I love coffee, and great deals while shopping, so I have tons of "frequent buyer" coffee punch cards, coupons, and gift cards. But with all of them just loose in my purse, it was a mess! Worse yet, when I would clean out my purse and leave some of the coupons or gift cards at home, I'd often be at a store and find a great deal, then realize I didn't have the coupon or card with me - it was at home!
To solve this, I took an extra wallet that I had and put my coupons in the bill holder area, and gift cards and coffee punch cards (along with some other important ones) in the credit card area. Now I don't have to worry about running across a sale and not having a coupon or not getting credit for my latest cup of coffee! Finding things in my purse is much easier too!
Use a basket on or near the door to collect coupons, outgoing mail, and items needed for errands. Then just grab the basket and go - you won't forget anything again!
I use a small tackle box for my coupons. It has a sturdy latch and handle.
I am trying to save money on groceries by using coupons. I know to save coupons from the Sunday paper, but does anyone have any suggestions for other places to look or of any websites that have some?
The prior advice is excellent; however through the years I've outgrown mine & now have 2 seperate plastic shoeboxes with dividers. One shoebox holds manufacture and store coupons for the grocers; the other holds entertainment coupons (restaurants, mall, recreation). My grocery coupons are set up by the rows of the store that I go to most often. You can save lots of $$$. Good luck. Besides the Sunday paper, ask neighbors who may not use them if you can have them. For your favorite products go to their individual sites for great offers. Hope the info helps.
kc in mesa
I took an old DayRunner I had from when I worked at IBM and used the larger index cards cut on an angle and taped to the dividers to make pockets. It zipps and has a place for all my reward cards, calculator, grocery list etc.
Ann
New Orleans
This tip is for organizing store rainchecks and coupons. I try to get rainchecks each time I visit the grocery store, so I may purchase these out of stock products at my convenience, and maybe I have also found coupons by then.
Instead of organizing your coupons by item, organize buy the aisle the item is found on. That way when you have a coupon you want to use, you don't have to go looking up and down the store looking for the item.
On Sunday, cut out coupons from the paper and file them in a box for 3x5 inch index cards. You can bring this with you each time you go grocery shopping.
On Sunday night, take out your store fliers from the newspaper to check for sales. Take an envelope and write on the back which products that you want, the size and the price.
I have a vinyl coupon sorter that is divided into categories (Grocery, Target, etc. and family members names and receipts awaiting reimbursement or rebates) Each time I purchase an item, I place the receipt in the corresponding file.
Finding the coupons by categories as they are set up in the little folders one can purchase caused too much fumbling and wasting of time as I was trying to find coupons for items that were on sale. I solved the problem by turning the section dividers around and changing them to alphabetical dividers with a felt-tip pen.
When I get a Walgreen's Register Rewards coupon or an CVS store ECB coupon, etc. (ones that are usually high values) and I don't want to miss out on using before they expire, I put a brightly colored yard sale pricing dot on them and put them in my dollar bill slot in my wallet.
When I find a coupon that I'd like to use, I put it with my grocery list that I keep clipped to the refrigerator until I'm ready to head to the store. I remember to use it when it's with my list that I check as I walk through the store to find my groceries.
This suggestion is about received email coupons for restaurants and grocery stores. To keep better track of which to use up first due to expiration dates, I forward them to my email addy with the name of the restaurant and the expiration date in the subject bar.
I do not use many coupons. However, the ones I do keep, I kept forgetting when I went to the store. I found a way to help me. I simply tape the coupon on the item in the cupboard.
I stocked up on hair color and a toilet cleaning system and refills early this year when I had coupons, and they were on sale.
I keep a coupon organizer in my car just for non-grocery coupons. I have fast food, nice restaurants, clothes, and other misc.
