. I hate it when I'm at the store and I see a coupon in my binder for something I'm excited to get only to realize that it's been expired for a couple weeks.
When you put coupons in, only put one type of coupon in each slot (I only have coupons showing on the front side of the baseball card pages, not on the reverse side). Sometimes you will get more coupons for the same product before the last coupon expired, and you can just slide that in right behind so that the coupon expiring soonest is in the front.

Here are my categories but feel free to alter them to fit your own needs (I have not pets, hence no pet category but I do have a baby category which you may or may not need). I give the number of baseball card pages I have in each category just as an idea of how many you might need/want, although the numbers sometimes fluctuate when there are fewer coupons for toiletries I'll take out empty pages (Some people always keep the exact same number of pages in each category but I think it's too rigid-just be sure that you aren't constantly always adding more and more pages or else you won't be able to zip up your binder!)

1. "Free" Coupons & Rebates (3 pages): I keep coupons for items that are completely free in a separate category so I can make sure to use them before they expire. Even though there is a mix of frozen food, pet food, candy, meat product coupons it's easier for me to keep these ones separated (see this post about when free coupons can be "more than free" I also keep mail-in rebate and "try-me-free" forms here.
2. Baking Products (2 pages): sugar, spices, cooking spray, canola/olive oil, splenda, reynolds wrap, parchment paper, etc.
3. Breads, Cereals& Grains (4 pages): Rolls, bread, croutons, garlic bread, frozen/refrigerated rolls (Pillsbury etc.), crackers, cereal bars, cereal (general mills, kelloggs, etc), bisquick mix, granola bars, oatmeal, etc.
4. Candy, Snacks & Desserts (6 pages): brownie/cake mix, frosting, cookie mix, chocolate chips, fruit snacks, cookies, puddings, peanuts/other nuts, bagged candy, sunflower seeds, caramels, chips, pretzels, popcorn, gum, licorice, boxes of chocolate, chocolate bars, etc.
5. Condiments & Sauces (3 pages): mustard, ketchup, BBQ sauce, worchestershire sauce, mayonnaise, gaucamole, salsa, hummus, salad dressing, sundae toppings, etc.
   
6. Dairy Products (4 pages): eggs, milk, yogurt, creamers, cheese, coolwhip, butter, sour cream, ice cream/popscicles (for some reason it makes more sense for me ot keep it in dairy than in the above candy-ish category).
7. Drinks & Juice (2 pages): soymilk, juice concentrates, koolaid, crystal light, juicy juice, gatorade, nesquick, slimfast drinks, caprisun, etc.
8. Meats & chicken (3 pages): chicken breats, ground turkey/chicken, pork products, sausages, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, sandwich meats, etc.
   
9. Frozen Foods (3 pages): frozen pizza, hot pockets, frozen appetizers, frozen meals, etc. You could put ice cream here too if you like.
10. Packaged & Canned (5 pages): pasta sauce, pasta, boxed dinner kits, pickels, canned fruit, beans, mexican, peanut butter, jam, tuna, salad, etc.
11. Baby Products (2-3 pages): diapers, wipes, shampoos, baby food, etc.
12. Cleaning Products (5 pages): glass cleaner, air/fabric sanitizers, lysol disinfectants, air fresheners & candles, hand soaps, oven cleaner, toilet cleaner, carpet cleaner, etc.
13. Laundry & Dishwasher Detergent (3 pages): dish soap, dishwasher detergent, laundry cleaners and detergents, clothing spot removers, dryer sheets, etc.
14. Rolled & Paper products (2-3 pages): tissue, toilet paper, paper towel, moist bathroom wipes (like cottonelle, not baby wipes), napkins, paper plates, cups, disposable cutlery, etc.
15. Plastic Bags/Tupperware (1-2 pages): ziploc/hefty products, gladware, ziploc tupperware, etc.
16. Medicine & Pharmacy: fiber products, multi-vitamins & supplements, pain killers, heat pads, band aids, neosporin, hand sanitizer, etc.
17. Misc (2-3 pages): scotch tape, magazine copons, batteries, water filters, insect repellant (or other seasonal coupons), anything coupons that come VERY infrequently, or don't have enough like coupons to create it's own category.
18. Make-Up/Face products (3-4 pages): make-up, facial cleaner, moisterizer, acne treatments, lip balm, etc.
19. Dental hygiene & deodorant (5 pages): toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, floss, teeth whiteners, deodorant & body sprays, etc.
20. Toiletries (10 pages): shampoo/conditioner, body wash, body lotion, body soap, razors, shaving cream, hair removers, nail polish, feminine hygiene, hair coloring, etc. This category could easily be broken down into smaller categories.
    

These are what work for me right now, take what you want, skip what you don't need and fill in whats missing!

As I mentioned before I clip all the coupons from the Sunday paper inserts (with a couple exceptions; pet related coupons-unless they are for a completely free product, and a couple others). Something I have learned from couponing is not to be brand loyal. If I were to only clip the Crest toothpaste coupons and ignore the rest simply because I like Crest the best (which I do) I would have missed out on a lot of free toothpaste from other brands. I clip all coupons because I never know what deals will come about for brands that I might not typically use, or may not have tried before. I can;t even count the number I times I've found things on clearance that I've gotten free (or almost free) because of an arbitrary coupon I've had in my binder. (But that is what I like to do, don't feel overwhelmed to clip every coupon if you don't have time). Even if you really hate all the other brands of toothpaste and wouldn't use them even if they were free (yeah right!) then I'm sure that we all have family or friends who would happily accept these things, or that they can be donated to the local food bank or shelter!

On the other hand I don't want to give the impression that I aimlessly purchase things just because I have clipped a coupon for that product. That is what the marketing brains behind the advertising schemes want consumers to do, and that is NOT how you save money on your groceries (because you often end up buying items at whatever price they are instead of rock bottom prices). Each week I have plenty of coupons that expire and I throw away because a good sale or opportunity didn't arise while it was valid. Here's just one week's expired coupons I pulled from my binder just before going into the garbage:

While there are many coupons for things in this pile that I would like to have gotten, or wanted to try if it's not a good price then I'm not going to purchase it simply because I have a coupon for it.

I hope that this was helpful to you-if you have any more questions about my binder, or anything else coupon related leave me a comment!